Having plenty of experience with Training Peaks and Andy Coggan’s six training zones with four being the all important threshold zone, I’ve always been confused why Training Peaks doesn’t give the athlete the option of also having six training zones with running. Joe Friel’s seven zones is confusing to me. Which one is threshold? 5a? Why not let the user have six zones for both running and biking?
Having plenty of experience with Training Peaks and Andy Coggan’s six training zones with four being the all important threshold zone, I’ve always been confused why Training Peaks doesn’t give the athlete the option of also having six training zones with running. Joe Friel’s seven zones is confusing to me. Which one is threshold? 5a? Why not let the user have six zones for both running and biking?
You can create your own custom heart rate zones if you prefer.
Settings > Zones > Heart Rate > Add Activity > Run > Add Zone >
Then repeat adding zones until you have your desired setup
1st I prefer to use pace rather than HR for running, but I do reference running as a general guideline as well. But it needs to be adjusted more with environment, rest, etc.
The 1st 4 running zones are the same as Coggan. But where Coggan has 2 zones above threshold, Friel uses 3 zones to distinguish different level of adaptation. You have superthreshold, aerobic capacity and anaerobic capacity. aerobics capacity is you VO2max limit. Super threshold is a point below VO2max but above threshold, so you will be accumulating increasing levels of lactic acid. Coggan doesn’t split zone 5. Maybe since cycling is not high impact, it’s less critical to train with that much precision as there’s little risk of training too hard.
1st I prefer to use pace rather than HR for running, but I do reference running as a general guideline as well. But it needs to be adjusted more with environment, rest, etc.
The 1st 4 running zones are the same as Coggan. But where Coggan has 2 zones above threshold, Friel uses 3 zones to distinguish different level of adaptation. You have superthreshold, aerobic capacity and anaerobic capacity. aerobics capacity is you VO2max limit. Super threshold is a point below VO2max but above threshold, so you will be accumulating increasing levels of lactic acid. Coggan doesn’t split zone 5. Maybe since cycling is not high impact, it’s less critical to train with that much precision as there’s little risk of training too hard.
Thanks, that actually helps. So Friel and Coggan zone 4 are both threshold? I like pace over HR too but if I’m helping someone with a training program, I’d like to be consistent with my way of describing intensity. So, would it be incorrect to say 3 x 1 mile @ zone 4 (meaning threshold Pace)?
1st I prefer to use pace rather than HR for running, but I do reference running as a general guideline as well. But it needs to be adjusted more with environment, rest, etc.
The 1st 4 running zones are the same as Coggan. But where Coggan has 2 zones above threshold, Friel uses 3 zones to distinguish different level of adaptation. You have superthreshold, aerobic capacity and anaerobic capacity. aerobics capacity is you VO2max limit. Super threshold is a point below VO2max but above threshold, so you will be accumulating increasing levels of lactic acid. Coggan doesn’t split zone 5. Maybe since cycling is not high impact, it’s less critical to train with that much precision as there’s little risk of training too hard.
Thanks, that actually helps. So Friel and Coggan zone 4 are both threshold? I like pace over HR too but if I’m helping someone with a training program, I’d like to be consistent with my way of describing intensity. So, would it be incorrect to say 3 x 1 mile @ zone 4 (meaning threshold Pace)?
Technically Coggan sets zone 4 to go just past threshold, while Friel sets Zone 4 to end at threshold. But I think that’s splitting hairs a little. You body transitions seamlessly from one zone to another, so the boundaries are a little arbitrary anyway, as they can vary day to day and even very a little during a workout.
It’s also important to note that you zones based on pace don’t take run economy into account, so as you tire or fatigue, or if you run uphill or downhill, the zones will vary a little. So it’s still good to keep HR as a reference, but you might need to adjust based on conditions.