EndoGusto comes with built-in training zone methods for each sport, but every coach has their own approach. With custom training zones you create your own zone methods per sport (Running, Cycling, Swimming) and per metric (heart rate, pace, or power), choose what they're based on, or pick a ready-made preset such as Karvonen or VDOT. Once a method is saved you can set it as the default for your athletes while still adjusting individual athletes when needed.
This guide walks you through creating and managing custom training zones at the business level, and how they resolve into real numbers for each athlete.
Navigate to Training Zones Settings
Step 1: Open the Zones Tab
Click the Settings gear icon in the top right of the navigation bar. On the Settings page, select the "Zones" tab from the top menu, next to Subscription, Account, and Notification settings.
Step 2: Select a Sport
At the top of the Zones page you'll see three sport tabs: Running, Cycling, and Swimming. Each sport has its own zone method cards, one per metric.
Click the sport you want to configure. For example, Running shows a Heart Rate card and a Pace card; Cycling shows Heart Rate and Power; Swimming shows Pace only, since heart rate isn't used in the water. Each card displays the current method name, what it's based on, and the zone ranges.
Edit an Existing Zone Method
Step 3: Edit Zone Percentages
To change the percentages of an existing method without creating a new one, click "Edit method" on the card you want to edit.
The card expands into an editable form. At the top, the "Name of custom zone" dropdown shows the current method (marked "Default"), and below it each zone has editable percentage fields. Adjust the values to match your coaching approach, then click "Save changes".
Create a Custom Zone Method
Step 4: Start a New Method and Choose Its Basis
You have two ways to start a custom method:
Click "Create custom zones" below any method card.
Or click "Edit method" on an existing method.
The form first asks what the zones are based on. The options depend on the card:
Heart Rate (Running and Cycling): % of HRmax, % of LTHR, or HRR (heart rate reserve, HRmax minus resting HR). HRR percentages land at a higher, more athlete-specific heart rate than the same %HRmax, and they need a resting HR for each athlete.
Pace (Running): % of LT pace or Direct pace entry, where you name the zones here and type each athlete's paces on their own page.
Pace (Swimming): % of T-pace or CSS pace-based, where each zone is set as CSS plus or minus seconds per 100 m (negative for faster than CSS).
Power (Cycling): % of FTP.
Step 5: Configure Your Zones
Give the method a name in the "Name of custom zone" field, then fill in each zone row. Percentages appear only for the percentage-of-threshold options; direct pace and CSS methods show no percentages on this page.
For percentage methods, the start of each zone picks up where the previous one ends, so you only set the upper boundary. You can also:
Rename zones by editing the zone name field, for example "Zone 1" to "Recovery" or "Easy".
Add zones with "+ Add new zone" at the bottom of the list.
Remove a zone with the trash icon next to it.
When you're done, click "Save zone method".
Use a Ready-Made Preset
If you coach by a published system, you don't need to build it by hand. Open the method dropdown on a card to see the presets alongside the default and your own methods:
Karvonen HRR Method (Running and Cycling heart rate): the classic five-zone split of heart rate reserve, 50 to 100 percent, read-only.
VDOT (Jack Daniels) (Running pace): five fixed Daniels paces, Easy, Marathon, Threshold, Interval, and Repetition, derived from each athlete's VDOT score or a race result. No percentages to set.
Select a preset to make it the method for that card, then set it as default in the next step if you want it applied to your athletes. RPE zones can also be customized the same way as heart rate and pace.
Set a Method as Default for Your Athletes
Step 6: Set the Default and Apply It to Athletes
Under each method card you'll find two buttons: "Set as default" and "Apply to...". They do different things.
Click "Set as default" to make this method the starting point for every athlete you add from now on. A dialog asks you to confirm; click "Set as default" again. Existing athletes keep their current zones, so nothing changes for them yet.
To update athletes you already coach, click "Apply to..." and choose who should switch to this method. Athletes whose zones you've never customized are pre-selected; athletes with individually adjusted zones are left unchecked so you don't overwrite that work, though you can tick them if you want to. Use "Select all" to include everyone, then confirm.
You can come back to any card later to edit a method, change the default, or apply a method to more athletes.
How Zones Resolve for Each Athlete
The business-level page defines the structure and source of a method. The actual numbers come from each athlete's own values on their Training Zones tab in their profile:
Thresholds (HRmax, LTHR, FTP, LT pace, T-pace) are entered by you and can all be stored at once, whichever method is active. You don't lose an athlete's LTHR because they're currently on a %HRmax method.
Resting HR is the extra value HRR methods need. It drifts with fitness, so refresh it after retests.
VDOT is set from a race result you pick or enter, or by typing the score directly.
CSS is entered directly or calculated from a 400 m and 200 m time trial.
Direct pace entry zones are typed per athlete, as a single pace or a range, with an optional reference race shown for guidance.
Athletes can't edit thresholds. When an athlete supplies a race-based anchor such as a new VDOT, nothing changes in their plan until you approve it: you see the old and new values and the zones they would produce, and choose Approve, Edit, or Dismiss. To fine-tune one athlete's percentages without affecting the others, use the same Training Zones tab; see How to Change an Athlete's Training Zones.
Tips for Coaches
Start with the built-in methods. EndoGusto's default five-zone methods work well for most athletes. Create custom methods when you need a different number of zones, different splits, or a different basis like HRR.
Name your methods clearly. Use names that reflect your system, like "7-zone Pace" or "3-zone HR Easy/Tempo/Threshold", so switching between them later is obvious.
Set the default, then adjust the exceptions. Apply your most-used method to everyone through the default dialog, then fine-tune only the athletes who need different ranges.
Configure each sport independently. Your running approach can differ from cycling or swimming. Set a different method per sport rather than forcing one model everywhere.
Keep thresholds current. Every zone, and every ECOs stress score built on them, is only as good as the threshold behind it. Review thresholds after each test block; see ECOs Training Load Explained.
When you build a workout, the zone method for that session is chosen in the builder; see How to Create and Assign Workouts from the Calendar.
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