VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Maciej Szukała

Training zones (or HR zones) are one of the most versatile ways to measure your exercise intensity. The effectiveness of training largely depends on the appropriately dosed exercise intensity. It is it that allows for the appropriate periodization of effort, i.e. dividing each training period into specific phases, which ultimately translate into progress. Find out what training zones are and how they can be measured.

Training zonesis a term used to understand certain percentages of your maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is nothing more than the highest number of beats per minute at which your heart can pump blood at maximum load. What heart rate zones do we distinguish and what do they mean?

Heart as a driving force in every discipline

Every athlete, regardless of their discipline, knows that a properly functioning heart is the basis for planning physical effort. Subsequent beats of the heart muscle pump blood containing nutrients into the cells of our body, which allow us to maintain the continuity of work.

The uniqueness of the heart lies in the fact that it works not only completely independently of our will (thanks to the conductive system), but also at a pace adjusted to the current demand for oxygen and energy compounds. The following are primarily responsible for the efficient work of the heart:

  • sympathetic nervous system - increases the heart rate and the strength of heart contraction,
  • parasympathetic nervous system - inhibits the action potential of the heart.

The stimulation of one or the other system is caused not only by physical exertion, but also by weakening the organism by disease, a stressful event or overtraining and fatigue.

Of course, no organism's heart can accelerate or slow down indefinitely. Everyone's heart rate range will be different and will depend on a number of different factors, such as:

  • training status,
  • straining the body with effort,
  • age,
  • gender,
  • temperature,
  • altitude above sea level.

Record low heart rate is noted primarily in athletes training disciplinesendurance over very long distances (ultra running, triathlon, cycling, mountain running). This is due to the adaptation of the cardiovascular and nervous systems to low-intensity, high-volume exercise. As a result, the body copes perfectly with the aerobic exercise and does not have to involve the full exercise capacity of the heart.

It is assumed that the wider the heart rate range (the interval between the minimum and maximum heart rate), the better the body is trained.

What is maximum heart rate and how to calculate it?

The upper limit for the heart rate is called maximum heart rate (also known as HR Max). This is the maximum number of beats your heart can beat in one minute. In practice, several formulas are used to determine it:

  • HR Max=220-age - the simplest formula, which, according to sports physiologists, works only for 30% of the population,
  • HR MAx=202.5-0.53x Age,
  • HR Max=202 - (0.55 times the age) - men or 216 - (109 times the age) - women.

It should be remembered, however, that these are algorithms with a greater or lesser error threshold. Each of us is really different, so if you want to get results tailored to your capabilities, you have two options:

  • you can use the services of the fitness laboratory, where you will be subjected to a series of physical tests consisting in gradually increasing the intensity of exercise until you refuse to continue working.
  • you can use a heart rate monitor with a running or cycling fitness test.

Both methods are good and will also help determine a number of other values ​​important for an athlete of endurance disciplines, such as VO2 max, threshold pace or generated power.

When measuring with a watch, one more thing should be noted.

Currently, most sports watches use a photoplethysmography (PPG) OHR sensor to measure heart rate. It is a very convenient technology that does not require the use of additional devices, and the measurement itself takes place directly from the wrist. The effect of variable absorption of light waves is measured by optical sensors and the result is displayed on the watch screen as a number. There is, however, a problem here.

Despite the several years of development of mobile PPG sensors, it is still an imperfect technology. Runners or cyclists certainly know that the heart rate measured "from the wrist" not only changes with a delay, but also the values ​​do not adapt smoothly to the load.

An alternative solution is to useheart rate belts. These are special sensors mounted on the chest, which are equipped with a sensor that monitors electrical discharges generated by the heart muscle.

The belt communicates with the watch wirelessly (usually using ANT + or Bluetooth). Although it is certainly less convenient than a heart rate monitor, it gives much more accurate results.

Why measure maximum heart rate?

What actually gives physically active people the ability to measure maximum heart rate? First of all, it allows you to graduate the effort. Contrary to appearances, the body's adaptation to effort occurs on several levels simultaneously and does not occur only with the highest possible effort.

On the contrary, many changes in the energy management of the muscular system are associated with a seemingly low level of training intensity.

This is a trap that often falls into not only beginners, but also overly ambitious people. It turns out that the assumption that each workout must be done 110% of the way is a big mistake that will result in stagnation or injury sooner than progress.

What are the training zones?

Most popular sources tell you that there are five training zones. In fact, professional trainers distinguish as many as seven because the most intense zone five is divided into three sub-zones, but for most people this division will unnecessarily complicate the measurement.

Each training zone corresponds to a certain percentage of your maximum heart rate. This is why its designation is so important. What should you know about each heart rate zone?

  • Zone I

Active regeneration zone. It corresponds to a load of 50-60% of maximum heart rate. You can keep it for hours of effort.

  • Zone II

A range that is conducive to improving overall endurance and teaching muscles to use mainly fat as fuel. Corresponds to 60-70% of maximum heart rate.

  • Zone III

The moderate exercise zone helps to improve aerobic endurance. Corresponds to a range of 70-80% of maximum heart rate.

  • Zone IV

Corresponds to 80-90% of maximum heart rate and is responsible for improving muscle endurance.

  • Zone V

The highest attainable level of effort for a given person. It is based on the use of 90-100% of the potential. This range is where power and speed are shaped. In zone five, you will be able to train for no more than a few minutes (it is much more likely to be several dozenseconds).

It is worth remembering that training in all five zones does not make sense for every person and will bring real benefits. This applies especially to beginner athletes who have not prepared their body to a sufficient extent and their body is not ready for a very high load.

Shaping a sports form resembles putting up a pyramid - the most space in the plan should be devoted to building general endurance and oxygen base, and only at a later stage to supplement it with the so-called special endurance or speed.

Why do training zones matter?

Skilful interweaving of lighter and harder workouts allows you to maintain constant progress and proper regeneration of the body. But that's not all. Staying in each of the training zones is responsible for a specific type of physiological adaptation and strengthening of a specific type of muscle fibers. What can you expect by consciously training in zones one to five?

The less you use your maximum heart rate, the longer you will be able to train and the more fuel you will get from fat. As fatigue increases or fatigue builds up, the proportion of fatty acids in generating energy will decline and glucose will increase.

Which zones you should train in ultimately depends on your target discipline. While sprinters primarily shape power and speed (i.e. training in the two highest zones), marathon runners, and especially ultramarathon runners, rarely enter the third training zone, focusing mainly on the first two frets.

Note that in practice it is not possible to train both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism to the same extent, since they are opposite functions. Not only that, slower runs will use mainly slow twitch fibers, and fast workouts, fast twitch fibers.

Directing training sessions in one direction will make their effectiveness increase over time. To do this consciously, however, you need to measure your training zones. Otherwise, you doom yourself to "feel" training, which often leads you astray.

Who benefits most from measuring their heart rate zones?

Heart rate zones are a concept that representatives of endurance disciplines eagerly refer to, such as :

  • long distance runners,
  • cyclists,
  • triathletes,
  • swimrunnerzy,
  • rowers.

Does this mean that measuring heart rate for sports that dominate the strength component (e.g. bodybuilding) does not make sense? It turns out thatnot really. This is due to the peculiarities of the human circulatory system. Simply explosive efforts are too short to produce the effect of an increase in heart rate.

A single series of lifting weights will make you fatigue the local muscle group much faster than you will stimulate the heart to work faster.

Crossfit, for example, in which individual exercises are often performed on time, looks a bit different. Then, despite working with weights, you will certainly notice an increase in your heart rate.

Skillful use of training zones allows for conscious control of individual components of training so that the exercises bring exactly the benefits we want. Over time, you will learn to recognize how you feel about a certain training load. However, nothing can replace precise measurements that allow you to adjust the intensity of exercise to your needs on an ongoing basis.

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ABC of exercises