Heart rate zones: more of them, all editable/customizable

[branning]

The heart rate zone feature is great, but the user-editable heart rate "zone" is not useful at all. The common heart-rate training protocols include up to 5 heart rate zones, and the beginning and end all need to be editable according to the individual's own maximum heart rate.

Ideally, these would also have editable names.

Zone	HR begin	HR end
Z1 light	100	130
Z2 easy	130	140
Z3 aero	140	150
Z4 anaerobic	150	160
Z5 VO2max	160	190

Moderator edit: added labels

[lecycliste]

I agree.  This is an important feature.  

I have a very low max heart rate - 20 beats less than the age formula.  Add this to the fact that the surge understates heart rate during work-outs and its garbage in - garbage out.  

Love fitbit for years, love my new surge.  I can deal with slightly inaccurate heart rate, but no HR zones that make sense is just poor by fitbit.  

[blb4]

I do agree as well, it should be possible to work with 5 configurable heart rate zones. I did set my age to 18 to set the current 3 zones to something useful for me, but 18 is a very long time ago for me....

[smj34]

Ability to change target zones. Also option to select Karvonen method (you collect all the data). This would provide my trainer with more compatible data

[BrianMc]

This one is big imo! Setting custom zones is critical to a workout since the calculations is only a guide.

[orskychief]

Agreed, or at least give us a way to enter a custom max. HR for folks like me where the common formulas come up with a number that is WAY off.

[MattSando_]

You can already set custom HR zones. It's in the Fitbit app.

[BrianMc]

No, you can set one zone... which is kinda pointless. Most trainers and apps recognize there are 5 distinct zones that use carbs vs fat in very different ways.

[stackhsc]

It would be great if users could set their own heart rate zones. Maybe come with the default but he ability to set the three zones individually if so desired. 

[smj34]

I tried it. Agree with BrianMc. I want to see how many minutes in each zone.

[dmj1987]

+1 - surely this is simple to implement... you already have it (kind of!) with the custom heart rate zone - just allow for more than one!  Whoever decided to include that was a bit silly in overeeing the inclusion of multiple zones, just including the one is pretty much useless as many people have pointed out.

[ras0710]

Any word on if they are even considering this?

[smj34]

Heard nothing. As mentioned, you can customize one zone (I can't tell if it's supposed to be fat burn, aerobic, or what). I want to be able to see minutes in each zone. Just a max or one broad zone doesn't do it for me...

[jrivers]

I workout regularly and have AMA tests done to determine my heart rate zone but cannot program them into my charge hr. The customization feature is no where close for my zones. Returning unit, very disappointed. Also you need to allow the user to have the display on at all times so the can use it as a watch and watch heart rates while working out.

[johndownunder]

One of the reasons I bought the FB Surge was ability to set custom HR zones (regardless of wrist sensing accuracy), based on what is stated in the online manual. The only online manual I could find was en-US.

https://help.fitbit.com/resource/manual_surge_en_US

Page 9 includes:

To set a custom heart rate zone using the Fitbit.com dashboard: 1. Log in to Fitbit.com. 2. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the dashboard and select Settings. 3. Using the navigation tabs on the left, find Heart Rate Zones and specify the minimum and maximum heart rate for your custom zone.

The rest is about syncing.

The problem is that there is no Heart Rate Zones tab on the left. Therefore, users can't set custom HR zones.

Have I missed something or is this just a lie from FitBit? Numerous posts in the forums pretty much prove that custom HR zone doesn't exist, despite the statement in the manual.

My friends and their friends routinely buy products based on my recommendations. Not feeling good about recommending FB Surge just yet.

[TDZHDTV]

Instead of using generic heart rate zones to be calculated using 220 - age, allow custom settings for more accurate zones.

Moderator's edit: added labels & edited title for clarity

[David_F]

Like to see this as well...

[peterevans43]

The 220- age works well for me, but it would great if I got an alarm when exceeding my maximum. 

[ThePreacher]

I thought it had this already. 

[fotomaf]

please please please...

[Davehoffman]

Three zones would be key as most interval based performance programs try to keep you between 1 of 3 zones. Being able to add those in for myself would be great and make the data so much more useful.

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@stackhsc wrote:

It would be great if users could set their own heart rate zones. Maybe come with the default but he ability to set the three zones individually if so desired. 

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[earltedly]

Again, this is a big must for me. As well as the maximum heart rate being off I measure my lactate threshold on a regular basis.

I can understand Fitbit having predetermined zones for their calculations, but it would be very useful to have an advanced input where it's possible to specify max hr, lt threshold and resting heart rate for them to generate those zones more accurately.

[alexi]

I also take a Beta blocker and have recommended target rates based on stress tests so custom zones that are reflected in all the information presented in app is a must for me.

[SunsetRunner]

I've been using various Polar heart rate monitors for years, and they all offer the option of setting a max HR. The device then calculates 3 HR zones off of that. The 220-age calc can be way off - it is for me. See articles by Sally Edwards. I really hope that FitBit makes the necessary changes in their programming!

[Zozette]

+1 There should be not just votes but up/down votes for ideas so that the development team know what to focus on in priority.

[rebeccatx]

I wish we could create our own heart rate zones like Mapmyride my zones are so different than a average 45 year old. I was metabolic tested for my zones and I would like to see how my heart rate is in those zones. Surge has me peaking at 145 at 145 I am still in zone 1 not even close to zone 2.  We need to be able to customize and yes I know of the custom feature that surge has but I want to be able to break it out into my zones not just a big custom zone.