Every runner needs a way to measure how hard he is pushing himself towards his goal. Heart rate zones are one of the best objective methods of monitoring the intensity of your training. They are determined individually for every person and are relative to your maximum heart rate.
There are five running heart rate zones which all come with their own benefits and all five of them serve a different purpose. Understanding how and when to train in each one of them is going to be key to your future success and will also keep you in optimal shape. Using those zones in your workout is often called zone-training. These zones are also closely related to your body’s aerobic and anaerobic capacities.
Before you get into any of those zones, it is important to understand how to determine each of them for your own body. You must also learn where you need to draw the line in terms of the maximum pressure your cardiovascular system can take.
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Some Important Metrics To Keep In Mind
There are two very important metrics when it comes to zone training:
- Your resting heart rate
- Your maximum heart rate
Both of these rates are measured in bpm (beats per minute).
The resting heart rate is measured when you’ve spent at least 30 minutes at one place and are in total emotional and physical calmness. It is best to measure it after you wake up before you get out of bed.
The maximum heart rate (MHR) signifies the upper limit of your cardiovascular system’s capabilities during a workout.
There are many ways to measure your MHR but the most widely accepted one is to take the number 220 and subtract your age from it. If you are 40 years old, your maximum heart rate will be 180. This means that going over 180bpm is putting an unnecessary amount of strain on your heart and might cause cardiovascular deficiency since the needs of your body surpass the capabilities of your heart.
Some of the best methods to measure your heart rate is either using a good fitness tracker with an HR sensor or a chest heart rate monitor (more accurate).
Which Are The Five Heart Rate Zones?
Before we dive into each individual zone, it is important to really boil down the calculation process. There are many zone variations used for runners, all having different formulas to correctly figure out your ideal heart rate. Some variations use 4 zones while others (more frequent) use 5 zones. In this one, each zone represents a percentage of your HRMax as it follows:
- Zone 1 – 50-60% of your HRMax
- Zone 2 – 60-70% of your HRMax
- Zone 3 – 70-80% of your HRMax
- Zone 4 – 80-90% of your HRMax
- Zone 5 – >90% of your HRMax
So, let’s take a look at one example to really get an idea of how they’re calculated. As we said, let’s imagine the runner is 40 years old. 220 minus 40 equals 180 so that is the HRMax with which we will work with. Now, all the different zones will look like this:
- Zone 1 – 50-60% of your HRMax = 90 – 108 bpm
- Zone 2 – 60-70% of your HRMax = 108-125 bpm
- Zone 3 – 70-80% of your HRMax = 125-144 bpm
- Zone 4 – 80-90% of your HRMax = 144-162 bpm
- Zone 5 – >90% of your HRMax = 162-180 bpm
If that is too hard to remember, some online calculators allow you to calculate and then print or download a pdf document which you can put on your wall and go through every time you want to go for a run or want to do some zone-training. In a few weeks you will memorize these metrics. On top of that, if you use a heart rate tracker you will soon learn what each zone feels like in terms of breathing rate, sweating, and even pain.
Now, as we mentioned, each zone has a different purpose. Let’s now go through them all and see how each one helps you enhance your body endurance and performance.
Zone 1 (Very Light)
The first zone is very light training. If you are already a few weeks into your training schedule, your cardiovascular system will get into that zone right from the moment you start moving (walking or warming up).
This zone is perfect for people that look to improve their aerobic conditioning (muscle work during an excess of oxygen) and endurance. Low-intensity exercises where you can easily control your heart rate are ideal here. Walking, running or swimming slowly are great for that purpose.
Zone 1 is also called the fat-burning zone since you will burn fats very efficiently here. It is also perfect for recovery either after the workout, the next day, or even in the workout itself as a way to rest for a bit.
Don’t worry about easily going above this zone at first. That is something untrained people struggle with a lot but you will soon be able to control it and not get your heart rate higher than it when you start warming up or exercising slightly. The more endurance you build up the lower your heart rate will be during workouts and that is the one true signal for proper progress.