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 endurance athletes an introduction to training zones. Whether you are a runner, triathlete, cross country skier, cyclist, mountain endurance athlete, or coach, 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 and optional quizzes to check your knowledge, 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 power for those who train with GPS watches, heart rate monitors, and/or power meters.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain what training intensity means
- Identify three key physiological points of interest for training
- Describe different tools for measuring and monitoring training intensity
- Use field tests to find your lactate threshold values for pace, heart rate, and power
- Summarize the Alp Fitness training zone system
- Set your Alp Fitness training zones for the endurance activities you do and the tools you use (pace, heart rate, and/or power)
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 1-2 hours. You can move through the content at your own pace and return to topics as needed, allowing you to use the course as a guide when you need to perform a field test or set your training zones.
