• Zone 1 – 65 % of MP – Recovery training area.
• Zone 2 – 65-72 % of MP – Gives you a fundamental persevering training.
• Zone 3 – 73-80 % of MP – Gives you increased aerobic performance level.
• Zone 4 – 84-90 % of MP – Approx. your lactate threshold. The pulse you can maintain for an hour without getting lactic acid.
• Zone 5 – 91-100 % of MP - Sprint

Measure your max pulse by taking a max pulse test to confirm your pulse’s training zones. When you want to confirm your max pulse, it is important that you find your max pulse in the sport you are going to use the result. Your max pulse can be different from sport to sport.

If you choose to do some zone training with a heart rate monitor you need to know the following concepts:  

• BPM: Beats per minute. This is the number of times your heart pumps (pulse beats) in a minute.
• MP: Max pulse. The maximum pulse you can push yourself to achieve. Age affects your max pulse. For this reason young people have a very high max pulse and older people typically have a lower max pulse. This is important knowledge when it comes to which zone you should do your training.
• LT: Lactate Threshold. BPM (Beats per minute) you can keep up for an hour without getting lactic acid in your muscles
• Aerobic: Your aerobic training zone is the area you most often work in during competitions, which are not time trials.
• Lactic acid: is a muscle situation, which arises when you do far more than your muscles can handle. Overload over a longer period and lactic acid builds up which reduces the muscles ability to work.

The hearts ability to pump blood around the body to your muscles is incredibly important. The important red blood corpuscles transport oxygen to your muscles. The more red blood corpuscles your heart can pump round the body per. pulse beat, the better your muscles can perform.

To calculate your trainig zones can take some time, but now you have this easy and free Training Zone Calculator. It is important that you take into account your resting heart rate (RHR) when you calculate your training zones! The gap between your resting heart rate and your AT* pulse rate is named the Pulse Reserve.

To train purposefully is one thing, but if it is not enjoyable during the process most people often run out of steam. Therefore you should not underestimate the importance of the heart rate monitor’s motivating factor.

The following lists advantages and disadvantages, when working with a HRM heart rate monitor in your daily training program.

Read your morning pulse! You can make many good training plans on a monthly, weekly and daily basis, but your body reacts to all the impulses you meet during your day. If you read your morning pulse it can tell you if your job/education/other activities are stressful

Measure your max pulse by taking a max pulse test to confirm your pulse’s training zones. When you want to confirm your max pulse, it is important that you find your max pulse in the sport you are going to use the result. Your max pulse can be different from sport to sport.

This is an exact example of one week of pulse training for road bike riders.

1½-2 months before you want to peak your performcance, you ought to train pulse training (intervals) in the following pulse zones: