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Training Zones
By
Rich Strauss
A heart rate monitor is a
very valuable tool for the endurance athlete. For the new
athlete, it can act as a rev limiter, placing a limit on how
hard you work so that you avoid injury and overtraining. For
the more experienced athlete, it can be used to train with
greater and greater refinement.
Near the start of your training, you should do
some testing
to determine your Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR). You
then use this LTHR to determine your training zones. The chart
and explanation below are tools to help you better understand
and use these training zones. You can use this chart as a
guide until you perform your testing and can attach heart rate
numbers to these training zones. Or, if you want, you can
pitch the heart rate monitor and use this chart exclusively.
However, for the longer races, training with a heart rate
monitor is a necessity, in my opinion, until you become very
experienced.
Training Zone Chart
| Zone |
Name |
Use |
Breathing |
| 1 |
Recovery |
Recovery days or between
intervals. |
Hardly noticeable |
| 2 |
Extensive Endurance |
Long endurance training, base
building. Many desirable training adaptations are gained
by spending considerable amounts of time in Zone 2. See
Base
Training for more details. |
Slight |
| 3 |
Intensive Endurance |
In general, Z3 is either too
hard or too easy and should be avoided in favor of Z2 or
Z4-5a. However in early training periods, Base 1 and
Base 2, it is sometime unavoidable. Expect
this. |
Aware of breathing a little
harder |
| 4-5a |
Threshold |
Z5a is your LTHR, and is
usually marked by a sudden increase in breathing.
Training at or just under this level is extremely
useful. Improved lactate tolerance and economy. "Tempo"
pace. For the run, this is about 10 secs per mile slower
than 10k pace. |
Starting to breathe harder
(Z4) to breathing hard (5a) |
| 5b |
Anaerobic Endurance |
Improved lactate tolerance and
economy. Useful for Sprint and Olympic training, less
useful for Half and IM training. |
Heavy, labored
breathing |
| 5c |
Power |
Very short, max effort burst.
Not very useful for endurance training |
Maximal
exertion |
Next: "Zones
Explained" |
