Heart rate zones, thresholds, and training as a beginner

Hey Joe! Good on ya for wanting to get the most out of your training.

Joe Friel has a good write up on training peaks for implementing your zones for each sport based on your threshold:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/joe-friel-s-quick-guide-to-settin...

Depending on what distance races you are participating in will determine a lot of how your workouts are structured. I guess this is where you have to trust your friend has a good grasp on training principles. I would have an open conversation with your friend and get them to explain the reason behind each workout they have prescribed, I think they can even add notes for each workout in TP. This will probably help you understand the program better than anything.

In general, you want to spend the majority of your time under your lactate threshold. I stick with the 80/20 rule for running. I may dabble a little more in harder intervals on the bike and in the water since the risk of injury is lower.

Step 1 is make sure you have an accurate HR to base your zones off of. Step 2 would be set the zones. And Step 3 is the tricky part of determining what zones to train in and why. As I said above, talk with your friend about how your week is structured and why, and I think you’ll get a clearer picture of everything.