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Training Zones

Overview#

Training zones define intensity levels for power, heart rate and pace. Stride uses them everywhere: in your activity analysis (time in each zone per session), in the colours of your intervals, and in the Time in Zones chart on your dashboard.

Stride starts you on the defaults below, but they are only defaults. You can switch to another preset or build your own zones.

Power Zones#

Power zones are used for cycling and are percentages of your FTP. The default is Coggan's 7 zones:

  • Active Recovery: 0-55%
  • Endurance: 55-75%
  • Tempo: 75-90%
  • Lactate Threshold: 90-105%
  • VO2 Max: 105-120%
  • Anaerobic Capacity: 120-150%
  • Neuromuscular Power: 150% and above

Heart Rate Zones#

Heart rate zones are percentages of your threshold heart rate (LTHR), the highest heart rate you can hold for about an hour, not your maximum. The default has five zones:

  • Recovery: up to 85%
  • Aerobic: 85-90%
  • Tempo: 90-96%
  • Threshold: 96-104%
  • VO2 Max: 104% and above

One set of heart rate zones applies to every sport. Your threshold heart rate is often different on the bike, on foot and in the water, so under Heart Rate the Cycling, Running and Swimming tabs let you set zones, with their own threshold, for one sport. A sport without its own zones uses the default. Presets include Friel's 7 zones and a polarised 3-zone model.

Running Pace Zones#

Running pace zones are percentages of your threshold pace, where a higher percentage is faster. The default is based on Jack Daniels' zones:

  • Easy: up to 87%
  • Marathon: 87-95%
  • Threshold: 95-105%
  • VO2 Max: 105-111%
  • Speed: 111% and above

Swimming Pace Zones#

Swimming zones are percentages of your Critical Swim Speed (CSS), again with higher being faster. Small changes in pace matter more in the water, so the bands are tighter:

  • Recovery: up to 80%
  • Aerobic A1: 80-88%
  • Aerobic A2: 88-94%
  • Tempo: 94-98%
  • Threshold (CSS): 98-102%
  • VO2 Max: 102-109%
  • Sprint: 109% and above

Customising Your Zones#

Go to Settings > Zones & Metrics. Choose Power, Heart Rate or Pace, then the sport. From there you can:

  • Choose Apply Preset to switch to another well-known model
  • Choose Edit to rename zones, change their ranges and colours, or Add Zone
  • Choose Reset to go back to the defaults

Zones are saved as percentages of your threshold, so the watts, heart rates and paces next to them update by themselves whenever your threshold changes. Changes apply straight away across the app.

Seeing Your Zones in the App#

  • Activity analysis: each activity's Zones tab shows time spent, percentage and the actual range (watts, bpm or pace) of each zone, using your thresholds as they were on the day.
  • Intervals: detected intervals are coloured by your own zones.
  • Dashboard: the Time in Zones widget shows your time in each zone over your chosen range, for cycling power, cycling heart rate, running heart rate, running pace and swimming pace.