• Training
    • Injury Prevention
    • Training Tips
  • How To
    • Bike Fit
    • Gear
  • Nutrition
    • Nutrition Tips
    • Weight Loss
  • Repair
  • Reviews
  • Stories
    • Funny Stories
    • Jokes
    • Quotes
    • Videos
    • Funny Videos

I Love Bicycling

I Love Bicycling is a website that is geared towards cycling for beginners with road cycling tips, training articles, nutrition tips, weight loss, how to’s and bike repair articles.

Cycling Heart Rate Zones

October 30, 2017 by Sarah Lauzé

Heart rate training is a valuable tool for all athletes, as it helps bypass your brain to listen directly to what your body is telling you. It varies from sport to sport, so keep in mind this article is about cycling heart rate zones in particular.

So, what’s is the big deal with heart rate zones? The zones may not mean much in themselves, but their value comes with understanding how to use them within your training. Heart rate training can be specified to your goals, and can make you stronger, fitter, and faster all the while preventing overtraining and burnout.

Cycling Heart Rate Zones

What is heart rate?

Your heart rate is measured in the number of times your heart beats per minute (BPM). It is the body’s direct response to what you are doing, whether it’s sitting on your couch or pumping up a hill at full speed.

Your heart rate is measured using two baseline numbers:

  1. Resting heart rate – Your heart rate when your body is completely relaxed (essentially your minimum heart rate).
  2. Max heart rate – The highest number your heart beats in the course of one minute. Again, this is for cycling in particular, as your max heart rate for running would be a higher number.

Determine your resting heart rate

Cycling Heart Rate Zones

You’ll want to measure your resting heart rate first thing in the morning for at a least a week. When you first wake up, and are completely relaxed (avoid testing when you are sick or stressed) measure the number of heartbeats over the course of a minute. This can be done easily with a heart rate monitor or even most smartphones. If you don’t have either of these, then find your pulse on your wrist or neck, set a timer for one minute, and count the number of beats.

Once you have done this once a day for a week, add up each day and divide by 7. This will give you your average resting heart rate. Keep in mind, the more fit you become, the lower your resting heart rate will be as your body becomes more efficient.

Determine your maximum heart rate

There are a variety of ways to determine your maximum heart rate, with the most accurate being a visit to your Cycling Heart Rate Zones doctor for a stress test. However, you can also do a simple test yourself.

First, find a hill climb that takes you at least 10 minutes on your bike and is not so steep that you have to stand up out of the saddle at all. Before heading up the hill, warm up for a minimum of 15 minutes, then take to the hill working up to sprinting as fast as you can for roughly 10 minutes. When you can’t go any faster, stand up in the saddle and sprint for a further 45 seconds. Take your heart rate immediately after, or use the highest heart rate recorded on your monitor – this will be your max heart rate.

Heart rate zone training

Once you have these two parameter numbers, you will then be able to breakdown your heart rate into zones. There are 5 basic zones when it comes to cycling:

Zone 1 – Recovery (50 – 64% of max HR)

Known as ‘active recovery,’ this zone can be used between cycling intervals, or for rest days when training. This zone will flush lactic acid from your body and help you loosen up sore muscles.

Zone 2 – Aerobic Endurance (65 – 74% of max HR)

Think if this is as your base pace, especially if you’re a beginner cyclist. This is the zone where you should spend a lot of your time, and is the foundation for building endurance and burning fat. You will be working hard enough to feel it, but able to maintain over long distances and remain able to carry on a conversation.

Zone 3 –  Aerobic Threshold (75 – 84% of max HR)

This zone can be described as your push pace, or comfortably hard. You are building strength and muscle, but you’ll want to be careful about just how much time you spend in this zone. At the end of a ride you will feel tired, but not have pushed yourself hard enough to see real progress (can reach a plateau in your fitness).

Zone 4 – Lactate Threshold (85 – 91% of max HR)

The lactate threshold is the zone in which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the bloodstream, as lactate clearance is no longer able to keep up with lactate production. This will be used most commonly in interval training as it is challenging and cannot be sustained for extended period of time. Within this zone you are bettering your maximum performance, improving lung capacity, and improving high-intensity endurance.

Zone 5 – VO2 (92 – 100% of max HR)

The VO2 zone can be described as the numerical measurement of the body’s ability to consume oxygen during intense exercise, in other words respiratory endurance. Most cannot maintain this zone for more than 5 minutes. Your lungs will be burning and you will be breathing (or gasping) heavily. Although difficult, this type of training will make your body more efficient.

How much time you should be spending in each of these zones has a lot to do with your goals and current training plan. Check out “Heart Rate Zone Training for Cyclists” for some examples to get started with your own heart rate zone training.

Filed Under: Training, Training Tips Tagged With: heart rate training, heart rate zones

  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Latest Articles

JOIN Cycling: A New Training Platform for Cyclists

May 27, 2024 By Eric Lister

cold exposure

The Benefits of Cold Exposure for Cycling & Life

June 13, 2023 By Eric Lister

hill climb

The Ultimate Hill Climb Training Guide

May 31, 2023 By Eric Lister

shoulder pain cycling

How to Treat & Avoid Shoulder Pain While Cycling

April 12, 2023 By Eric Lister

psoas stretch

The Importance of the Psoas Stretch for Cyclists

April 6, 2023 By Eric Lister

cycling neck pain

The Ultimate Guide to Cycling Neck Pain: Causes and Solutions

March 21, 2023 By Eric Lister

Useful Info

  • Contact
  • Finally, A Global Cycling Club That Is Focused On Community And Love Of Cycling!
  • Privacy Policy
  • Share Your Story!
  • Terms And Conditions Of Use
  • Welcome to I Love Bicycling
  • What Happened When I Stretched Every Day For a Month

Recent Posts

  • JOIN Cycling: A New Training Platform for Cyclists
  • How to Hang Bikes in Your Garage: 4 Inexpensive Options
  • Gravel Bike Vs. Road Bike: Which One Is Better For You?
  • The 6 Types of Mountain Bikes & How to Choose the Best One for You
  • What Is a Touring Bike Good For? 5 Benefits We Know You’ll Love

Search I Love Bicycling

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in