What zone do you ride in?

All my long rides are z1 or z2.  My z1 is 114-121bpm.  But I'm training for a pretty long race and I really need to change the ratio of fat/carbs by body uses during z3 and z4...

It depends what my goal for that day is.  When I do long rides  by myself I tend to stay in zone 2, pushng myself up into 3 or 4 sometimes,  hills or what have you. I might stay in zone 3 for long periods of time if it's very windy.  

When with my bike club I stay pretty much in zone 1 (2 or 3 on the hills) except for certain designated training rides.

The zone depends on the goal for the workout.  I've been training for an Oly distance race (which I completed this weekend!).  The base workouts were in z 1-2.  During the build phase, some workouts were in z4-5a - intervals, long tempo, etc.  Everything I have read and seen discussed here says z 3 is 'no man's land'.  Z3 is too hard for the fat burning/base building workouts Steve is talking about above and too easy to be effective for lactate threshold (LT) training. 

You need to decide on a goal for the workout - base building, LT training, speed, form, etc. then decide on  the appropriate training zone.

TJ

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure your LT is defined at the break from Z4-Z5 (Z5a in Friel's TTB).  For true threshold work, I think you should be working just below or just above your LTHR.

This is a problem with the variuous methods for establishing training zones.  I use a simple 5 zone setup with Z2 being my aerobic zone.  The upper limit of my Z2 is about 10bpm below my LT which is in mid-Z3.  So this would mean that mid to upper Z3 is where I need to be for threshold/tempo work.  There is no way I can sustain my biking Z4 (165+) for more than 5min at a time if I hope to train for any length of time.  The TTB established zones based on LT, I determined mine based on max HR.  Next season I might get my LT tested and switch.

Here's a thread I started a while back  that illustrates why we can disagree but still both be correct...it all depends on what system/method you're working with.  It makes this whole business of getting a HR training program set up especially frustrating for a beginner.  I've found that what I use worked very well for me but I'm sure there are a bunch of variations that would have done the trick also.

HR zones...AGAIN!

Edited by TH3_FRB 2005-05-26 9:29 AM

It all depends on how you calculate your zones.  I'm using the training zones in Friel's The Triathlete's Training Bible.  I did the field tests as prescribed in the TTTB - both cycling and running.  The TTTB states that LT is between z 4 and 5a.  Both Friel and Gale Bernhardt in Training Plans for Multisport Athletes say that spending a lot of time in z 3 is not advised. 

For you z3 is your LT.  For me z3 is 'no man's land'.

TJ

Yes, this is the generally accepted standard among all coaches I've spoken to or read about.