Cardio Zones

Question 1

Cardio Zone 1

Answer 1

Below VT1

RPE 12-13 or 3-4

HRM 65-75%

Light to moderate
Starting to sweat but can still carry on a conversation effortlessly

Question 2

Cardio Zone 2

Answer 2

VT1 to Midpoint*

RPE 14-15 or 5-6

HRM 76-85%

Challenging to hard
Noticeable sweating and using larger volumes of breath
Continual talking is becoming challenging

Question 3

Cardio Zone 3

Answer 3

Midpoint to VT2

RPE 16-17 or 7-8

HRM 86-95%

Vigorous to very hard
Profuse sweating
Vigorous breathing and ability to talk is limited to short phrases

Question 4

Cardio Zone 4

Answer 4

Above VT2

RPE 18-20 or 9-10

Very hard to maximum effort
Breathing as hard as possible
Speaking is impossible or limited to grunts of single words

Question 5

Karvonen method

Answer 5

THR = [(HRmax - HRrest) desired intensity] + HRrest

Question 6

Tanaka Formula

Answer 6

208 – (.7 x age) = HR max equation to find the Target Heart rate