Understanding Heart Rate Zones and Methods to Determine Yours

Uncovering Heart Rate Zones Secrets: A Step-by-Step Guide to Determining Your Own

Workin' Out: Heart Rate Zones Demystified

Let's talk heart rate zones - which ain't just about knowing how hard you're working during your cardio sessions, like running, cycling, or stair climbing, but mostly about running. Yep, this is all about running. Now, before you lace up those kicks, let me clear the air - heart rate zones are irrelevant for weight lifting, even if your fancy watch keeps telling you they matter.

"Cardio" Ain't Just About Run DMC

"Cardio" means doing the same ole rhythmic movement again and again. Yes, we're not talking about shadowboxing or one-arm pushups here.

Easing In as a Newbie

Don't get swayed by all the talk about heart rate zones, especially if you're new to exercise or new to monitors. Focus more on how you're feeling during your workouts. An easy jog should feel easy, and a hard one should leave you huffin' and puffin'.

Over time, as you keep an eye on your heart rate, you'll start to sync feelings with numbers. Knowing that 140 pops up on your watch when you're in the middle of an easy jog means more than knowing your device considers it as "zone 2."

Zone workouts are tricky for beginners, and here are a few reasons why:

Your zones might be challenging to stick to, especially the lower ones like Zone 2. If your heart rate shoots up to Zone 4 the moment you start jogging, a Zone 2 jog might be a tall order right now.
Your zones might not be properly calibrated. An accurate max heart rate (MHR) is necessary for setting your zones right, and an age-based formula isn't always accurate.
There are more important things to focus on than sticking to zones, especially when your brain cells are better spent learning technique, pacing, and other skills.

Remember, your watch tells you about your heart rate because it's easy for the watch to measure, not because it's crucial for you to pay attention to.

Sweet App-ocolypse

Multiple heart rate zone systems exist, and each app or wearable might plot the zones differently. Even if two systems use a five-zone setup, they might set the zone boundaries in different places. Some systems use 60% to 70% for Zone 2, while others opt for 65% to 75%.

The different systems also disagree on what those percentages represent. Sometimes, it's the MHR, but other times, it's heart rate reserve (HRR), or even lactate threshold.

Flowers in the Five-Zone Garden

Here's a simple five-zone system you'll find in various apps and wearables. Before you dive in, remember that this is not the single, end-all system.

Zone 1: Between 50% to 60% of MHR, but some systems might go up to 65%
Zone 2: 61% to 70% of MHR, with some systems going up to 75%
Zone 3: 71% to 80%, or it might be more like 76% to 85%
Zone 4: 80% to 90%, or sometimes 85% to 95%
Zone 5: All the way up to 100%

Zone 1 is reserve for warm-ups or easy recovery between intervals. Zone 2 is for easy aerobic training, like a leisurely jog. Zone 3 is for stuff that feels medium-intense, like a faster jog that tires you out after an hour or so. Zone 4 is where things get intense, usually for just a few minutes at a time, and Zone 5 is your absolute top speed, which you can only stand for a few grueling seconds.

The Four-Zone Frenzy

Four-zone systems cover the same ground, but divide it into fewer, larger chunks. They usually do this by combining the first two zones. The breakdown is usually:

Zone 1: Anything below 70% (or 75%)
Zone 2: 71% to 80% (or sometimes 76% to 85%)
Zone 3: 81% to 90% (or 86% to 95%)
Zone 4: Everything up to 100%

Easy-effort endurance work is typically done in Zone 1 (as opposed to warming up in Zone 1 and considering the workout itself as Zone 2). Zone 2 is for medium efforts, Zone 3 for hard efforts, and Zone 4 for absolutely brutal, short intervals.

Maxin' Out Your MHR

Now that you know the zones, you're missing just one thing - your MHR, the foundation of all zone systems. Formulas, such as subtracting your age from 220, are often off-base. These formulas assume every person at the same age has the same max heart rate, but we all know that ain't true. So don't rely on a formula, especially if you see zones that don't fit with how a workout felt.

Ideally, get a max heart rate test done, or estimate your max based on the highest heart rate your device recorded during one of your hardest workouts.

Feeling the Burn

You can make a quick reality check on your zones by ensuring they feel right:

Zone 1 will feel ridiculously easy, hardly like you're exercising at all.
In Zone 2, you'll start to feel hot and sweaty, but chatty casual.
In Zone 3, your breathing will get heavier. Lower Zone 3 feels chatty, but if you climb up, you'll find yourself gasping for words.
In Zone 4, you're working hard and no longer in the mood to chat. But you might feel like you can keep this effort up for a while, or a few more minutes at least.
Zone 5 is your ultimate top speed, and you can only stand it for a few excruciating seconds.

If you're unsure about your max heart rate, use this effort-level guide for a while. When you finally nail down a workout that calls for Zone 5, give it everything you got - then check your heart rate monitor to see what number it gave you.

As a beginner, it's probably best to focus on feelings during workouts rather than heart rate zones, as understanding the numbers comes over time.
Science suggests that heart rate zone training can be beneficial for a health-and-wellness routine, with zone 2 being used for easy aerobic training, like a leisurely jog.
While different apps and wearables might plot heart rate zones differently, the five-zone system often includes zone 1 for easy recovery or warm-ups, zone 2 for easy aerobic training, zone 3 for medium-intense exercises, zone 4 for intense efforts, and zone 5 for all-out speed.
Achieving the right heart rate zone can be challenging for beginners, especially when aiming for lower zones like zone 2, and it's important to remember that an accurate max heart rate (MHR) is necessary for setting zones correctly.
When it comes to fitness-and-exercise, being happy and enjoying the process is just as important as following heart rate zone training, so don't get too caught up in the numbers or the zone systems.