Learn how to use training zones to add precision to your training!
Using training zones allows you to add precision to your workouts. If you’re targeting an upcoming event or performance objective, you need a systematic plan to structure your training around those goals. A key element of any training plan is the use of training zones to help you achieve the right training effects as you progress through your program.
This course provides trail runners and endurance athletes an introduction to training zones. Whether you are a runner, triathlete, cross-country skier, or mountain endurance athlete, learn what training zones are and how to use them to target desired training effects.
If you are currently using — or considering using — an Alp Fitness training plan and are curious about the training zones used in the plan, this course provides you with additional background to help you make the most of the plan.
If you are an endurance athlete interested in designing your own custom training plan, this course provides you with the starting point to coach yourself by introducing key concepts and practical applications to help you set up and use training zones.
The course consists of a series of short readings with optional quizzes to check your knowledge along the way, showing you how to measure and monitor your training based on perceived exertion — namely, breathing and talking cues — while also showing you how to use pace, heart rate, and running power for those who train with GPS watches, heart rate monitors, and/or running power meters.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain what it means to take a systematic approach to training
- Distinguish between training volume and training intensity
- Identify three key physiological points of interest for training
- Summarize the Alp Fitness training zone system
- Identify the training effects targeted in the different zones
- Use breathing and talking as perceived exertion cues to gauge your training intensity
- Use pace, heart rate, and/or power as additional tools to gauge your training intensity
No prior background in the use of training zones is needed, just a curiosity about how to add precision to your training.
Course length is about an hour. You can move through the content at your own pace, returning to topics for further study or skipping around based on your interests. When logged in, your progress will be kept so you can pick up where you left off after returning from a break.
