Zone 2 range question

Hi coaches,

In the GSC II template, zone 2 range is 60~70% of Max HR. It seemed match my 80~88% FTHR at the time(about 6 months ago).

my age : 37
was doing zone 2 at 110~128 HR

But then your HR calculator on the website says zone 2 range is 72~79% of Max HR which is 131~144 HR to me.

Which range do you recommend zone 2 for me?

  1. 110~128 (60~70% of Max HR)
  2. 131~144 (72~79% of Max HR)

Thanks!

CK,

Good question. It is very challenging to predict zones for individuals and different exercise modalities. I talk about this extensively in the text accompanying the GSC II Template and the article for the calculator. I also provided additional proxies for the different zones, e.g. RPE, breathing rate, and so on.

With all that in mind, I’d suggest your interpretation of what zone 2 should feel like is better than my prediction. Without more sophisticated instrumentation, I’d predict ~ 125- 140 bpm is probably zone 2 for you. I think the calculator on our site and the calculator included in the General SC II template are both reasonable targets. Of course, a functional test could be helpful if someone wants to be “sure”.

I should also say that I don’t think this matters much until the volume gets pretty high, like > 3 hours per week. Not meant to be a buzzkill, but rather trying to put this into perspective.

-Jordan

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