Here's a fairly extensive HR Zone calculator. Yes it's FREE!!

I've noticed a few recent threads asking questions about heart rate training zones. Since it's that time of year again when everyone gets out their trusty steed and start logging miles I thought this would be useful.

It's a heart rate calculator for those of you that still train using obsolete methods (like me). It's an Excel spreadsheet and you will need to know your age, resting HR, LT via Friel's test and LT via Coggan's test should you want to use those features. I'm sure most of you will already know your max heart rate but there are a couple of ways to estimate it should you need to.

You will find heart rate training zones from the following orgs/coaches...

• Joe Friel
• Andy Coggan
• British Cycling Fed
• Peter Keen (original BCF guidelines)
• Sally Edwards
• Karnoven Formula
• Ric Stern
• Dr. Peter Kanopka
• ACSM guidelines

The information in BLUE is what you will need to enter. It currently has my info so just type over it. The pages following the calculator give more in depth detail of the coache's guidlines.

Unzip and have at it. If you don't have Excel you can download a free Excel viewer from Micro$oft. I used Excel 2003 to type it up.

Don't worry, the file has been tested several times for viruses. That's the last thing I would do to you guys. If you don't have an anti-virus package I highly recommend Avast. It is free for personal use. www.avast.com

 

That's awsome.

It'd be nice if this remains available somewhere (in the articles maybe) for upcoming members.

 

Thanks. PM Ric. Maybe he'll do that or have a suggestion.

It should be noted that I didn't ask for permission from any of these coaches to put their schema into this calculator. I am hoping it is OK with them.

 

i'll make it a sticky soon. however, Dr M can you PM me -- there's a couple mistakes i've spotted that i guess should be rectified

cheers
ric

 

I suppose the accuracy of the calculator wouldn't decrease even the number of decimals shown were decreased...

Antti

 

Yes, rounding the fractions up or down is perfectly acceptable. HR training isn't that accurate anyway compared to using a power meter/wattage.

 

OK, with Ric's help I've updated his and Peter Keen's zones so they are more current and/or accurate.

If I get the notion or if there are enough responses I will add Chris Charmichael's older and newer zones. I have a text with his older zones based on MaxHR, but I don't have his newer zones based on his 3 minute or 8 mile threshold test. I believe those are in "The Ultimate Ride" text, which I don't have. Not sure.

Anyway, there should be plenty of HR zones and info to get started. Have a healthy and safe season on the bike.

Edit: Note that although I have a desktop support and help desk background, I am not an Excel guru. If you have suggestions feel free to PM me. I usually log in every few days.

 

DM,
Fantastic s/s.
Have you included the Zones which come as pdf on CD with some (most?) Polar HRM for cycling. 'Performance Cycling' by Adrie van Diemen and Jabik-Jan Bastiaans 2002?
DD

 

Check your PM's.

 

This is an excellent tool. I had done this to alimited extent, but this is great for those of us who like a lot of comparative info.

 

I just had a look at the HR Zone Calculator. Some very useful information for anyone who is training. i am just starting to train again after a knee injury, and i have little, quite possibly none of the endurance i had before my injury.

Most of the information i can figure out, but for the LT, where or how would i go about figuring that out? I didn't see anything inthe spreadsheet that detailed that. Maybe i just didn't look carefully? Any advice?

 

It depends on who's definition you are wanting to use for LT.

If it's the Friel test, warm up thoroughly and do a 30 minute time trial. Start your HRM (or hit the lap counter) 10 minutes into the ride. Use the average of the last 20 minutes.

If it's A. Coggan's test, warm up thoroughly and do a 60 minute time trial. Use the average HR for the entire 60 minutes.

Since these LT values are based on HR they are only "estimates" without using any special monitoring equipment. They are useful for guidelines for the coache's zones and training protocols. You may notice if you do the tests in May and again in July or August you will obtain different HR values due to the Summer heat.

 

nice little file!

 

nice

 

Thanks. I had no idea that this thead would get over 3500 hits. I'm planning to add some more coache's zones to it. Am currently waiting on some other information to come in so I can make all the changes at once.

 

Nice Doc. I am not a racer, heck I'm not even fast. But I am a numbers Geek. I like it. Let me ask you a question, Doc - I am 40 years old and have been cycling justs over two years. No seriously structured training. I am 195 (down from 255 3 years ago). Last year, on some pretty good little hills in Clermont, FL, I saw 188 on my heart rate monitor. Another day, I sprinted up a little hill at the halfway point of a 30 mile ride and saw 187. However, I have not seen anything close to that in over a year - even when I sprint at the end of a hard ride. How do I explain this as MHR is a constant fgure as I understand it?

 

There are hills in Florida?!

From what I understand, once you get into better shape your MaxHR will actually drop a little bit. Also it does drop with age, but not as quickly when one stays fit as when they are/were a couch potato. So MaxHR is not a fixed value over time.

I haven't done a MaxHR test in a couple of years so I don't even know if the number I'm using is accurate or not. However, being a few beats off isn't going to have a real world impact on training in most zones. A few beats variance is more than acceptable as using HR is just a ball park figure anyway. It's not as though training at 70% vs 72% MaxHR is going to have any profound impact on the physiological adaptations that take place from training. It just doesn't work like that. Summer heat can cause one to be in a higher zone just because the body is trying to work harder to keep cool.

 

Thanks, Doc. I had heard MHR was fixed but I had suspected that I might never see those figures again. I am using 182 as MHR based upon the second formula on the tope of your spreadsheet. I know that gets me very close if not exact for MHR so that I can base my training zones on that.

Yesterday I did a section of incline at a sustained 176 for about two minutes. Believe me, I am no Floyd Landis. It hurt and I was glad when it was over. But afterward I always say to myself, "that wasn't so bad, you're a wimp!"

Thanks for the insight.

 

It opened in Read Only for me! AAAAARGH! Could you email me an unzipped, uncompressed copy to my public email address? gunsel2001(at)yahoo(dot)com

 

Can you just not read it or do you want to modify it? I had locked it down on purpose.

I've wanted to add some other coaches' zones and data but haven't had the time. Also, I have had computer issues lately but that's getting resolved via some new upgrades.

Oh, and where in Indiana do you live? I'm not too far from Brownsburg.