Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Percentages of heart rate zone ranges auto changing?

9682956
11 months ago

I'm currently using %HRR to calculate my heart rate zones since I don't have a chest strap at the moment for %LTHR. I have auto update on when it comes to MAX HR, MAX Threshold, and MAX RHR. When I first set this up, my heart rate zone range/boundary %s for %HRR were:

Z1: 50-60%

Z2: 60-70%

Z3: 70-80%

Z4: 80-90%

Z5: 90-100%

After my run yesterday the percentages are now:

Z1: 50-64%

Z2: 64-73%

Z3: 73-82%

Z4: 82-91%

Z5: 91-100%

Does anyone know why these numbers changed? Are they supposed to change like this? If this is correct, I'll leave them as is and let the watch keep changing them in hopes that it knows best where to put those ranges. Or is this wrong and the ranges should always be at the default? If so, how do I stop it from it changing or do I just have to keep resetting?

I'm using a Garmin Forerunner 265. Run 5K 4x/week. Just in case any of that info is needed. Thanks in advance for any advice/assistance!

  • 0 11 months ago

    There is a bug where the % of the zones are not correct after auto-detection. The workaround is to reset the zones on the watch after this happens.

    It typically happens for Max HR detection, but it is better to check after accepting a new LTHR detection.

    The bug happens typically when the zones are defined by % Max HR or % LTHR. I have mine defined like you by % HRR and I don't see it happening (my watch is an Epix 2).

  • 0 11 months ago in reply to Etupes25

    Alright, so the zone percentages should never be moved and should always be at the "default" % numbers regardless of any changes to max heart rate, resting heart rate, and threshold... is that correct? So is turning off "auto detection" for max hr and threshold the way to go? Should I turn off "Use Average" for the resting heart rate as well?

  • +1 11 months ago in reply to 9682956
    9682956 said:
    so the zone percentages should never be moved and should always be at the "default" % numbers regardless of any changes to max heart rate, resting heart rate, and threshold... is that correct?

    Correct

    9682956 said:
    So is turning off "auto detection" for max hr and threshold the way to go?

    6 months ago I would have recommended to turn Max HR detection off, because it was prone to errors, even if you wear a chest strap. Recently, Garmin has improved the algorithm. You can now get a new Max HR detected even during a sub-maximal effort, and it can go up or down. At his time, I recomment to leave it on, if you wear a chest strap, because you will get a more accurate estimate than a formula-based Max HR, and Max HR accuracy is paramount in Garmin's metrics ecocsystem. That said, once you've had your Max HR detected once or twice, you can safely turn it off for a year at least.

    Lactate auto-detection can be wrong at the pace level when you run anaerobic intervals, for example. It you get an auto-detection during a threshold-like workout (a 10k race for example, or a 20-30mn maximal pace effort), then it should be accurate. The most accurate test is the built-in threshold guided test. That said, the auto-detection will not create issues if you reject the proposal. I take these proposals as hints to run a new built-in guided test and see if things have really changed.

    Resting HR is key to estimate your VO2 max and the training load of your workouts. Wear the watch during the nights and keep the average on.

  • 0 11 months ago in reply to Etupes25

    This was a lot of great information that I was looking for! I'll continue to keep an eye on the %s of the heart rate zones as well as the power zones %s since those had automatically changed too. I hope Garmin can fix that auto %s change bug someday. I'm always going to be paranoid that they've reset without me realizing haha.

    I'm very new at all this and still learning a lot of the basic stuff. Thank you for being so patient and thorough with your responses.