How To See Heart Rate Zones On Garmin Connect | Zones Shown

Garmin Connect shows your heart rate zones inside your user settings, where you can view zone ranges, pick a zone method, and edit breakpoints.

You finished a run, opened Garmin Connect, and saw “Zone 2” or “Zone 4” in the charts. Now you want the actual numbers behind those labels. The good news: Garmin Connect does store your zone ranges, and it lets you change them.

This walkthrough shows where the zones live, how to display the bpm ranges, how to switch the zone method, and what to do when the app screen looks different on your phone.

What Heart Rate Zones Mean Inside Garmin Connect

In Garmin Connect, heart rate zones are your personal intensity bands. Each zone is a range of beats per minute (or a percentage), and Garmin uses those ranges to label parts of your workout, calculate training effects, and build weekly charts.

If the ranges are off, your charts feel off too. A brisk walk can show as a hard session, or a steady run can land in a low zone. That’s why it helps to confirm two things early: the numbers for each zone, and the method Garmin uses to calculate them.

Common Ways Garmin Builds Zones

Garmin can build zones from different starting points, depending on your device and settings. You’ll most often see zones based on max heart rate, heart rate reserve, or lactate threshold heart rate. Each method can shift your zone lines.

If you don’t know which one you’re using, don’t guess. Garmin Connect shows it in the same area where you view and edit the zones.

Seeing Heart Rate Zones On Garmin Connect With A Clean Path

Garmin has more than one menu layout, and it can vary by phone OS and app version. These steps cover the most common paths. If your screen labels differ, use the “fallback” notes right after each set of steps.

Steps In Garmin Connect On iPhone And Android

1. Open Garmin Connect on your phone.
2. Tap the More menu (often three lines or three dots).
3. Open Garmin Devices.
4. Select your watch or cycling computer.
5. Open User Settings (some versions show User Profile).
6. Tap Heart Rate Zones (sometimes shown as Heart Rate first, then zones).

On the zones screen, you should see your zone bands. Many versions show the bpm range for each zone right there. If you see only colored bars with no numbers, tap into a zone or open the edit view to reveal the breakpoints.

Fallback If You Don’t See “User Settings”

Try this alternate path: open More → Settings → User Settings → Heart Rate Zones. Some builds put user settings under the general settings area instead of the device page.

Steps In Garmin Connect On The Web

If the phone menu feels buried, the web dashboard can be faster for checking numbers. Sign in to Garmin Connect on a browser, open your profile or settings area, then locate heart rate zones under user settings. The labels vary, yet the goal is the same: find the section that lists zone breakpoints and the method used to calculate them.

What To Check Once You’re On The Zones Screen

Once you can see your zones, don’t stop at the colored bars. Scan these items so the zone chart matches your real effort:

• Max heart rate value: If this number is wrong, every zone shifts.
• Resting heart rate value: This matters most when you use heart rate reserve.
• Zone method: % of max HR, %HRR, %LTHR, or straight bpm ranges.
• Breakpoints: The top of Zone 1, top of Zone 2, and so on.
• Sport-specific zones: Some devices let you set separate zones for running, cycling, and more.

If you’re unsure whether you should edit anything, start by confirming the numbers match what you expect. A single wrong max HR entry can make Zone 2 look like Zone 3 on every chart.

Garmin’s own instructions for where these settings live in the app are laid out in Garmin’s heart rate zone settings steps.

Editing Zones Without Breaking Your Tracking

Changing zones doesn’t delete your activity history. It changes how future workouts get labeled and how future charts group time in each zone. That’s usually what you want: your new training gets graded against your current setup.

Adjust The Zone Method First

If you switch between %Max HR and %HRR, your zone edges can move a lot, even if your max HR stays the same. So pick the method first, then edit the breakpoints.

Edit Breakpoints With Small Moves

When you edit breakpoints, small moves tend to keep your data readable. If you shift a zone edge by 15–20 bpm in one jump, your past habits will feel “mis-labeled” compared to what you’re used to seeing in weekly charts.

Use Sport-Specific Zones If Your Device Allows It

Many people run with a higher heart rate than they cycle, even at the same feeling of effort. Sport-specific zones help Garmin label both workouts in a way that matches your body. If your device supports it, Garmin’s manuals show the option to add sport-based zone sets and adjust them by method such as %HRR or %LTHR.

Garmin describes the zone methods and sport-based zone options in its device manuals, including the steps for %HRR and %LTHR editing on newer watches: Setting heart rate zones on Garmin devices.

How Zone Settings Affect What You See In Charts

Garmin Connect uses your zone setup in multiple places, not just one chart. After you confirm the zone numbers, take a quick tour through these areas so you know what changed:

Activity Details

Open a recent activity, scroll to heart rate, and look for the time-in-zone breakdown. If you changed zone lines, this breakdown for new activities should track your effort more closely.

Weekly And Monthly Trends

In health and performance views, Garmin Connect can show how your time spreads across zones. If your Zone 2 looks empty week after week, it may be your zone setup rather than your training.

Training Features On The Watch

Many Garmin watches use zones during workouts, alerts, and data screens. After you edit zones in the app, sync your device so the watch and the app match.

Heart Rate Zone Ranges That People Commonly Use

Garmin lets you choose the method and set custom breakpoints. The ranges below are common starting points many athletes recognize. Treat them as a reference for what the labels often mean, not as a rule you must copy.

Zone labels can be similar across plans, yet the bpm numbers should match your body and your chosen method.

Table 1: after ~40%

Zone Label	Typical % Of Max HR	What It Usually Feels Like
Zone 1 (Recovery)	50–60%	Easy pace, relaxed breathing, long chat pace
Zone 2 (Endurance)	60–70%	Steady pace, can talk in full sentences
Zone 3 (Tempo)	70–80%	Moderate strain, shorter phrases while talking
Zone 4 (Threshold)	80–90%	Hard effort, talking is choppy
Zone 5 (High)	90–100%	Near all-out, short bursts
Running Zones	Varies by sport	Often higher HR at same effort than cycling
Cycling Zones	Varies by sport	Often lower HR at same effort than running
Custom BPM Zones	Not percentage-based	Manual ranges you set in beats per minute

Small Fixes That Make Zone Data Match Real Effort

If your zones feel wrong, it’s rarely a single magic switch. It’s usually one of these practical fixes:

Update Max HR With Real Data

If your max HR was guessed during setup, your zones can drift. A more accurate max HR value pushes the whole scale into a range that fits your workouts. If you’ve collected hard efforts over time, your device may have enough data to give a better estimate, depending on model and settings.

Set Resting HR With A Consistent Measurement

Resting HR changes with sleep, stress, illness, and training load. If you use heart rate reserve, a stable resting HR value helps your zones behave. Use a calm measurement routine and keep it consistent.

Pick A Zone Method You Can Maintain

%Max HR is simple. %HRR responds to resting HR changes. %LTHR can track threshold shifts if you’ve measured it well. The “best” method is the one you can keep accurate with the data you have.

When The App Doesn’t Show Zone Numbers

Sometimes the zones screen shows colored bars, yet it hides the bpm ranges you want. This can feel like the app removed the data. In many cases, it’s just tucked behind an edit view or a zone tap.

Try These Moves In Order

• Tap a zone band to open its details.
• Tap Edit to reveal the breakpoint fields.
• Switch the display option between bpm and percentage if your app offers it.
• Check whether you’re viewing default zones or a sport-specific set.
• Sync the watch, close the app, then reopen it.

If you still can’t see ranges on the phone, check the web dashboard for the same account. If the web view shows the numbers, the issue is usually app UI behavior rather than missing settings.

Why Your Watch And Garmin Connect Can Disagree

It’s possible for the watch to show one set of zones while Garmin Connect shows another. That mismatch usually comes from one of these causes:

• The watch hasn’t synced since you edited zones in the app.
• You edited sport-based zones on the device, yet the app is showing default zones.
• You changed the zone method in one place and not the other.
• Multiple devices are linked to the same account with different user settings.

A fresh sync after any zone change is the simplest fix. If you use multiple Garmin devices, open each device page in the app and confirm they share the same user settings source.

Table 2: after ~60%

What You See	Likely Cause	Fast Fix
No bpm ranges shown on the zones page	UI is showing summary bars only	Tap a zone or open Edit to reveal breakpoints
Zones look “too high” for easy workouts	Max HR value is set too low	Update max HR, sync, then re-check zone edges
Zones look “too low” for hard workouts	Max HR value is set too high	Correct max HR with real effort data, then sync
Watch zones differ from app zones	Sync gap or device-specific zones	Sync, then confirm default vs sport-based zones
Cycling and running feel mis-labeled	One zone set applied to all sports	Set sport-specific zones if your device allows
Zone minutes don’t match how you felt	Sensor fit or noisy HR signal	Check strap fit, clean sensor, re-test on next workout
Edits don’t stick after saving	Sync conflict or app glitch	Save, sync, close app, reopen, confirm settings

A Simple Way To Verify Your Zones After Changing Them

After you edit zones, you want proof the setup matches real effort. This check takes one workout:

1. Do a steady session where you can hold a pace for 20–30 minutes.
2. Keep the effort consistent, not surging.
3. After the workout, open the activity’s heart rate chart and the time-in-zone breakdown.
4. Ask one question: “Do the zone labels match what that effort felt like?”

If the answer is “no,” change only one input at a time. Start with max HR or the zone method. Then retest on the next steady session. That keeps your data readable and helps you learn what each adjustment does.

Quick Recap So You Can Find Zones Again Later

If you forget where zones live, think “device settings, then user settings.” In the mobile app, the usual path is More → Garmin Devices → your device → User Settings → Heart Rate Zones. From there you can see the ranges, switch the zone method, and edit breakpoints. Sync once you’re done so the watch and the app stay aligned.