Broadly speaking, Heart Rate Zones are computed by taking your Maximum Heart Rate and your Resting Heart Rate into account. They mainly function as a guide to figure out your ideal workout intensity and push you one step closer to your goals.
So, what Peloton Heart Rate Zones are, and how can you utilize them for different fitness purposes? Let’s find your answer by rolling down this article!
What Are Peloton Heart Rate Zones?
Heart Rate Zone training at Peloton is an effective way to get the most out of your training sessions. By immediately giving feedback on your performance, they also grant you the power to adjust your effort in accordance with your goals.
What Should Your Heart Rate Zones Be?
Peloton heart rate zones and strive score
Overall, the average heart rate is 60 – 100 beats per minute (bpm). This metric is prone to change by various factors, such as stress, medication, and physical condition.
With your maximum heart rate being recorded, your zones are easily determined. Yet, ascertaining your ideal Heart Rate Zones depends on which objectives you are trying to achieve.
For instance, if you aim at increasing your FTP scores or boosting your power output, you should go for zones higher than the average ones by joining interval training. However, if you want to enhance your endurance, zones lower than the average ones are more suitable.
How Can You Measure Your Heart Rate?
The most common and fast method to assess your heart rate is wearing a heart rate monitor on your arm/wrist or around your chest. You can learn to use the Peloton Heart Rate Monitor with this detailed guide.
How To Choose A Proper Heart Rate Monitor?
Heart rate monitors
Generally, this decision is made based on personal preferences.
Particularly, chest traps have proved to generate more accurate results when exercising at a high pace, while wrist ones are more trustworthy in certain circumstances (Pasadyn et al., 2019). Some users even combine these two types to get more reliable outcomes.
One thing to note if you are practicing with Peloton is that the Peloton devices (except for Bike+) can be connected to Bluetooth LE and ANT+ heart rate monitors, while the Peloton Bike+ matches with Apple Watch.
What is Peloton Heart Rate Zone Training?
Training in your Peloton Heart Rate Zone can promote your workout effectiveness without exerting yourself. As the report about your training is immediately displayed on the console, you can always keep track of your effort level and modify it if necessary.
In detail, the Peloton Heart Rate Zones comprise five different zones. Each one represents a different extent of physical attempt and certain advantages.
After gauging your maximum heart rate, Peloton will classify your current effort level into one of its five Heart Rate Zones, as illustrated in the picture below.
Peloton five heart rate zones
Are Peloton Heart Rate Zones Accurate?
Generally, the Peloton Heart Rate Zones offer a pretty correct reflection of your performance. Yet, due to the direct link between the Heart Rate Zones and the maximum heart rate, the zones are also exposed to impacts cast by several elements which significantly affect one’s heart rate, namely:
- Anxiety: Being anxious can notably raise your heart rate.
- Heat: Exercising in a hot area can uplift your body temperature, thereby increasing your heart rate.
- Sleep deprivation: Lack of good quality sleep surges your heart rate.
- Hydration: Dehydration while working out makes your blood thicker and boosts your heart rate as a result.
- Medication: Your heart rate may increase or decrease depending on your drug type.
So, though the technique produces rather precise outcomes, they are still not perfect. To enhance its accuracy, you must ensure proper wearing and compatible software.
How Long Should You Practice In Each Heart Rate Zone?
Time in heart rate zones illustration
As a whole, it is up to the class type, your fitness objectives, and workout preferences.
For example, many endurance athletes spend approximately 80% of their training time in Zone 1 and Zone 2 to boost their aerobic capacity and recovery pace (Seiler, 2010). Research has also shown that this combination works for recreational runners, too! (Muñoz et al., 2014, Festa et al., 2020)
You can seek some references through the following table about the time span for each Heart Rate Zone, recommended by Andrew R. Coggan, Ph.D.
| Peloton Heart Rate Zones | Duration |
| Zone 1 | Up to 1 hour |
| Zone 2 | Up to 3 hours |
| Zone 3 | Up to 90 minutes |
| Zone 4 | 3 to 8 minutes intervals |
| Zone 5 | 10 seconds sprints |
How Could You Utilize Peloton Heart Rate Zones?
Heart rate zones on peloton devices
Peloton Heart Rate Zones can be employed for diverse targets, such as getting fit or boosting rehabilitation speed. Among the five Heart Rate Zones at Peloton, Zone 2 (65 – 75% of maximum heart rate) is the only zone that can be exploited for all fitness goals.
This table will sufficiently demonstrate the advantages of working out in Zone 2.
| Fitness Goals | Benefits |
| For Beginners | Building aerobic capacity and exercise tolerance
with minimum injury risks |
| For Trained Athletes | Balancing workout routines as added resting sessions after high-intensity ones |
| For Weight Reduction | Improving oxygen transportation,
thereby burning more calories |
Losing Weight With Peloton Heart Rate Zones
Heart rate zones 2
One of the most popular benefits of Peloton Heart Rate Zone Training yields is whittling away your fat belly.
Which Heart Rate Zones Are Effective For Weight Loss?
Overall, Zone 2 and 3 are the ideal exercises for losing weight. In other words, training with 60 – 80% of maximum heart rate can burn the most fat (Carey, 2009).
Just inspect your breathing rate to determine whether you are in the right zone. Since Zone 2 and 3 are not too challenging, you should still be able to carry on a conversation while practicing in these zones.
Do Higher Heart Rate Zones Burn More Fat?
The answer is: NO.
Higher Heart Rate Zones help you burn more calories, but these calories are not fat-based. This happens because the highest zones are anaerobic and take energy from carbohydrates, not fat.
Some classes that can be done in Zone 2 and 3 for losing weight are:
- Peloton Tread:
- Power Walk
- Walk + Run
- Hike
- Endurance Runs
- Peloton Bike:
- Low Impact Ride
- Power Zone Endurance Ride
- Climb Ride
Enhancing Cardio Endurance With Peloton Heart Rate Zones
Heart rate zones 3
Cardiorespiratory fitness is the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to provide oxygen for energy synthesis during physical activities. Read the following parts to find out which Peloton Heart Rate Zones can augment your cardio endurance.
Which Heart Rate Zone Is Effective For Cardio?
Broadly speaking, Zone 3 and 4, with effort levels at 70 – 90% of maximum heart rate, are the most promising ones as regards cardiorespiratory fitness. These zones can significantly advance your capability of removing lactate and consuming glycogen.
However, if you are a newbie, you should be cautious upon choosing to work out in Zone 4. Sessions in this zone require a certain fitness level to attend as you may reach the Onset of Blood Lactate Accumulation (OBLA).
OBLA happens when the blood lactate level surpasses 4 mmol/l. Besides, it is also the point where your body generates more lactate than it can get rid of, meaning your muscles may be impaired, and you need more time to recover.
Can You Train If Your Body Is Sore?
The answer is: YES.
Such soreness can interrupt your performance and worsen the pain. However, if you practice regularly enough, your body will become gradually familiar with high intensity, and muscle soreness may bother you no more.
Here is a good list of Peloton classes that can be applied for Zone 3 and 4.
- Peloton Tread:
- Endurance Run
- HRZ Endurance Run
- Progressive Run
- Tempo Run
- Hills Run
- Peloton Bike:
-
- Power Zone Ride
- HRZ Threshold Ride
- HIIT and Hills Ride
Maximizing Power Output With Peloton Heart Rate Zone
Heart rate zones 4
To enhance your power output is to improve your FTP scores. So keep rolling down to learn how to do so with Peloton Heart Rate Zone training.
Which Heart Rate Zone Is Effective For Power Output?
In general,Zone 4 and 5(80 – 95% of maximum heart rate) are cut out for increasing your power output. As mentioned above, these zones are anaerobic. This means that exercising in Zone 4 and 5 will leave your body feeling exhausted.
How long should you be in Zone 5?
Gottschall et al. (2020) stated that for working out at more than 90% of the maximum heart rate, 4 – 9% of total training duration is the most suitable time span.
Several typical advantages that practicing in Peloton Heart Rate Zone 5 offers are:
- Better anaerobic capacity: Anaerobic capacity, also called lactate tolerance, getting better helps you eliminate surplus lactate faster and lengthen your workouts.
- Boosted stroked volume: This occurs when your heart pumps more blood, resulting in higher output.
- Enhanced neuromuscular power: You can engage more muscle fibers in daily tasks, meaning you are gaining more strength.
For Peloton Heart Rate Zone 4 and 5, you can enjoy these classes:
- Peloton Tread:
- HIIT Run
- Interval Run
- HIIT and Hills Run
- Tabata Run
- HRZ Power Run
- Peloton Bike:
- Intervals Ride
- HIIT Ride
- Tabata Ride
How To Calculate Peloton Heart Rate Zones
By default, your maximum heart rate is determined using the Karvonen formula (220 – your age) – with your age taken from the number you saved in your profile.
For instance, a 25-year-old girl riding a bike at an intensity of 140 beats per minute is in Peloton Heart Rate Zone 2.
Example of peloton heart rate zone of a person
However, your default heart rate may need some adjustments to fit your level perfectly. To change your maximum heart rate, you should follow the following steps.
Step 1. Choose “Account Settings” in the “Menu” section in the bottom left corner of the console.
Step 2. Select “Max Heart Rate” to put in your own maximum heart rate.
Conclusion
All in all, Peloton Heart Rate Zones are effective for keeping track of the training intensity as well as toning it with your fitness objectives.
Opting for which zone to practice depends on your personal preferences and physical condition. Zone 2 and 3 for getting fit. Zone 3 and 4 for promoting cardio endurance. Zone 4 and 5 for surging power output.
FAQs
1. Is Peloton Heart Rate Zone training effective?
The answer is: YES.
Training in an ideal Peloton Heart Rate Zone allows you to manage your workout intensity. In addition, it helps your training sessions be more compatible with your overall program, thereby improving your outcomes.
2. Do Heart Rate Zones change?
The answer is: NO.
As the formula to calculate Peloton Heart Rate Zones is constant, they will not change due to the effect of external factors.
3. Which Heart Rate Zone Is Best For Running?
By and large, it depends on how your training routine is designed. For example, long runs should be done in Zone 2, and sprints should be performed in Zone 4.
