Based on your maximum heart rate you aim for the following Target Heart Rates :
Target Heart Rate 1 : Max Heart Rate - 50 beats
Target Heart Rate 2 : Max Heart Rate - 40 beats
Target Heart Rate 3 : Max Heart Rate - 30 beats
Target Heart Rate 4 : Max Heart Rate - 20 beats
Target Heart Rate 5 : Max Heart Rate - 10 beats
It is impossible to aim for exactly one heart rate when you are running. Therefore you use heart rate zones.
The lower end of the zone is :
Your target heart rate minus five beats.
The higher end of the zone is :
Your target heart rate plus five beats.
So the heart rate monitor training zones are as follows:
Zone 1 : Target Heart Rate 1 minus and plus five beats.
Zone 2 : Target Heart Rate 2 minus and plus five beats.
Zone 3 : Target Heart Rate 3 minus and plus five beats.
Zone 4 : Target Heart Rate 4 minus and plus five beats.
Zone 5 : Target Heart Rate 5 minus and plus five beats.
SIDEBAR
It's all simple maths, but for clearness sake, I’ll explain the zones based on a personal example:
I myself have got a maximum heart beat of 195.
My heart rate zones, according to Zoladz are:
Zone 1 : 140 to 150 bpm
Zone 2 : 150 to 160 bpm
Zone 3 : 160 to 170 bpm
Zone 4 : 170 to 180 bpm
Zone 5 : 180 to 190 bpm
Zone 1 is what I use for most of my long runs and for recovery runs.
Zone 2 is my easy run pace.
Zone 3 is my tempo run pace.
Zone 4 is my interval pace.
Zone 5 is hardly ever touched by me in training. Only when I decide I want to go flat out at the end of a training session.
Oh, I almost forget. In between Zone 2 and Zone 3 I have identified my steady state pace. Pretty much half marathon pace for me. So that is what I call Zone 2 ½ with a range from 155 to 165 beats per minute.
As you see, the calculations for the Zoladz heart rate monitor training zones are not that difficult.
I have, however, added a
Zoladz Heart Rate Training Zones Calculator
to my site for your convenience. Feel free to try.
A method much more used in heart rate monitor training is the method of Karvonen. The
Karvonen method
uses both your maximum heart rate and your rest heart rate.
I prefer the method of Zoladz.
It is simpler. After all you only need your maximum heart rate.
I have done quite a bit of testing at all kinds of different paces and heart rate ranges. I have identified these zones as surprisingly accurate. So that’s why I go Zoladz !
Whichever method has your preference your heart rate monitor is a nice tool to have. But you need to know how to use it. I hope this section helped you in this regard !
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