HRM and Zone Alarm

laurae

I have tried using the zone alarm on my HRM, but find that if I'm doing an interval training or weight-training, my heart rate fluctuates too much and the alarm is always going off. Is it best to only use the alarm feature when doing a straight aerobic activity that keeps your heart rate at a more steady rate?

I am also curious about the percentages in the different zones. I've found various ranges at various websites. The ranges that are listed in the booklet that came with my HRM are as follows:

Zone 1 - 50% - 60% Healthy Heart
Zone 2 - 60% - 70% Temperate
Zone 3 - 70% - 80% Aerobic
Zone 4 - 80% - 90% Threshold
Zone 5 - 90% - 100% Red LIne

For my maximum heart rate (190) the range of beats includes 19 heart rate beats (for example: Zone 3 is 133 - 152)

I can set my own range, and have wondered whether doing that would be best. Would a personal range of 65% - 85% be best to shoot for? I also have heard to train in different zones different days of the week. I do mostly DVD workouts and have a variety that would put me into different zones - some I call "light" others "intense" and most are "just right". Any thoughts?