Cycling Training Zones
How to gauge cycling intensity by perceived exertion, heart rate and power.
“Eddy Merckx famously said, ‘Ride more!’ when asked how to improve. Don’ t have enough time to ride more? Ride smart! By varying the intensities.”
by Coach John Hughes
John Hughes is the author of Anti-Aging: 12 Ways to You Can Slow the Aging Process and of the book Distance Cycling. He has written 40 articles on training, nutrition, psychology and medical issues for RoadBikeRider.com. More about Coach Hughes.
© John Hughes, All Rights Reserved
Top endurance riders spend about 75% of their training time riding at low intensity, 15 - 20% riding hard and not much time in between. They build a huge endurance base and so should you. If you only have time to do one kind of training then ride aerobically. This kind of riding:
- Enhances your ability to burn fat during long rides.
- Increases the capacity of your muscles and liver to store carbohydrates.
- Improves your respiratory system, bringing more oxygen to the circulatory system.
- Boosts the amount of blood your heart pumps per heartbeat to the working muscles.
- Brings about increased economy of pedaling, so your pedaling is more efficient.
- Increases the blood flow to the skin, which helps keep you cool.
- Improves the overall endurance of your cycling muscles.
You can gauge intensity using:
- Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 10 point scale
- 0 = at rest
- 1 = barely moving
- 5 = very hard, time trial intensity
- 10 = maximum effort, full sprint sustainable for a few seconds
- Hughes Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)
- Digestion pace like after a big meal, RPE 1 - 2
- Conversation pace talking easily, RPE 2 - 3
- Hill climbing or headwind pace, you can still talk but can’t whistle, RPE 3 - 4
- Power pace (Sweet spot) You can talk in short phrases but not short sentences, RPE 4 - 5
- Sub-barf, you can’t talk, RPE 5 - 6
- Barf, hammering for 5 - 10 minutes - any longer & you’d barf, RPE 6 - 7
- Eyeballs bulging out, riding as hard as you can for only a few minutes, RPE 7 - 8
- Percent of Lactate Threshold (LT), approximated by average heart rate for a 60 minute time trial, 95% of average heart rate for 20 minute time trial.
- Percent of Functional Threshold Power (FTP), average power sustainable for one hour, 95% of average power for 20 minute time trial.
Here’s how to use these different methods for different types of workouts:
| Purpose |
Workout
Type |
RPE Hughes
Scale |
RPE 1 - 10
Scale |
Heart Rate
as % of LT |
Power as
% of FTP |
| Aid Recovery |
Recovery |
Digestion
pace |
1 - 2 |
<68% |
<55% |
Build
Endurance |
Endurance |
Conversation
pace |
2 - 3 |
69-83% |
56-75% |
Increase Cruising
Speed |
Tempo |
Headwind
pace |
3 - 4 |
84-94% |
76-90% |
| Build Power |
Sweet Spot |
Climbing short
hill pace |
4 - 5 |
93-97% |
88-94% |
Improve Riding at Threshold
Tolerance |
Sub-LT |
Sub-barf |
5 - 6 |
95-100% |
91-100% |
Increase Racing
Speed |
Super-LT |
Barf pace |
6 - 7 |
101-105% |
101-105% |
| Increase VO2 Max |
VO2 Max |
Eyeballs-out
pace |
8+ |
>105% |
106-120% |
Download Training Zones—Spreadsheet of training zones by perceived exertion, heart rate and power. Download to calculate your zones.
More Information
Intensity Training 2016: Using a Perceived Exertion, a Heart Rate Monitor and a Power Meter to Maximize Training Effectiveness. A 39 page eArticle packed with current information about intensity that discusses further:
- The benefits of varying the intensity.
- How to get the most out of limited training time by varying the intensity.
- How to gauge intensity using perceived exertion, a heart-rate monitor and a power meter and the pros and cons of each method
- How to vary the intensities in your workouts depending on:
- Your type of riding: health and fitness, club and endurance rider or performance cyclist.
- The time of year: preseason, base period, build period and main season.
- 10 different sets of workouts for 10 different training objectives
- 5 to 10 workouts within each set including both structured interval-type workouts and unstructured free-form workouts.
- The importance of balancing overload and recovery
The 39 page eArticle is $4.99 from RoadBikeRider.com.
Other articles by Coach Hughes
