training zones calculator
Training Zones Calculator
Enter one threshold per discipline — FTP, run threshold pace, swim CSS, or LTHR — and read the exact power, pace, and heart-rate bands to train each zone, the same recovery-to-VO₂max ladder PaceBeats writes your workouts in.
Discipline
Band width tracks each zone's share of the intensity range. Your threshold sits in Z4 · Threshold (ringed). Base miles live in Z1–Z2; the sharp end forces adaptation but costs the most recovery.
| Zone | Power | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Z1Active recovery | ≤ 138 W | Spin-easy recovery rides |
| Z2Endurance | 140–188 W | Aerobic base — the bulk of your hours |
| Z3Tempo | 190–225 W | Steady aerobic, sweet-spot lead-in |
| Z4Threshold | 228–263 W | FTP intervals, sustained race power |
| Z5VO₂max | 265–300 W | 3–5 min hard intervals |
| Z6Anaerobic | 303–375 W | Short, sharp surges and attacks |
How to use it
- 1
Pick the discipline: bike, run, swim, or heart rate.
- 2
Enter the one threshold that discipline uses — FTP in watts, run threshold pace per km, swim CSS per 100 m, or LTHR in bpm.
- 3
Read the zone table: every band shows its target range plus what to use it for.
- 4
Switch disciplines to pull all four zone sets from the thresholds you already train with.
One number per discipline, a full set of zones
Each discipline anchors to a single threshold: FTP for the bike, threshold pace for the run, critical swim speed for the swim, and lactate-threshold heart rate for HR. Give the calculator that one number and it builds the entire ladder — six power bands from active recovery to anaerobic, five run-pace bands, five CSS-anchored swim bands, and five Friel heart-rate bands — each with its target range in the discipline's native units and what the band is for.
Power, pace, CSS, and heart rate measure different things
Power is mechanical output and reacts the instant you push; pace is speed and shifts with hills and wind; CSS is your swim threshold speed; heart rate is your body's response and lags every change by 20–40 seconds. That is why your Z4 power and your Z4 heart rate rarely line up minute to minute. Train the intervals to power and pace, then read heart rate as the cross-check that tells you the effort cost what you expected.
The zones your plan is actually written in
These are not generic textbook bands. The recovery → endurance → tempo → threshold → VO₂max vocabulary here is the same intensity ladder the PaceBeats engine enforces when it prescribes and scores every session. So the Z2 range you read for an endurance ride and the Z4 cruise interval you read for the run are the exact targets the coach hands you on plan day.
Common questions
How do I find my FTP / threshold pace?
FTP: ride a 20-minute all-out time trial and take 95% of your average power. Run threshold pace: use your roughly one-hour race pace, or the average pace of a 30-minute solo time trial. Swim CSS: run a 400 m and a 200 m time trial and feed both into the CSS calculator. LTHR: average your heart rate over the final 20 minutes of a 30-minute time-trial effort. PaceBeats estimates and updates thresholds from your Garmin history. Where the optional Strava connection is available, its activities can fill coverage gaps; workouts from other devices can be added with a FIT-file upload.
Should I train by power, pace, or heart rate?
Power for the bike and pace for the run, because both react the instant you change effort and hold steady on hills and in heat. CSS plays that role for the swim. Heart rate lags every change by 20–40 seconds and drifts upward with heat, fatigue, and dehydration, so it reads the body's response rather than the work — use it to verify an interval landed where you aimed, not to pace it. PaceBeats prescribes power and pace targets first and falls back to heart rate only when no power or pace data exists.
Related tools
Keep going
Next step
Turn these numbers into an adaptive plan.
PaceBeats combines the relevant calculations with your training history, constraints, and deterministic checks to build and adapt your week.