Training Zones & Field Testing

Professional coaching requires accurate training zones derived from field tests, not arbitrary percentages of max HR.

Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) Zones

LTHR is the heart rate at lactate threshold—the intensity you could sustain for approximately 60 minutes in a race. It's more accurate than max HR for prescribing training.

Running LTHR Zones (Friel 7-Zone System)

Zone	Name	% of LTHR	Purpose	Feel
1	Recovery	< 81%	Active recovery, warm-up/cool-down	Very easy, could talk indefinitely
2	Aerobic	81-89%	Aerobic base building, fat oxidation	Easy, full conversations
3	Tempo	90-93%	Muscular endurance, aerobic capacity	Moderate, sentences only
4	Sub-threshold	94-99%	Lactate tolerance, threshold extension	Hard, few words at a time
5a	Threshold	100-102%	Lactate threshold improvement	Very hard, race effort for 60min
5b	VO2max	103-106%	VO2max development	Extremely hard, 3-8min max
5c	Anaerobic	> 106%	Neuromuscular power, speed	Max effort, < 3min

Cycling LTHR/Power Zones

Zone	Name	% of LTHR	% of FTP	Purpose
1	Recovery	< 81%	< 55%	Active recovery
2	Aerobic	81-89%	56-75%	Endurance base
3	Tempo	90-93%	76-90%	Muscular endurance
4	Sub-threshold	94-99%	91-99%	Threshold extension
5a	Threshold	100-102%	100-105%	FTP improvement
5b	VO2max	103-106%	106-120%	VO2max intervals
5c	Anaerobic	> 106%	> 120%	Neuromuscular power

Swimming Zones (CSS-based)

Zone	Name	Pace Relative to CSS	Purpose
1	Recovery	CSS + 15-20 sec/100m	Warm-up, cool-down
2	Aerobic	CSS + 8-12 sec/100m	Aerobic endurance
3	Tempo	CSS + 3-6 sec/100m	Lactate tolerance
4	Threshold	CSS pace	Threshold development
5	VO2max	CSS - 3-5 sec/100m	VO2max intervals

Field Testing Protocols

Run: 30-Minute Threshold Test

Warm up 15 minutes easy (Zone 1-2)
Run 30 minutes at the hardest sustainable pace (simulate race effort)
Record average HR for the entire 30 minutes = LTHR
Cool down 10 minutes easy
Average pace = approximate lactate threshold pace

Note: Some coaches use final 20 minutes of a 30-min test to exclude early pacing errors.

Bike: 20-Minute FTP Test

Warm up 20 minutes including 3x1min high-cadence spin-ups
Ride 20 minutes at maximum sustainable power
Average power × 0.95 = FTP
Average HR = approximate cycling LTHR
Cool down 10-15 minutes

Alternative: 2x8 minute test with 10min recovery; average power × 0.90 = FTP

Swim: Critical Swim Speed (CSS) Test

Warm up 400m easy with drills
Swim 400m time trial (all-out, record time)
Rest 10 minutes (active recovery)
Swim 200m time trial (all-out, record time)
CSS = (400m distance - 200m distance) / (400m time - 200m time)

Example: 400m in 6:40 (400 sec), 200m in 3:00 (180 sec) CSS = 200m / 220 sec = 0.909 m/sec = 1:50/100m

When to Retest

Every 6-8 weeks during base/build phases
After recovery weeks (when fresh)
If perceived effort no longer matches prescribed zones

Running Pace Zones (VDOT / Jack Daniels)

For athletes with known race times:

Zone	Name	Description	How to Determine
E	Easy	Daily running, long runs	59-74% VO2max; 1:00-1:30/km slower than threshold
M	Marathon	Marathon race pace	75-84% VO2max; sustainable for 2-4 hours
T	Threshold	Tempo runs, cruise intervals	83-88% VO2max; ~60min race pace
I	Interval	VO2max development	95-100% VO2max; 3-5min repeats
R	Repetition	Speed, neuromuscular	> 100% VO2max; short reps with full recovery

Pace Estimation from Threshold:

Easy pace: Threshold + 50-70 sec/km
Marathon pace: Threshold + 15-25 sec/km
Interval pace: Threshold - 15-20 sec/km
Repetition pace: Threshold - 25-35 sec/km

Power-Based Training (Cycling)

When power data is available, use power zones exclusively—they're more accurate than HR which lags and drifts.

Workout Type	Zone	Duration	Recovery	Weekly Frequency
Endurance	2	1-5 hours	N/A	2-4x
Tempo	3	20-60 min continuous	N/A	1-2x
Sweet Spot	3-4 (88-93% FTP)	2x20-30 min	5-10 min	1-2x
Threshold	5a	2-4 x 8-15 min	5-8 min	1x
VO2max	5b	4-6 x 3-5 min	3-5 min	1x
Anaerobic	5c	6-10 x 30sec-2min	2-4 min	0-1x

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