NB These zones are based on Functional Threshold Heart-Rate NOT Maximum Heart-Rate.
Functional Threshold Heart-Rate is your average heart-rate during a 20 minute hard effort.
| Zone | Name | %FTHR | Perceived Effort | Description |
| 1 | Recovery | <68 | Very Easy | Easy spinning |
| 2 | Endurance | 68-83 | Easy to Moderate | All day pace |
| 3 | Tempo | 83-94 | Moderate to Quite Hard |
Brisk ride |
| 4 | Threshold | 94-105 | Hard | 1 hour time-trial pace. 6 to 20 minute efforts. Requires recovery. |
| 5 | VO2 max | 105-121 | Very Hard | Short hill climbs 2 to 6 minute efforts. A few days recovery between sessions. |
| 6 | Anaerobic Capacity | Extremely Hard | High intensity efforts of under 2 minutes. | |
| Based on Coggan and British Cycling | ||||
You will probably discover that the percentages of Heart-Rate vary slightly between coaches/authors but this is mostly in the zones for Endurance and Tempo with the Threshold usually at 94%.
There is also a growing realisation that basing your Zones on the average heart-rate that you can maintain for 20 to 60 minutes is better than your actual maximum heart-rate. Your Functional Threshold Heart-Rate can be observed during a long hard effort of 20 to 60 minutes. During a hard effort you will notice that your heart-rate increases then more -less stabilises at an effort at which you feel that if you go any harder you will have to ease off. It’s also around the effort level where your legs start to hurt/ache.