Power & Heart Rate - Zones 1 - 7

Zone 1 - Active Recovery


Zone 2 - Endurance (aerobic)


Zone 3 - Tempo


Zone 4 - Threshold


Zone 5 - Vo2 max / Superthreshold


Zone 6 - Anaerobic Capacity


Zone 7 - Neuromuscular Power

< 75%


76 -85%


85 - 94%


95 - 105%


>106%


N/A


N/A

< 55%


56 - 75%


76 - 90%


91 - 105%


106 - 120%


121 - 150%


> 151%

30 - 90 min.


60 - 300 min.


60 - 180 min.


N / A


N / A


N / A


N / A

N / A


N / A


N / A


10 - 30 min.


3 - 8 min.


30 sec - 3 min.


< 20 sec

RPE

% of FTP

% of FTHR

Avg. duration of continuous ride

HR & POWER Training Zones:

Avg. duration of interval effort

About your training zones: Zone 1 - Active Recovery - This is your active recovery zone and is a very important zone to integrate within you training. This is a zone that athletes tend to spend very little time in, which is not a good thing. Fitter athletes will benefit greater from doing recovery workouts compared to no workouts at all. This is considered an easy spinning day, applying light pedal pressure with minimal effort being felt. Example - By doing a recovery ride after consecutive hard days of training on the bike or competing in a race, you allow your body to flush out built up waste products, you keep your body in a rhythm and maintain a suppleness in your muscles and connective tissues. This gets blood & oxygen pumping through the body to speed up recovery. It is important to stay within this zone and not make an easy day moderate or hard. This will set you up for quality training days to come. At times, complete rest rather then a light workout would be a greater benefit physically as well as mentally following the day of a Zone 1 workout. Zone 2 - Endurance - Also called the Aerobic zone. This is an all day pace or the “classic long slow distance” (LSD) training. Long endurance workouts are what is needed to maximize the benefit potential of this intensity zone while keeping your RPE 2-3. It is vital that you do enough of your workouts whether riding, running, climbing, swimming, strength training, etc. in this zone to prepare your body for the higher demands of training & competing later on. Over time, training in this zone will lead to a stronger & more efficient cardiorespiratory (heart, blood vessels, lungs, passageways, etc.) and muscular system leading to an overall increase in your stamina & ability to endure. You want to practice being as efficient as possible in this zone, focusing on your mechanics, cadence, breathing, hydration, training stress, etc. Practice is an integral part for all sports and cycling is no different. Zone 3 - Tempo - Some coaches call this zone the “gray zone” of training while others call it the “meat and potatoes” of every cyclists training. This is a level of intensity that most athletes will find themselves in and when balanced appropriately with the other training zones can cause some of the greatest adaptations to your fitness. However, by spending to much time in this zone will not make you a faster sprinter or better on the climbs, it will just mean that your good at tempo so remember that the right balance of your training time and focusing on improving your limiters will make you a more complete athlete. If your goal is a 100 mile ultra or an MTB century, then the longer the workout at this intensity the better. A tempo workout needs to be done at a sustainable pace that feels fast and takes some work to maintain. Do not underestimate the amount of work that is required when training in this zone. Zone 4 - Threshold - Threshold workouts are focused on improving your FTP (functional threshold power & strength at your LTHR (lactate threshold heart rate). The working sets in this zone are done right at your threshold, slightly below (sub-threshold) and slightly above (super-threshold). These are very challenging & stressful sets and require a solid rest interval (RI) between sets. Its a fine balancing act with being on the edge of your sustainable intensity for the given sets duration. These are very vital workouts to integrate into your training program. By spending quality time in this zone, you will increase your ability to endure the level of intensity needed to maintain this type of effort and continually improve your ability at threshold. Zone 5 - VO2 Max - VO2 Max is the maximal volume of oxygen uptake. Zone 5 focuses on improving your VO2 Max with 3 - 8 minute sets that are performed at max intensity levels that your able to sustain for each given set with around an equal rest period. The key to maximize your time training in zone 5 is making sure that your intensity level is high enough for the sets duration. Be sure to do the intervals to exhaustion, this will ensure that your in the right training intensity. Zone 6 - Anaerobic Capacity - Zone 6 efforts are done at a much higher intensity level then zone 5 and the duration of each interval is 30 sec to 2 minutes in length with a 2-3 minute RI. There is a big difference between a 30 second & 2 minute effort, with both training the AC system. With intense variety in your efforts, this allows for some creative intervals built into your workout. These efforts are going to be painful and should be done when your fresh. Its not a workout to force in when your tired because you won’t be able to reach the desired intensity levels needed to challenge your anaerobic capacity. These are difficult efforts to get right without the use of a power-meter. If you don’t have a power meter or are a runner use the RPE scale. Zone 7 - Neuromuscular Power - These are very short highly intense intervals lasting under 30 seconds, usually falling within the 10 second range. They place a huge demand on your kinetic chain (muscular, skeletal & nervous system) and energy systems. Don’t focus on what your power-meter or HR monitor is saying, just focus on giving it your all, controlling the bike and being safe. These are highly explosive efforts and can be performed in a variety of ways. Summary - Using the zones above gives guidance to your training and a clearer understanding of the reasons behind the workloads your coach is giving you. Zones, numbers and percentages are in place for assistance during your training to help you reach the right intensity levels, however, don’t become overly focused on the numbers or a slave to them. Learn to listen to your body and what it is telling you. Become very familiar with the RPE Scale. While you are training, you are never just in one zone, you are always over lapping zones, the idea is that when a workout calls for a specific zone or interval, your using a larger percentage of that zone. Lastly, be sure to do your specified workouts in the given zone, this ensures that your not making your easy days to hard or your hard days to easy. http://www.mountainpeakfitness.com/M.P.F./RPE_Scale.htmlRPE_Scale.htmlhttp://www.mountainpeakfitness.com/M.P.F./RPE_Scale.htmlshapeimage_14_link_0shapeimage_14_link_1shapeimage_14_link_2

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