Why do we actually specifie Athletes heart rate and power zones?
In each of the zones, different changes occur in the body during training.
Zone ranges are a conventional, generalized thing.
As a matter of fact, one coach can use the scheme of THREE training zones, another, who wants to plan the training in more detail, can develop even TEN of them.
JacaCoach works with athlets based on EIGHT training zones, however, for a competitor who does not train under the supervision of a coach, I can recommend the 5 zones scheme, which I will present below.
The key here is the FTP test in the 20-minute version. It involves riding 20 minutes at maximum intensity, and measuring the average heart rate and power during this effort.
We estimate that anaerobic processes begin to occur around the average values obtained in the test reduced by 5%.
Example:
Test time: 20 minutes
Average heart rate: 170 bpm
Average power: 320 watts
Estimated moment of acidification of the body (mentioned -5%)
Average heart rate: 162 bpm
Average power: 304 watts
How to calculate my heart rate and power zones based on given data?
Heart Rate Zones
Zone 1: 60-80% (of 162 bpm)
Zone 2: 81-87%
Zone 3: 88-93%
Zone 4: 94-100%
Zone 5: +100%
Power Zones
Zone 1: >55% (of 304W)
Zone 2: 56-75%
Zone 3: 75-90%
Zone 4: 91-105%
Zone 5: +106%
What do we train, what skills do we develop in the following zones? These are topics for separate publications.