Power Zone Training Is the Best Thing About a Peloton Bike.

Peloton bikes are best known for their video classes, which feature a social leaderboard, chatty instructors, and curated music. But from a fitness perspective, my favorite feature is the “power zone” workout, which you can do with specific activities or enable the power zone bar for any workout. Let me tell you why I love it and how you can get started with it too.

What is Power Zone Training?

Cyclists measure their efforts in terms of power: how much energy you transfer through the pedals in a given period of time. Often measured in watts. On a street bike, you’ll need a power meter to measure; Peloton has this measurement built into it. ( Bike estimates your power; Bike+ has a real power meter . Both are great for everything I’m discussing today.)

Power zones are customized for you—we’ll talk about how in a minute—and there are seven of them. If you are familiar with the output metric (the number in the center of the screen), then it is the result that determines your zone. Higher output values ​​fall into higher zones.

Power zone workouts (or “rides” as Peloton calls them) will tell you when to enter each zone. Unlike other Peloton classes, instructors leading Power Zone rides don’t tell you what resistance to use and may recommend a cadence, but you’re never required to stick to it. So, if you’re in zone 1 and your instructor tells you to pedal in zone 3, you can increase the resistance, cadence, or both—whatever gets you there.

To be completely clear, power zones have nothing to do with heart rate zones . We’ll talk about the difference a little later.

Why are Power Zone rides special?

Because power zones are calibrated according to your personal abilities, you always have a scale that shows how hard you are working compared to what you are capable of. I like the power zone rides because I know what kind of training effect to expect from them.

While a “classic rock ride” can be hard, easy, or somewhere in between, I know that a “power endurance zone” ride will keep me in zones 2 and 3 for most of the workout, training my endurance without making me too tired. On the other hand, riding in the “maximum power zone” will make me work harder, like a HIIT workout. The difference is that based on the power zone scale on the screen, I know exactly when I’m hitting my ideal target for the workout I’m doing – not too hard and not too easy.

In short, other attractions are great for fun or to be surprised. Power Zone rides are designed for training . If you want to become faster and better on the bike, these structured workouts will help you get there and give you a way to measure your progress.

What does riding in the power zone look like?

When you want to ride in the power zone, your first task is to decide what type. You can filter classes by “power zone” type, but inside you will see three types of classes:

• Power Zone (PZ) : With these, you’ll spend most of your working time in zones 3, 4, and 5, with zone 1 or 2 resting between exercises. These are usually fairly hard workouts, but they are usually not too intense.

• Maximum Power Zone (PZM) : These rides will take you to higher zones (6 and 7) with easy recovery, usually in zone 1.

• Power Zone Endurance (PZE) . These rides almost always keep you in zones 2 and 3 the entire time. Your efforts will be moderate but constant.

The shortest Power Zone rides typically last 30 minutes (there may be a few 20-minute rides listed). The 45-minute rides are probably the most popular, but there are many 60-minute rides and a few 75-minute and 90-minute PZE rides.

All power zone rides begin with a warm-up, which typically lasts between 10 and 13 minutes. A typical option looks like this:

• A few minutes (usually one song) of pedaling in zone 1 to allow your legs to begin to warm up.

• Crunches, where you move your legs as fast as you feel comfortable, for about 30 seconds at a time. Your exact zone doesn’t matter here. In between spins, you pedal in zone 1 to recover. After three to five spins with a break of 30 seconds or a minute, it will be time for the next stage.

• “Build” from 30 to 90 seconds in each of the zones that you will use in the workout. For PZE this can be 90 seconds in zone 2 and 90 seconds in zone 3. For PZM you can get 30 seconds in zones 3, 4, 5 and 6.

• A short recovery (usually 1 minute) of zone 1 pedaling before starting the main workout.

Instructors get creative with the details, but always maintain the structure of a Zone 1 segment, a few spins, and a build. During the warm-up, they usually explain the structure of the upcoming workout.

To view your workout structure before starting your session, you can click on “Class Plan” in the ride description, then “View Details” and you can see the full breakdown. (Some older classes don’t have this information, but classes last year or two will always have it.) The plan will tell you what zone each interval is in and how many minutes you’ll spend there. In the example here, you’ll spend 3, 5, 7, then 5 minutes in zone 3 with a shorter recovery in zone 2. This is pretty typical for the PZE class.

Why you’ll love the Power Zone panel

Anyone can take a power zone lesson at any time, but if you haven’t set up the power zone scale, you won’t know exactly when you’ll be in the right zone. (However, go ahead and attend the class. During assembly, the instructor will explain how each zone should feel. You can take the first ride or two by feel.)

The power zone bar is the color-coded line at the bottom of the screen below the output data. The zones will fill in color based on your findings, so that when you’re in zone 1, you’ll only see the leftmost blue piece illuminated, and when you’re in zone 7, you’ll see the entire rainbow. , zone 7 is highlighted in red so you know where you are. Power zone classes released after November 2022 have an indicator of the zone you should be in, so even if you missed what the instructor called the zone, you’ll see on your screen which zone you should be in.

Once you set up the Power Zone panel (more on that in a second), you’ll have the option to show it all the time , not just in Power Zone classes. I highly recommend doing this. With the Power Zone Dashboard, you can take the idea of ​​power zone training while driving through scenic drives and see how traditional-style training compares to your own zones. If I want to ride to music for fun but stick to easy workouts, I’ll just make sure my performance stays in zone 2 or 3. If the power zone bar is on, this is easy to do.

How to Set Up Power Zones on Peloton

If you know what the term “FTP” means (hi, cyclists), you can go into settings right now and turn on the power zones panel. It’s in your profile, in the Settings section. At the bottom of the screen, find the FTP section and click “Calculate custom value.” There you can enter your FTP number.

But the rest of us should take the FTP test. Well, you might not want to , but you kind of need to in order to calibrate everything correctly.

How to pass the FTP test

FTP stands for Functional Threshold Power and is a measure of how high a power level you can maintain over time. There are specific Peloton rides designed to measure your FTP. Once you do this, you will be prompted to update your FTP in Settings. (Say yes.)

The FTP test takes 20 minutes, but I prefer to allow an hour. This gives you 10-20 minutes to warm up, 20 minutes to test, 5-15 minutes to cool down, and then plenty of time to lie on the floor afterwards. (Pro tip: When you’re done, have someone bring you a bottle of fresh, cold water.)

People get nervous about FTP, but it’s really just an indicator of where your fitness is at the moment. If you do it right, you’ll be tired at the end, but then you’ll know your FTP, which means you can take easy rides and know they’ll be easy because they’ll be calibrated for you.

I have taken several FTP tests. Here are my tips:

• Schedule a time and when the time comes, get on the bike and do it. If you’re the type of person who gets nervous when you have a test scheduled in your calendar in the future, just do it now. I’m serious, turn on the bike right now and get this over with. You can read the rest of this article when you’re done.

• Warm up via FTP. Some are 10 minutes, some are 15. I find the longer the better; sometimes I do the 10 minute warm up twice. Choose your favorite and most encouraging instructor to warm up.

• After your warm-up, take a short water break if you need it, and then jump right into the FTP test. It doesn’t matter who the instructor is; you’ll barely notice them. Mute your screen and play your music if it’s important to you.

• Start with a strong, steady pace that you are confident you can maintain for more than 20 minutes. Every five minutes, ask yourself if you can turn the intensity up a notch and still maintain it. If you already have a 20-minute personal best (whether from a previous FTP test or another ride), filter the leaderboard by “just me” and try to beat yourself.

• Every time you feel like you can’t continue, slow down a little , but don’t stop . Use this as a new steady pace and get back to asking yourself every few minutes if you can increase your productivity or if you need to stay where you are. It’s better to go out too fast, slow down, and then continue to the finish line, than to stop halfway and… then what? Do it all again? Never.

• Regardless of your fitness level, there is a certain amount of energy you can register in a 20-minute test. If you don’t like the number you get, you can repeat the test in a couple of weeks. But you won’t know what the number is until the end. So don’t quit. Keep pedaling. You absolutely can do this.

• Whatever minute you are in, don’t focus on how many minutes are left. Just focus on getting through this moment.

Before you know it, you’ll find yourself in the final sprint to the finish line. The ride ends, at which point I usually take a photo of my leaderboard results with my phone. When you leave your ride to do a recovery (please do a recovery, your body will thank you), Peloton will ask if you want to update your FTP. Say yes. By the way: It is recommended to take a new FTP test every 4-6 weeks.

Heart rate zones and power zones

I need to make something clear: when you train with power zones, they should be used instead of heart rate zones. Not in addition.

Now you can still wear the heart rate monitor. This is fine. You just don’t use it to manage your workout. You’ll see a power zone bar at the bottom of the screen and a heart rate zone indicator in the top left corner. Either ignore or hide the heart rate zone indicator . You can click on the little side arrow and it will disappear, but keep recording your heart rate data to review it later.

People often wonder how heart rate zones match up with power zones, but there is no one way to convert them. In general, heart rate zone 2 corresponds to power zones 2–3. But the longer you exercise, the higher your heart rate, and it takes longer for your heart rate to change as you shift gears. If you go into power zone 5, your bike will immediately be in zone 5. It may take 30 seconds for your heart to catch up. Never worry if your heart rate zones and power zones don’t match, okay? You can only train with one at a time, and we’re here to train with power zones.

What Power Zone Workouts Should I Do?

When you’re just starting out, the easiest way to learn how to train in power zones is to follow the Discover Your Power Zones program (available in the Programs section of the Bike/Bike+ website). It will help you complete an FTP test at the beginning and end of a four-week program, and in between you’ll get a sample of all the different types of power zone workouts. The instructors know they’re talking to newbies in the power zone, so they’ll spend a lot of time explaining how everything works and giving you tips on how to get the most out of it.

Once you’re done with this program, you might want to take the Build Your Power Zones course to continue the same work, but you can also just start taking the Power Zone classes that you think you’ll enjoy. Over time, you may want to try Peak Your Power Zones, a more advanced program aimed at improving your FTP. (Your FTP will improve no matter what program you take, but the Peak program is aimed at increasing this number rather than providing a comprehensive fitness program.)

In addition to these three built-in programs, you can also find program suggestions on Reddit (there’s a group called #RedditPZ that runs nine-week programs) and in Facebook’s Power Zone Pack , which offers challenges for followers.

But if you’re working out on your own, you can build your own program simply by knowing what to expect from each type of power zone workout. For most people it will be useful:

• 0 or 1 Power Zone Max trip(s) per week

• 1 or 2 Power Zone trips per week

• Endurance rides in the power zone until the end of the available time (or complete other rides while remaining in zone 2–3 on the power zone panel)

So if you ride three times a week, you can do one PZ and two PZEs. If you’re a monster who rides every day, you can do one PZM, two PZs, and four PZEs, with one or two of those PZE rides being zone 2 (instead of following the instructions to switch between zones 2 and 3). . Adjust it as needed to suit your fitness level and choose a workout duration that suits your schedule.

When choosing your own workouts , the Power Zone Tool from homefitnessbuddy.com is incredibly helpful. You can filter and sort data by instructor, training duration, and a class metric called TSS (Training Stress Score). The higher the TSS, the more difficult it will be to recover from training. (For example, you can search for “Christina PZE” and sort by TSS, lowest first. You’ll immediately see that she has several 30-minute rides that are entirely in zone 2—great for a recovery ride.)

You can also preview the zones in a visual chart, which I find easier to read than the way Peloton presents them in a class plan. Keep in mind that this tool will not have the newest rides yet, but there will also be some older rides that may not have a power zone indicator. But fortunately, all the statistics are available in each entry, so you can choose which trips you want to take.

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