If you choose to do some zone training with a heart rate monitor you need to know the following concepts:  

• BPM: Beats per minute. This is the number of times your heart pumps (pulse beats) in a minute.
• MP: Max pulse. The maximum pulse you can push yourself to achieve. Age affects your max pulse. For this reason young people have a very high max pulse and older people typically have a lower max pulse. This is important knowledge when it comes to which zone you should do your training.
• LT: Lactate Threshold. BPM (Beats per minute) you can keep up for an hour without getting lactic acid in your muscles
• Aerobic: Your aerobic training zone is the area you most often work in during competitions, which are not time trials.
• Lactic acid: is a muscle situation, which arises when you do far more than your muscles can handle. Overload over a longer period and lactic acid builds up which reduces the muscles ability to work.

Zone Training is a matter of finding out your Max Pulse and your Resting Pulse. We got a Heart Rate Zone Calculator where you can input your age, RHR and MHR and the calculator will do the work for you. Link goes here

Reading your max pulse: