Cycling Training Zones for Power, Heart Rate, and Perceived Effort
Whether you are training based on perceived exertion, power, or heart rate, you will be targeting different training zones to achieve specific adaptations per your training plan. Races are not typically spent in a single zone, but focusing on specific zones for training is effective because it allows you to maximize efficiency and track your progress.
Cycling training zones are determined based on a percentage of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP), and they are key to power-based training. However, cycling training zones can also be approximated by a percentage of your Threshold Heart Rate (HR) or by a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), which is basically just how hard you feel like you are going on a scale of 1 to 10. Power is the most accurate way to track your time across different cycling training zones. Heart rate is not always a precise metric, because heart rate has a lag in the time it takes time to catch up to exertion. Heart Rate can also vary greatly across different power levels for different individuals. Heart rate should always be used with RPE, and RPE can be quite effective on its own.
The following table summarizes the commonly used cycling training zones as originally defined by Dr. Andrew Coggan with a few modifications and my explanation of perceived effort. Dr. Coggan does not separate Sweet Spot into its own level, but others do, and some do not include Neuromuscular Power as its own level. For training purposes, I think it is useful to define Sweet Spot on its own, despite the fact that it is not technically a physiological zone of its own. I also think it makes sense to keep Neuromuscular Power as its own level, even though most people may combine it with Anaerobic Capacity when training. To avoid changing numbering between the traditional levels, I split the difference between Tempo and Threshold and gave Sweet Spot a 3.5.
| Level | % FTP | % HR | RPE | How it feels/talk test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1: Active Recovery | <55% | <68% | 2-3 | Very easy. A brisk walk or very easy pedaling. You can easily hold a conversation. |
| Level 2: Endurance | 55-75% | 69-83% | 4-6 | Easy to moderate. You can ride all day here. You can hold a conversation, but you can’t sing a song. |
| Level 3: Tempo | 76-87% | 84-94% | 7 | Moderate to comfortably hard. You can speak sentences but may need breaks. |
| Level 3.5: Sweet Spot | 88-94% | 84-94% | 7.5 | Comfortably hard. You speak short a short sentence but may need breaks. |
| Level 4: Threshold | 95%-105% | 91-105% | 8 | Hard. Your breathing is heavy. You can say a couple of words at a time, but you need a good reason to. |
| Level 5: VO2Max | 106-120% | 106-120% | 9 | Uncomfortably Hard. In the talk test, most words you say sounds like @#$%. |
| Level 6: Anaerobic Capacity | >120% | >121% | 10 | All-Out. In the talk test, you don't have any energy to spare on words. |
| Level 7: Neuromuscular Power | >150% | N/A | !! | Even more all-out. In the talk test, you don't have time to talk. |
It is important to remember that these power training zones and heart rate training zones are on a continuum and are an estimation. You do not suddenly shift from one to another, but rather it is a gradual change. Different zones may feel different on different days, so it is important to always consider RPE as well. The following goes into more detail for each level.
Level 1: Active Recovery
< 55% FTP / <68% Heart Rate / RPE 2-3 / Very Easy
Active Recovery can be used the day after a hard workout, between intervals, or as a cool down. This effort is less than 55% of your FTP and feels like a brisk walk or very easy spin. You can easily hold a conversation here. Riding in this zone can help improve circulation and transport of nutrients to muscles. Active recovery is purely aerobic and relies on Type I, or slow twitch, muscle fibers. Activity here is fueled mostly by fat.
Level 2: Endurance
55% to 75% FTP / 69-83% Heart Rate / RPE 4-6 / Easy to Moderate
Endurance riding is your all day pace. You can hold a conversation here, but you probably don’t want to sing a song. Riding in this zone increases aerobic fitness. This level is also almost totally aerobic and relies on Type I muscles fibers. The body uses primarily fat for fuel at this pace; however, your body does need small amounts of carbohydrate to metabolize fat to fuel this effort level. As fitness improves, you can move faster while staying in this fat burning zone.
Over time, this will lead to stronger heart muscle, increased mitochondria in the cells, development of more capillaries in muscle, and an overall increase in endurance. Effective endurance workouts are long workouts—longer than any of the workouts at other levels. Endurance rides are a great way to add training stress without too much fatigue. As long as carbohydrate and calorie intake is sufficient, you can ride every day here. However, very long rides may require more than 24 hours of recovery time.
Level 3: Tempo
76% to 87% FTP / 84-94% Heart Rate / RPE 7 / Moderate
Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan call the Tempo the “meat and potatoes” of every cyclist. I guess if you are a vegan it would be the “rice and beans.” This is the first zone that begins to feel challenging to sustain for long periods, as it begins to add some muscular endurance demands. You can talk in sentences here, but you might need to take breaks. Tempo effort is still primarily aerobic, but this intensity begins to recruit some Type IIa muscle fibers. Your body also increases its use of carbohydrate for fuel at this level.
Some coaches and training philosophies consider Tempo to be one of the worst places to spend your time. It is true that if you spend a lot of time riding at Tempo you will get good at Tempo and not much else. However, Tempo stimulates many of the same training adaptations as endurance riding but with a bigger effect—especially in improving the ability of your muscles to store glycogen. So anyone that doesn’t have 20 hours a week to train will find this extremely useful. And in reality, anyone training to compete in long endurance races isn’t going to be spending those races in strictly an endurance zone, you will be spending a lot of time at tempo and above as well.
Riding for long periods at tempo is more fatiguing than endurance riding, but it is still relatively low, allowing you to train more at this level. Consecutive days of training at this level are possible if duration is not excessive, carbohydrate and calorie intake is sufficient, and this is reasonable for your level of fitness.
Level 3.5: Sweet Spot
88% to 94% FTP / 84-94% Heart Rate / RPE 7.5 / Comfortably Hard
Sweet Spot is nestled between Tempo and Threshold and feels like a comfortably hard effort. You can still talk in short sentences, but you may need to take breaks. Sweet spot is challenging to sustain for long periods, but not as difficult as riding at Threshold. Sweet Spot is on the cusp of both Tempo and Threshold, and it combines the most beneficial training aspects of both—making it an extremely useful and effective zone for fitness improvements. If Tempo is rice and beans, Sweet Spot is rice and beans topped with salsa and guacamole. It is not exactly a physiological zone of its own, but instead it is defined by its relevance to training. Some systems give Sweet Spot its own level number and some do not, so I’m going with 3.5.
Similar to Endurance and Tempo, Sweet Spot riding creates adaptations in muscular endurance, aerobic fitness, and glycogen storage, but with a stronger effect than riding at the easier efforts. It recruits more Type IIa muscles fibers than lower levels, and as intensity within this zone increases, your body turns to more carbohydrates for fuel. Similar to Tempo, if you spend all your time riding at Sweet Spot you will not get better at harder efforts like sprinting, however, you probably won’t get dropped.
Riding for long periods at Sweet Spot is slightly more fatiguing than Tempo riding, but you can still train consecutive days here as long as duration is not excessive, carbohydrate and calorie intake is sufficient, and this is reasonable for your level of fitness.
Level 4: Threshold
95% to 105% FTP / 91-105% Heart Rate / RPE 8 / Hard
Threshold efforts are done right at your FTP. These are like hard efforts. Your breathing is heavy, and while you can say a couple of words at a time, you need a good reason to. Threshold efforts require a solid recovery between intervals and also between workouts. This zone activates a large volume of Type IIa muscle fibers, and your body shifts to using primarily carbohydrate for fuel. Riding in this zone helps increase blood plasma volume, muscular endurance, and mitochondrial enzymes (which synthesize ATP), and it also improves your ability to maintain higher intensities for long periods of time.
In theory, this is a pace you can sustain for an hour, but most cyclists can only spend about 20 to 30 minutes at a time here. As fitness improves, the amount of time you are able to ride at Threshold can increase. An hour at Threshold can deplete stored glucose, so in order to spend time at this level, you need to fuel properly with carbohydrates.
Riding at Threshold creates significant fatigue. Consecutive days of riding here are possible, but only when the rider is sufficiently recovered and able to maintain intensity.
Level 5: VO2Max
106% – 120% FTP / 106-120% Heart rate / RPE 9 / Uncomfortably Hard
VO2Max is the maximum volume of oxygen your body is able to use during exercise, and the efforts feel extremely difficult. You don’t talk at this effort because you no longer have anything nice to say about anything. Training in this zone is extremely challenging and puts a demand on both your aerobic and anaerobic systems. VO2Max efforts can only be maintained for about 3 to 8 minutes. These efforts rely on Type IIa muscle fibers and are fueled by carbohydrate, making it important to be properly fueled for these workouts.
VO2Max work improves the strength and stroke volume of the heart, and increases blood plasma volume. They create a high training stimulus in minimal time, but require significant recovery, and a rider should be fairly fresh before attempting a workout in this level. Consecutive days of VO2Max work are not usually desirable even if it is possible for the rider.
VO2Max intervals are best paced with a power meter or RPE. Heart rate has a lag behind effort, and by the time your heart rate indicates that you are at the appropriate level, your interval will soon be over.
Level 6: Anaerobic Capacity
> 120% FTP / >121% Heart Rate / RPE 10 / All-Out
Anaerobic Capacity efforts feel like all-out efforts lasting 30 second to 2 minutes. In the talk test, you don’t have energy to spare on words. They are very intense, short, and demanding. During Anaerobic Capacity efforts, Type IIb fibers do most of the work, and this level is fueled exclusively by carbohydrates. Your muscle cells need fuel quickly, which means the faster process of anaerobic metabolism is the only pathway that can generate fuel fast enough. This process takes place without oxygen, and energy production from this system is limited. Within seconds to minutes, this process maxes out and fatigue sets in. Accordingly, working at this effort level increases the body’s ability to produce energy anaerobically (without oxygen).
Anaerobic Capacity intervals are best done with a power meter or RPE—heart rate is not reliable for these efforts because they are too short. Heart rate has a lag behind effort, and by the time your heart rate indicates that you are going hard, your interval is likely over.
Level 7: Neuromuscular Power
> 150% FTP / HR N/A / RPE 10+ / All-Out
These are short all-out efforts that last less than 10 or 15 seconds. These efforts rely on Type IIb muscle fibers and improve your ability to recruit available muscle. These efforts are best paced by RPE as you don’t even have time to look at your power meter and may not be able to do so safely. In the talk test, you don’t have time for words and all your available concentration is going towards pedaling.
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