What are training zones
Training zones are designed to help you structure your training session so you’re training at the intensity needed to meet your goals. Training zones are determined by a percentage of maximum minute power (MMP) and maximum heart rate (MHR).
How to calculate training zones
Calculating your training zones on a Wattbike is easy. Firstly, you’ll need to complete one of our tests - we recommend the sub-maximal ramp test. Once the test is complete, the Wattbike Performance Monitor will automatically calculate your training zones, these can be edited later in your profile on your Hub app or on our online Hub should you need to.
Wattbike training zones defined
The Wattbike displays eight training zones. Each zone helps you train at an intensity that meets a specific goal. Explore the Wattbike training zones below:
Recovery Zone
| Goal: | Regeneration and recovery. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Increase blood flow to muscles to flush out waste products and provide nutrients. |
| How this helps: | Promotes recovery and therefore training response. |
| How you'll feel: | Very relaxed. Able to carry on a conversation. |
| MHR: | <60% |
| MMP: | <35% |
Zone 1
| Goal: | To establish base fitness. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Improves fat metabolism, gets muscles/tendons/ligaments/nerves used to cycling. Increases economy. |
| How this helps: | More efficient use of energy. Prepares body for harder training, works on technique/skill. |
| How you'll feel: | Relaxed. Able to carry on a conversation. |
| MHR: | 61-65% |
| MMP: | 36-45% |
Zone 2
| Goal: | To improve efficiency. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Improves the ability to use oxygen, produce power and increases efficiency. |
| How this helps: | Able to produce more power with the same level of effort, works on technique/skill. |
| How you'll feel: | Working. Feel warmer. Heart rate and respiration up. May sweat. |
| MHR: | 66-75% |
| MMP: | 46-55% |
Zone 3
| Goal: | To improve sustainable power. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Improves carbohydrate metabolism, changes some fast twitch muscle to slow-twitch. |
| How this helps: | Improved sustainable power, good for all cycling events. |
| How you'll feel: | Hard work. Heart rate and respiration up. Carbon dioxide build-up. Sweating. Breathing hard. |
| MHR: | 76-82% |
| MMP: | 56-65% |
Zone 4
| Goal: | To push up threshold. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Improves carbohydrate metabolism, develops lactate threshold, changes some fast twitch muscle to slow-twitch. |
| How this helps: | Improved sustainable race pace, useful during tapering or pre-competition periods: too much time in this zone can cause staleness. |
| How you'll feel: | Stressed. Panting. Sweating freely. |
| MHR: | 83-89% |
| MMP: | 66-75% |
Zone 5
| Goal: | To sustain a high percentage of maximal aerobic power. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Develops cardiovascular system and VO2max, improves anaerobic energy production and speeds turnover of waste products. |
| How this helps: | Improved time trialling ability and resistance to short-term fatigue. |
| How you'll feel: | Very stressed. Gasping. Sweating heavily. |
| MHR: | 90-94% |
| MMP: | 76-85% |
Zone 6
| Goal: | To increase maximum power output. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Increases maximum muscle power, develops cardiovascular system and VO2max, increases threshold. |
| How this helps: | Sprint speed, ability to accelerate away from a group and tolerate lots of hard work, such as mountain climbing. |
| How you'll feel: | Heavily stressed. Gasping. Sweating heavily. |
| MHR: | >95% |
| MMP: | 86-100% |
Supra-maximal Zone
| Goal: | To increase sprint power output. |
| Physiological adaptations: | Increases maximum muscle power, develops neural control of pedalling at specific cadence. |
| How this helps: | Develop race-specific skills at race pace, starting power, sprint speed, and the ability to jump away from the bunch. |
| How you'll feel: | Extremely stressed. Gasping. Sweating heavily. |
| MHR: | N/A |
| MMP: | >101% |
How to incorporate training zones into your training
Whether you are experienced or a beginner, the best way to incorporate training zones into your training is to follow one of our training plans. Each training plan features structured sessions in a range of training zones, which vary depending on the overall objective of the plan.
Want to know more about incorporating heart rate and training zones into your everyday training? Take a look at our training zones workshop.