Help me obtain information about heart rate training ranges?

[Kapalua]

I understand we should train within different heart rate zones (as a percentage of maximum heart rate) depending on age. 

What percentage zones are there (5 I think) or perhaps less for those interested in

1. building aerobic capacity

2. reduction of body fat

2. others?

Do you know of any good sites to explore this issue of heart rate zone targeting for specific goals?

[Colinm39]

Try this site and there are plenty of sites and also Joe Friels book

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/hrm1.htm

Total Heart Rate Training: Customize And Maximize Your Workout Using A Heart Rate Monitor Joe Friel

[Dominique]

Digifit (maker of the iCardio app for iOS and Android) has some great info on their site:

http://blog.digifit.com/2012/07/why-should-you-know-your-personal-heart-rate-zones/

If you have a heart rate monitor and a compatible smartpone, you may want to use their app to determine your personal heart rate zones. They have several fitness assessment tests for that purpose. I used the Cooper test and found the personal HR zones it gave me differ quite a bit from the generic ones based on age.

When actually working out (mainly walking and running), I prefer Runtastic Pro, which provides a lot of HR related info during and after the workout.

[Mary]

I wouldn't take the zone names too literally.  The 'fat burning zone' has been pretty much shown to be an insignificant effect though you'll probably read that in your reading.  The higher your HR, the more calories you burn.  There is some variation in fat calories as a percent of total in some zones, but not enough to out-weigh the total difference.  

It's good to know your max HR and to aim for a sensible percentage of it, though, just to make sure you're working hard enough for cardio benefit but not so hard you're miserable.  The percent goal doesn't change as you age so much as your max HR does.  If you don't have a HR monitor, you can do it with perceived exertion charts instead.

[Kapalua]

@Dominique I have had the Garmin Forerunner 620 for a few weeks now and it calculates heart rate zones for me (along with a whole lot more metrics) which I find helpful on long runs.

Garmin's algorithm (actually Firstbeat's algorithm, your Finnish company) is geared to take  into account age, fitness level, resting HR, etc. and of course Max HR (which it will self correct for if the user exceeds theoretical Max HR during an exercise session.

So far I like the 620 a lot, but as a new product it has some bugs for which they need a firmware update to correct.

[SusanL]

I use the free Wahoo fitness app with my heart rate monitor.  The app tracks my heart rate and based on MY max, and it tells me what zone I'm in.  It also allows me to e-mail the results to Excel so I can graph my heart rate changes as the workout progresses and during recovery.  It works with Garmin products, too.