Practical help to align zones between TP and Suunto.
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I am new to Suunto but also new to TP (Training Peaks). Previously I have used Garmin devices for many years. I am using Suunto and TP now for almost 2 months. I see a difference in my CTL, ATL and TSB between Suunto and TP. I have read some posts about this and I understand that it is important to align the zones between both. So I want to start there.
I know how to change zones on my Suunto Vertical but I don’t understand how to align with TP. The reason is that I see more than 5 zones for each (heart, pace or power) in TP. And also in TP I see 2 options in automatically calculating zones. The first one is clear but I don’t know what to choose in TP from the, sometimes long, method list for the second option…
For running I am using my Suunto Vertical to track my activity. I run on heart rate or pace, not power. For cycling I am using a Hammerhead and I have powermeters on all my bikes. I have my accounts connected and I see all my activities in both, Suunto app and TP. TSS on the activities are not equal but als no big differences.
So I am looking for some practical help to get the zones aligned between TP and Suunto. I consider this as a first step to get more out of my Suunto Vertical and Suunto app.
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@Johan-Ulijn hey
first of all you have to Login in your traininpeaks account. There you have to Check If your heart rate zones are same like in your watch. If not you can create there Zones manually. No Automatic Zones. Then when you have your zones updated there you will got in future same TSS values after a workout. -
@Johan-Ulijn for TSS, you do not actually need to have the same zones, just the same thresholds. Luckily TP allows to set thresholds, so if you set the threshold as the first value of Z5 in Suunto, you get the same TSS, except some rounding issue at times
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Thanks @GiPFELKiND and @isazi I have looked at both, my zones in TP and Suunto. I managed to get these aligned based on threshold for HR (for all), power (biking) and speed/pace for running. All have 5 zones now. In Suunto there is only a power zone for Cycling and only a speed/pace zone for running. The default power zones in TP I have setup for cycling and the default speed/pace zone for for running. I guess this does make sense. If I would, I could of course add speed/pace zones for biking en power zones for running.
I will monitor the results coming days after the activities.
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@Johan-Ulijn Depending on the type of running you do (I cannot speak to cycling) I find either TSS (MET) or TSS (ZoneSense) to be more accurate than TSS HR or TSSr. I run ultras and do a lot of slower mountain running. TSShr and TSSr do not reflect the effort and per Uphill Athlete I add 10 TSS pts per 1000 feet (300m) of gain and loss during my runs in TrainingPeaks. TSS (MET) or TSS (ZoneSense preferred for me) match TrainingPeaks with the added 10 TSS points for altitude gain/loss. A normal run for me 1- 1.5h will have at least 300m gain and loss.
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@Brad_Olwin Thanks for your feedback. I have looked at zonesense. I need a new heart rate belt to use it. Currently I am using a polar verity sense for one year. This doesn’t support zonesense if i am right. I always run trails but flat, in the forest. Maybe my next heart rate will be a Suunto zonesense…
