FTP 200 Zones - Zone 2, Sweet Spot and 7 Zones in Watts

Cycling power zones in watts, from one FTP number

Your plan says "ride 90 minutes in zone 2" and your bike computer only shows watts. This power zones calculator turns your FTP into the seven training zones of Andrew Coggan in watts, adds the sweet spot, and with your weight and threshold heart rate also gives every zone in watts per kilogram and in beats per minute. The zones meet without a gap, so whatever number the head unit shows belongs to exactly one zone.

Quick start. FTP 250 W: zone 2 is 139-188 W, sweet spot 220-233 W, threshold 226-263 W, VO2max 264-300 W, and recovery anything up to 138 W.

One number in, seven zones out

FTP - your functional threshold power in watts, from 50 to 700. Take it from your training app or work it out from a 20-minute or ramp test in the FTP calculator first; decimals such as 237.5 are fine.
Body weight and its unit (optional) - pounds or kilograms. With a weight the table adds a W/kg range to every zone, which helps when a plan is written in W/kg or when you compare climbs.
Threshold heart rate (optional) - LTHR, the average heart rate over the last 20 minutes of a solo 30-minute all-out effort. It is not your maximum heart rate. With it the table adds a heart rate range to zones 1 to 5.
Read the result - zone 2 at the top, because it is the zone most rides are planned in, then threshold, VO2max, sweet spot and recovery as tiles, then all seven zones with the typical workout for each.

Seven riders and the zones they get

A new rider after a first ramp test

Situation: FTP 150 W
Result: zone 2 84-113 W, tempo 114-135 W, threshold 136-158 W.

At this FTP the whole endurance zone is only 30 W wide, so a gusty day or a small rise in the road moves the power out of it. Ride by the 3-second or 10-second average rather than the live number.

FTP straight from a 20-minute test

Situation: FTP 237.5 W (250 W for 20 min x 0.95)
Result: zone 2 132-178 W, threshold 215-249 W, VO2max 250-285 W.

The decimal goes in as it is. The zone bounds are worked out from 237.5 W and only then rounded.

A club rider with a heart rate strap

Situation: FTP 250 W, LTHR 165 bpm
Result: zone 2 139-188 W at 113-137 bpm, threshold 226-263 W at 156-173 bpm.

On a long zone 2 ride heart rate drifts up at the same watts. If the power sits at 180 W and the heart rate crosses 137, the power is still right; the drift is a sign of heat or fatigue.

Zone 2 for an FTP of 280 W

Situation: FTP 280 W
Result: zone 2 155-210 W, sweet spot 246-260 W, threshold 253-294 W.

The sweet spot and the bottom of the threshold zone overlap from 253 to 260 W. That is intended: sweet spot is a band across two zones, not an eighth zone.

A strong amateur who trains in W/kg

Situation: FTP 300 W, 160 lb
Result: zone 2 166-225 W (2.28-3.10 W/kg), threshold 271-315 W (3.73-4.34 W/kg).

The W/kg column converts the watt range, so it moves when your weight changes even if the FTP does not.

All three inputs at once

Situation: FTP 180 W, 135 lb, LTHR 172 bpm
Result: zone 2 100-135 W, 1.63-2.20 W/kg, 118-143 bpm; VO2max 190-216 W, from 182 bpm.

With both optional columns the table has four columns; on a narrow phone screen it scrolls sideways inside its own box.

A rider at the sharp end

Situation: FTP 350 W
Result: zone 2 194-263 W, threshold 316-368 W, anaerobic capacity from 421 W.

At 350 W the endurance zone is 70 W wide, more than twice the 30 W of the new rider above, because every bound is a percentage.

The seven Coggan zones and what each one trains

The percentages are the training levels Andrew Coggan published for riding with a power meter, in the form TrainingPeaks lists them. The heart rate column uses his percentages of threshold heart rate, which stop at zone 5 because short efforts end before the heart rate catches up.

Zone	% of FTP	% of LTHR	Typical session
1. Active recovery	up to 55%	up to 68%	easy spin the day after a race
2. Endurance	56-75%	69-83%	long steady rides, the base of the week
3. Tempo	76-90%	84-94%	brisk group rides, long steady climbs
4. Lactate threshold	91-105%	95-105%	2 x 20 minutes, time-trial pace
5. VO2max	106-120%	above 105%	5 x 4 minutes with equal rest
6. Anaerobic capacity	above 120%	-	efforts of 30 seconds to 3 minutes
7. Neuromuscular power	maximal	-	sprints and standing starts

Power zones in watts for FTP 150 to 350

Each zone starts 1 W above the top of the zone below. With bounds rounded separately, 55% and 56% of 250 W would leave 139 W in no zone at all; here 139 W opens zone 2.

FTP	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Zone 4	Zone 5	Zone 6	Sweet spot
150 W	up to 83	84-113	114-135	136-158	159-180	from 181	132-140
175 W	up to 96	97-131	132-158	159-184	185-210	from 211	154-163
200 W	up to 110	111-150	151-180	181-210	211-240	from 241	176-186
225 W	up to 124	125-169	170-203	204-236	237-270	from 271	198-209
250 W	up to 138	139-188	189-225	226-263	264-300	from 301	220-233
275 W	up to 151	152-206	207-248	249-289	290-330	from 331	242-256
300 W	up to 165	166-225	226-270	271-315	316-360	from 361	264-279
350 W	up to 193	194-263	264-315	316-368	369-420	from 421	308-326

Heart rate zones for threshold heart rates of 150 to 180

The same rule for heart rate: each zone starts one beat above the top of the zone below. Zones 6 and 7 have no heart rate range.

LTHR	Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3	Zone 4	Zone 5
150 bpm	up to 102	103-125	126-141	142-158	from 159
160 bpm	up to 109	110-133	134-150	151-168	from 169
165 bpm	up to 112	113-137	138-155	156-173	from 174
170 bpm	up to 116	117-141	142-160	161-179	from 180
180 bpm	up to 122	123-149	150-169	170-189	from 190

A sample week at an FTP of 250 W

Zones become useful once they are written into sessions. The week below is one common pattern for a rider with about eight hours a week, with every target taken from the result for 250 W. Two sessions are hard, two are long and easy, and the rest is recovery; swap the numbers for your own result and the structure still holds.

Day	Zone	Target	Session
Monday	Rest	-	day off the bike
Tuesday	Sweet spot	220-233 W	3 x 15 minutes with 5 minutes easy between
Wednesday	Zone 2	139-188 W	60 minutes steady
Thursday	Zone 5	264-300 W	5 x 4 minutes, 4 minutes easy between
Friday	Zone 1	up to 138 W	30 to 45 minutes of easy spinning
Saturday	Zone 2	139-188 W	3 hours, the long ride of the week
Sunday	Zone 3	189-225 W	90 minutes with two 20-minute tempo blocks

Count the time and about three quarters of the week sits in zones 1 and 2, close to the 80/20 split that studies of endurance athletes keep finding. The hard days are hard on purpose: the 4-minute efforts at 264-300 W only work if the legs arrive fresh, which is what the easy Wednesday and Friday are for. When a week goes badly, cut the volume of zone 2 before you cut the two quality sessions.

Three habits that make zones work

Keep easy rides easy. Most of a typical training week sits in zones 1 and 2. Riding the "easy" days in zone 3 feels productive but leaves less in the legs for the hard sessions, which is why coaches call zone 3 the gray zone of training.

Pick power for short efforts, heart rate for long ones. Heart rate needs a minute or two to catch up with an effort, so for intervals shorter than that only the watts are meaningful. On long rides heart rate adds information power cannot give: a rising heart rate at constant watts shows fatigue, heat or dehydration.

Retest before the zones go stale. All seven zones hang on FTP. After several weeks of steady training the old number can be out of date, and every zone with it; a new test moves the whole table at once.

Zone questions from the training plan

What is zone 2 in watts?

56 to 75% of FTP. For an FTP of 250 W the calculator gives 139-188 W, for 200 W it gives 111-150 W, and for 300 W it gives 166-225 W.

What is sweet spot training?

Riding at 88 to 93% of FTP, across the top of zone 3 and the bottom of zone 4. It is hard enough to build threshold power and easy enough to hold for 20 to 40 minutes or repeat in long intervals. Some apps use 88-94%, which moves the top by one or two watts.

Why do my app's zones differ by a watt from these?

A table that rounds 55% and 56% of FTP separately can leave a watt between zone 1 and zone 2 that belongs to neither; at 250 W that watt is 139. This calculator starts every zone one watt above the top of the zone below, so no reading falls between zones. The tops are the same.

Can I use max heart rate instead of threshold heart rate?

Not in this table. The percentages here are of threshold heart rate, which sits well below the maximum. For zones from maximum heart rate use the training heart rate calculator.

Are there zones with five levels instead of seven?

Yes. Some apps use five or six zones and some coaches three broad ones, with bounds that differ from Coggan's seven levels. Use the zones of the system your plan was written in; if it names Coggan levels or sweet spot, this table fits.

Do these zones work on an indoor trainer?

Yes, if the FTP was measured on the same trainer. Many riders hold fewer watts indoors; with an outdoor FTP the indoor zones can feel a step harder.

Related tools

FTP Calculator

FTP and W/kg from a 20-minute, 2 x 8-minute, ramp or hour test - See the calculator

Cycling Power Calculator

The speed each zone holds on a flat road or a climb - See the calculator

Training Heart Rate Calculator

Heart rate zones from maximum or resting heart rate - See the calculator

Sweat Rate Calculator

How much to drink on a long zone 2 ride - See the calculator

VO2max Calculator

Aerobic capacity from field tests - See the calculator

VDOT Calculator

Training paces for runners from a race result - See the calculator

Treadmill Calculator

Indoor speed and incline as an outdoor running pace - See the calculator

Calories Burned Calculator

Energy used by a training ride from METs and time - See the calculator

FTP 200 power zones: zone 2 and all seven zones in watts

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