We explain why using your pulse rate to fine-tune your training can help you reap big fitness rewards, and how to do it <\/p>
When people typically make their first foray into triathlon, motivation is high while fitness is low. It\u2019s a combination that means large gains can be made in a relatively short period, which helps to embed the philosophy that hard work pays dividends.<\/strong><\/p>\n But while it\u2019s true to an extent, those who stick with endurance sport soon learn a harsh lesson: tri life isn\u2019t fair. The \u2018go hard or go home\u2019 approach might sound productive, but increasing your effort doesn\u2019t automatically equate to increased improvement.<\/p>\n The fitter your get, the smaller the margins for improvement become, so measuring and understanding your effort is paramount \u2013 not only for reaping the benefits of training but also for controlling fatigue.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to enter the world of training zones<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever spoken to other triathletes or picked up a copy of 220<\/em>, you\u2019ll have heard or seen terminology along the lines of \u20182hr bike, zone 1\u2019 or \u201860min run, zone 2\u2019.<\/p>\n The prescribed zones are there to help athletes understand the effort required for the session yet can bamboozle even the most ardent multisport scholar. But the zone system really isn\u2019t that complicated.<\/p>\n \u201cZones simply define the target effort and allow you to assess that effort through monitoring,\u201d says coach Joe Beer.<\/p>\n Training zones are inextricably linked to heart rate. The harder you push, the faster your blood is pumped and although you can base your training on perceived effort, it\u2019s difficult to control precisely as all too often ego gets in the way.<\/p>\n \u201cElite athletes might do a lot of training<\/a> <\/strong>on feel because they\u2019re very attuned to their bodies but lots of age-groupers say they\u2019re going to train steady and find they can\u2019t hold back,\u201d Beer continues. \u201cHeart rate is the best measure. It\u2019s the same principle as a car\u2019s tachometer \u2013 it shows you how fast your motor is \u2018revving\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Measuring your heart rate without understanding leaves us no further forward, though.<\/p>\n And it was this that led physiologist Stephen Seiler to study the training and performance characteristics of 21 Norwegian international-level rowers using retrospective heart rate data from 1970-2001.<\/p>\n Seiler noted the rowers\u2019 maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max<\/strong><\/a>) increased 12% and their 6min rowing performance increased by almost 10% thanks to increasing their base training from 30 to 50 hours a month, and decreasing their race pace work from 23 to seven hours a month.<\/p>\n His findings suggested that training long and slow could pay dividends.<\/p>\n Yet even if we accept our workouts should be split into zones based on heart rate ranges, how many zones do we need and how should we divide our time between them?<\/p>\n Delving into the internet provides a muddled selection of answers. There are many proponents of five, six, seven and even eight zone systems with fluctuating upper and lower limits.<\/p>\n Complicating matters further is a wide variety of labels given to these zones, such as recovery, endurance, economy and speed \u2013 all of which are nebulous terms without knowing the reasoning behind them.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of different ways to subdivide the zones,\u201d Beer adds. \u201cBut much of it is nit-picking. For the beginner, suggesting that altering your heart rate by three beats per minute will lead to a big change is untrue.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving three zones gives people a base zone, competition zone and high-intensity zone, and there are very different perceptions of effort and physiological changes in each.\u201d<\/p>\n With Joe\u2019s help, here we\u2019ll look at each of these three zones in more detail and prescribe sessions where applicable.<\/p>\n A few simple sums will help you set your target effort ranges to train precisely. Beer believes the smartest way to work out your HRmax is to look at the heart rate data you collect from training and races.<\/p>\n The reason being not everyone can push themselves to the limit for the sake of a test so there may be another five beats per minute you didn\u2019t realise you had.<\/p>\n \u201cI like people to build up a spectrum of numbers,\u201d says Joe. \u201cA 20min hard effort will be about 90% of your maximum, so after a while these results pull together to give you a range.<\/p>\n \u201cA simple test if you\u2019re a beginner is to ride while breathing only through your nose and accelerate until you need to open your mouth to get enough oxygen.<\/p>\n \u2018At which point your heart rate should be around 80% of your HRmax. Divide that number by 80 and multiply the result by 100 to work out what your maximum is.\u201d<\/p>\n Alternatively, you can do 2 x 3min runs at max effort with 2mins easy jogging in between. Take the highest HR reading from the second 3min effort as the max. You should be warmed up and in good health before performing this though. \u201cKeep it simple,\u201d says Joe Beer. \u201cThere\u2019s lots to learn from looking at your HR data but many athletes are confused by the technology. All you need is a device that lets you download the results.\u201d<\/p>\n Heart rate monitors can be picked up from as little as \u00a35 and use various methods of recording your pulse, but most athletes favour devices that use a chest strap that fastens around the sternum.<\/p>\n The data collected by the monitor is displayed (and stored) on a compatible device, sometimes a bike computer<\/strong><\/a> or sports watch.<\/p>\n This is defined as less than 80% of HRmax. For example: under 160bpm if your HRmax is 200bpm.<\/p>\n \u201cMost endurance athletes will train in zone one (Z1) for the majority of the time,\u201d says Beer. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have a heart rate monitor<\/strong><\/a>, just try to hold an effort that allows you to breathe through your nose.\u201d<\/p>\n Z1 is pure aerobic work where you start to gently stress your body. It\u2019s not a place to start competing with your training partners, which is where it can be mentally challenging for beginners.<\/p>\n The effort will often feel far too easy, especially for novices who might find they have to slow down significantly to stay below 80% of the HRmax.<\/p>\n Have faith though, because as your fitness improves, you\u2019ll get more speed for the same effort. That\u2019s how elite triathletes can seem to be training at full throttle the entire time; like the rest of us they\u2019re spending around 80% of their time in Z1, but their Z1 is a lot faster because they\u2019re so fit.<\/p>\n Is there a bottom to Z1? Not once you\u2019re off the couch, believes Beer:<\/p>\n \u201cEffective endurance training can still be done in bike sessions<\/a><\/strong> at 55-60% of HRmax. You\u2019re doing more work than you realise.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re sitting down you burn about 60 calories an hour. If you run at just 5mph, it would be about 600 calories. You\u2019re certainly not going to get overtrained at 55%, but you probably aren\u2019t going to be able to hold it that low either.\u201d<\/p>\n Z1 training can be sustained almost indefinitely but should be appropriate to your race distance.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re going to be competing in a sprint triathlon<\/strong><\/a>, a two-hour training ride is going to be about three times as long as the bike leg on race day. So be smart when planning sessions.<\/p>\n 6 x 100m front crawl (FC) as 2 lengths swim, 2 kick, 2 pull buoy; 20sec rest interval (RI).<\/p>\n 100\/200\/300\/400\/300\/200\/100 FC. Consistent effort and pace; 10secs<\/p>\n RI every 100m. For example 100 = 10sec RI, 200 = 20sec RI.<\/p>\n 8 x 50m. Easy pace, 20sec RI.<\/p>\n 30-60min rollers<\/strong><\/a>, focus on keeping in middle 30cm of roller, try to practise the following (in order of difficulty): moving hands from bends, tops, hoods, aerobars<\/a><\/strong>, reaching for bottle<\/strong><\/a>, drinking from bottle.<\/p>\n Double run in the morning \u2013 45mins really easy, relaxed pace, but fast feet for 30m every 5mins.<\/p>\n Afternoon \u2013 45mins as 15mins easy, 15mins @top of Z1 pace, 15mins relaxed.<\/p>\n This is defined as 80-87% of HRmax. For example: 160-174bpm if your HRmax is 200bpm.<\/p>\n Zone two (Z2) is the competition zone, so if you\u2019re in this range your body thinks it\u2019s racing a sprint or Olympic-distance event. Conversation should be difficult but not impossible.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be confused though \u2013 although your body will be straining, this is still an aerobic effort.<\/p>\n \u201cSprint is the wrong term,\u201d says Beer. \u201cIt\u2019s not a 10sec track dash or 50m freestyle swim; it\u2019s an hour\u2019s worth of effort. You can\u2019t close your mouth and keep going; you have to breathe. Therefore it\u2019s an aerobic event and the aerobic system is the most suitable.\u201d<\/p>\n Z2\u2019s upper limit is your anaerobic threshold where lactic acid starts to accumulate in the bloodstream because it\u2019s being produced faster than your muscles can use it.<\/p>\n Beneath this triathletes simply don\u2019t get the physiological punch of working at high intensity (zone 3) and it\u2019s a place you do not want to be.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might spend some time in Z2, if you\u2019re trying to get up to zone three but can\u2019t quite reach it,\u201d says Beer. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t worry about this \u2013 it\u2019s far more important to stay out of Z2 if you\u2019re meant to be in Z1.\u201d<\/p>\n But if we get X improvement by staying in Z1, wouldn\u2019t we see X + 1 improvement if we just went up those extra few beats into Z2?<\/p>\n Not so, says Beer. \u201cPush yourself into Z2 and it\u2019s like a physiological speed camera going off,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019ll only be a small increase in calorie burning but lactate has risen over 2mmols and stress hormones, such as cortisol, kick in.\u201d<\/p>\n In effect, the damage done and the recovery required outweigh the benefits of a Z2 workout. It\u2019s why we normally feel wiped out for a few days after a race.<\/p>\n Physiologist Stephen Seiler\u2019s research has shown that Z2 is a no-man\u2019s land for training. Rather it\u2019s the range you aim to be in when you compete.<\/p>\n During training, you should be above race pace or under it, so the question is not how long should you train in Z2, but why are you training there at all?<\/p>\n The lack of Zone 2 sessions is because it\u2019s not typically a zone to aim for. While there may be pre-season threshold or race-pace practice, or build-up races, the point is to build a base and put a small amount of hard effort on top, which for some may be gym work rather than intervals or short races.<\/p>\n You may move through Zone 2 on the way up to and back down from Zone 3 work, and maybe even drift into it when real-world impact stops you being 100% Zone 1.<\/p>\n However it\u2019s not the best place to be training day in day out.<\/p>\n [Coach Taren Gesell would disagree, however\u2026]<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> This is defined as over 87% of HRmax. For example: 174bpm and above if your HRmax is 200bpm.<\/p>\n This is where it hurts. Zone three (Z3) is interval and impact training<\/strong><\/a>, which can only be performed for short periods because you simply can\u2019t get enough oxygen to sustain it.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be short of breath, sweating hard and, like a cheetah calculating how long it needs to catch its prey, intuitively knowing the effort is impossible for a long period.<\/p>\n Z3 efforts help you build your speed but they\u2019re a double-edged sword, because they also dramatically increase the risks of injury and excessive fatigue. You need to make sure you\u2019re ready for it before you step into Z3.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you stayed in Z1 for all of your training, you\u2019d still fulfil 90% of your endurance potential,\u201d says Beer.<\/p>\n \u201cIf most triathletes realised how effective base training<\/strong><\/a> was, they could ease up and leave themselves fresh for the real top-end efforts. Beginners don\u2019t need to add in much high-intensity work.\u201d<\/p>\n Many coaches work on the 80% easy, 20% hard<\/strong><\/a> philosophy, but some of that 20% can actually be strength<\/strong><\/a> work.<\/p>\n And while it may not show in heart rate terms, lifting weights is working muscles in a high-intensity manner using the same anaerobic system<\/strong><\/a> that goes to work when you\u2019re sprinting.<\/p>\n In fact, when crunching the data, Beer finds it\u2019s rare for the athletes he trains to do much more than 10% of training above Z1.<\/p>\nWhat are heart-rate zones?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How to understand the different heart-rate zones<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How to calculate your HRmax<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How to buy heart rate monitors<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Training in Zone 1<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Heart-rate zone-one sessions<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Swim<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Warm-up<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Main set<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Cool-down<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Bike<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Run<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Training in Zone 2<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Heart-rate zone-two sessions<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Training in Zone 3<\/strong><\/h2>\n