Useful Heart Rate Zones for Cyclists: A Guide

In 1977, Finnish company Polar invented the wireless heart rate monitor to help their cross-country skiing team win big races. At the time being this was a revolution that changed the game in endurance sports from only training on feel to looking at one key endurance metric. However, huge commercial interest didn’t start before 1983. It took 6 years and a huge interest in interval training for sales to start scaling in public.

And still almost 50 years after its invention, *heart rate monitors remain a constant in todays fast moving world. Yet, many athletes, and cyclists in particular, don’t know how to handle a heart rate monitor, how to get the most out of it, and others simply substituted it with a power meter. 

However, I would argue that a heart rate monitor is a powerful tool. I mean obviously, there will always be your heart. So let me share what I’ve learned so far about setting training zones and using heart rate as an advantage and not another data flow. 

Why You Should Avoid Equations 

Let’s clear one thing right off the bat: Avoid using an equation to get your maximal heart rate or threshold heart rate or whatever they tell you it is on the web. For instance, if you search the internet for heart rate equations you find some referring to your age, gender, or zodiac sign to obtain a crossing point in heart rate. Apparently, 220 minus your age being the most famous one. 

The truth, though, is far from 220 minus your age. Take pro triathlete Lionel Sanders for example. His heart rate peaks at 166 bpm while mine peaks at 194 bpm on the bike. Some athletes naturally have higher heart rates, others have lower heart rates. 

This is because we’re all individuals. And we have to take this into account if we want to use heart rate monitors according to their intention. 

---

Follow me on Instagram for more Cycling Content.

---

What Heart Rate Is and Isn’t

Heart rate tells you how intensely you’re working. It’s your body’s response to intensity. On its own it doesn’t tell you anything about performance. As mentioned earlier, heart rate is individual. Therefore, the winner of a race and the last place finisher can have the same heart rate during that race. High heart rates don’t win races. You don’t know how fast you’re going based on heart rate. 

The only thing your heart tells you is how much effort is going into the workout. And it’s pretty good at it. So even today, a heart rate monitor is one of the best tools we have to precisely measure effort. 

Accordingly, heart rate is similar to your perceived effort (RPE), just more objective. 

Finding Your Maximum Heart Rate

As we talked about individuality you have a maximal heart rate that is individual to you. It is necessary, therefore, that you find that point where your heart rate peaks. 

This is also what a study on triathletes wanted to answer. They looked at max heart rate data in the lab, the field, and real races.  So, they took 16 *triathletes at an age of 20-39 years, training 18 hours weekly, with a VO2max of 58 ml/min/kg through several performance tests. In particular, 5 lab tests run on a treadmill with a 1% incline, 5 field tests, and 5 races. 

Let’s look at each approach in more detail. 

The 5 lab tests:

1. Traditional incremental test to exhaustion with a 10 minute warm at 10 km/h, 2 minute increase to 80% 3 km speed, 1 minute stage increases to exhaustion
2. Run to exhaustion at 82% vVo2max
3. Run to exhaustion at 86% vVo2max
4. Run to exhaustion at 89% vVo2max
5. Run to exhaustion at 92% vVo2max

The 5 field tests: 

1. 12 minutes Cooper test
2. 5 minute all-out run
3. Run to exhaustion at 94% vVo2max
4. University of Montreal track test
5. Brue test

The road races in the following order within 3 months: 

1. 7.5 km race
2. 5 km race
3. 10 km race
4. Another 10 km race
5. 15 km race

Use What Works for You

In total participants had to complete 15 different tests to determine peak heart rate data. Now, if you asked yourself what the Montreal track test is, it goes as follows: You complete the test on a 400 meter track to create a controlled setting, where you run until voluntary exhaustion with a heart rate monitor of course. You start at walking pace and every 2 minutes the speed increases by 1.2 km/h until you can no longer hold the current stage. 

Anyway, when we look at the results of the lab first, it comes out that the traditional incremental test was the only lab test to elicit max heart rate. The other 4 fell short of it. However, lactate levels were a lot lower compared to the traditional test, meaning they simply didn’t go as deep.

Sadly, the paper doesn’t provide insides for each field test. In general, however, 7 out of 16 triathletes reached their max heart rate in the field, with 4 others being less than 4 beats off compared to other tests. 

Now, during the races most of the participants were able to hit max heart rate in the 5k race. So it seems like 15-20 minutes is a pretty good effort to reach your limit. Think like a standard 20 minute FTP test. Also, for some the 10k worked well to hit max heart rate. However, the 15k race seemed to be too long to approach the heart’s limit. 

All in all, at mean all performance tests let participants more or less to max heart rate. What is important is that you find your way to hit max heart rate. For me it’s a race, where I sprint for the last 20 seconds of the race. For you it might be a lung-searing 5 minute test, a 20 minute test or a shorter time trial. 

Finally, we should consider the following points that will guide our individual Heart rate variation:

• Acute day-to-day fatigue (Rested performance gives highest max hr)
• Chronic fitness level or trained vs untrained max hr
• Exercise modality like run vs bike vs swim etc. 
• Long-term age-related decline 

Now that you established your maximal heart rate it’s time to derive training zones. 

---

Easy and Proven Plans to become a Faster Cyclist, start below:

1. RV General Preparation 1 on 6 hours, 10 hours, or 15 hours
2. RV General Preparation 2 on 6 hours, 10 hours, or 15 hours
3. RV Increase Your FTP on 6 hours, 10 hours, or 15 hours

---

Training Zones According to Your Heart

Before we get into the heart rate zone system, I first want you to understand why we need zones at all. Ultimately, we need training zones based on max heart rate to identify the intensity we are working at and the stress we put on our bodies. Essentially, there are two physiological breakpoints: The first lactate threshold (LT1), or aerobic threshold, and the second lactate threshold (LT2). Training below, between, or above these thresholds will have a different effect on muscle fiber recruitment and therefore lead to a slightly different exercise stimuli. And it’s these two thresholds that define the boundaries for training zones.

Furthermore, intensity and duration are inversely related, meaning that if one goes up the other goes down. Following this, zones will help you plan appropriate stress in your sessions. 

Now, what scientists around the globe agree on is that around 80-90% of our training time should be easy, done below LT1. Training zones will ensure you do so. Easy sessions create a lot of positive adaptations and ensure you can go harder on your hard days. 

I suggest you use the 5 zone system I adapted from the Norwegian Olympic Committee that the scientific world also largely adapted. This is because the maxHr% used in this system relate to the two thresholds and lactate data. I just revised it to fit the standard Coggan 6-zones model I use.

I’ll give you a quick overview and then we will cover each one with their intended purpose. Additionally, I will give you example sessions along the way. 

Useful Heart Rate Zones for Cyclists

• Zone 1 or Recovery: <60% of maxHr, blood lactate around resting levels
• Zone 2 LIT or Endurance: 60-72% of maxHr, blood lactate below <1.5 mmol/l,
• Zone 3 MIT or Tempo: 73-82% of maxHr, blood lactate 1.5-2.5 mmol/l, moderate intensity
• Zone 4 MIT or LT2: 83-87% of maxHr, blood lactate 2.5-4 mmol/l, natural interval training
• Zone 5 HIT or VO2max: 88-92% of maxHr, blood lactate 4-6 mmol/l, long HIT intervals
• Zone 6 HIT or Lactate Tolerance: >93% of maxHr, blood lactate 6-10 mmol/l, short HIT Intervals

Zone 1 or Recovery

I added the recovery zone even though it’s not part of the Norwegian system. Nevertheless I want to mention it to add some context. Honestly, there is no recovery zone at all. Yet, recovery rides won’t add any or much fatigue while being mentally refreshing. Such rides will help you increase training frequency and weekly volume at a low cost. That being said, if you want to recover properly, stay at home and work on your sleep schedule. 

Workout prescription

• RPE: 1
• % maxHr: <60% maxHr
• Typical duration: 30 minutes – 2 hours

Zone 2 or Endurance

Exercising at zone 2 feels easy and sustainable and is done below your aerobic threshold. You should be able to keep conversations and can maintain that intensity for several hours. Basically, your all day pace. Translated to power zones, think of zone 2 endurance rides.

Workout prescription

• RPE: 2-3 
• % maxHr: 60-72% 
• Typical duration: 1-7 hours

Zone 3 or Tempo

This is your typical tempo pace. Now you should apply pressure on the pedals and your focus will increase due to increased speed. In this zone you work slightly above your aerobic threshold. It’s a moderate pace that can be maintained over an hour or several hours for very fit cyclists. 

Workout prescription

• RPE: 4-5 
• % maxHr: 73-82% 
• Typical duration: 40-120 minutes continuously, 10-40 minutes in interval sets

Zone 4 or LT2

Now things get serious as you’re working on your LT2. You feel that you can’t maintain that pace for long, probably around 30-70 minutes. As a result, you are better off breaking the workout into intervals or less continuous work. 

Workout prescription

• RPE: 6-7 
• % maxHr: 83-87% 
• Typical duration: 30-70 minutes continuously, 5-20 minutes in interval sets
• Recovery between intervals at 25-50% of work intensity

Zone 5 or VO2max

This is the pace above your second lactate threshold or LT2. You can’t maintain that for long and reach exhaustion quickly, which is why intervals are rather short in duration. These intervals will strengthen your heart muscle and heavily work on your oxygen consumption. Also, talking isn’t possible and carbohydrate consumption is high. 

Workout prescription

• RPE: 8-9
• %maxHr: 88-92%
• Typical duration: Intervals of 2-4 minutes, or intermittent intervals of 30/30s, 40/20s repeated for several sets

Zone 6 or Lactate Tolerance

Now we are approaching our limits. Heart rate reacts delayed due to the very short but all-out nature of the intervals. There is no need to pace yourself as you can only maintain that pace for up to 90 seconds. 

Workout prescription

• RPE: 10
• %maxHr: >93%
• Typical duration: 6-90 seconds

The Potential of The Heart 

Apparently, heart rate is affected by many factors. For example, core temperature, caffeine, nervousness, hydration status, fatigue, and elevation all have an impact on your heart rate. It is, therefore, crucial to keep that in mind and track changes over a long course. 

Additionally, heart rate doesn’t tell you how fast you are going. So you always need to put your heart rate in relation to other factors. With a power meter you can track changes in your heart rate over time that will translate into a better economy. For example, heart rate will be lower at the same power or same at a higher power. In this regard you can track improvements in your performance. Heart rate is great at telling you how hard you’re working. You can, therefore, compare your heart rate for efforts at a given segment and track your speeds, your power, and your rating of perceived exertion along it. This will give a broad view around your progress. 

And now I wish you some lung searing testing to find your maximal heart rate.

Things You Should Know

A heart rate monitor should be accurate and reliable. This is the one I find a very good choice: *Polar H9 Heart Rate Monitor

Follow me on Instagram for more Cycling Content.

If you seek inspiration for useful interval sessions, intensity distribution, or simply a plan to guide you, I encourage you to check out my specific offseason, base, and build training plans on TrainingPeaks. Just click here.

Studies Used in This Article

1. Median maximal heart rate for heart rate calibration in different conditions: laboratory, field and competition
2. Stability of the blood lactate-heart rate relationship in competitive athletes
3. Training Session Models in Endurance Sports: A Norwegian Perspective on Best Practice Recommendations
4. It’s about the long game, not epic workouts: unpacking HIIT for endurance athletes
5. Influence of Interval Training Frequency on Time-Trial Performance in Elite Endurance Athletes
6. What is Best Practice for Training Intensity and Duration Distribution in Endurance Athletes?
7. The Training Characteristics of World-Class Distance Runners: An Integration of Scientific Literature and Results-Proven Practice
8. World-Class Long-Distance Running Performances Are Best Predicted by Volume of Easy Runs and Deliberate Practice of Short-Interval and Tempo Runs
9. Training Periodization, Methods, Intensity Distribution, and Volume in Highly Trained and Elite Distance Runners: A Systematic Review

Ad Hint for Asterisk Link

*Asterisks are affiliate links from services and gear I use and love. If you take action (i.e. make a purchase) I’ll earn some coffee money which I promise to drink while you enjoy the content and offers. You don’t pay a higher price though.