The Edge

DFA Alpha1 Analysis

Lab-level physiological precision. No lab required.

Until now, truly individualised training thresholds required expensive laboratory testing. Equipment and expertise reserved for professional athletes with professional budgets. That's no longer the case.

Using DFA Alpha1 (Detrended Fluctuation Analysis), we analyse your heart rate variability during exercise to identify your individualised HRVT1 (aerobic threshold) and HRVT2 (anaerobic threshold), non-invasively, in your own training environment.

This isn't estimated. It's not based on population averages. It's your physiology, measured directly. And it changes everything about how your training zones are set.

Individualised HRVT1 & HRVT2

Your aerobic threshold (HRVT1) and anaerobic threshold (HRVT2) identified through DFA a1 breakpoint analysis. These two thresholds define your training zones. No two athletes share the same thresholds, so no two programs should share the same zones.

Continuous Tracking

Monitor threshold shifts over time. As your fitness evolves, your training zones evolve with it automatically.

Democratised Science

Access the same level of physiological insight that was previously reserved for elite, fully-funded professionals. Now available to every committed athlete.*

Why Individualisation Matters

Two athletes, same age, same max heart rate. Completely different thresholds. This is why generic zones don't work.

Athlete A Trained Endurance Athlete
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
100 HRVT1
145 bpm HRVT2
168 bpm 185
145 bpm HRVT1 (Aerobic)
168 bpm HRVT2 (Anaerobic)
Wide Aerobic Base

Large aerobic base with compressed upper zones. This athlete can absorb significantly more volume below threshold.

Athlete B Developing Athlete
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
100 HRVT1
125 bpm HRVT2
148 bpm 185
125 bpm HRVT1 (Aerobic)
148 bpm HRVT2 (Anaerobic)
Narrow Aerobic Base

Narrow aerobic base with more evenly distributed zones. Needs careful intensity management to avoid chronic overreaching.

Same formula-based zones would prescribe identical training for both athletes. DFA a1 reveals what generic calculations cannot: these athletes need fundamentally different programs to improve.

Grounded in peer-reviewed research

*Subject to compatible HRV recording equipment

  • Rogers, B. et al. (2021). "An index of non-linear HRV as a proxy of the aerobic threshold based on blood lactate concentration in elite triathletes." European Journal of Applied Physiology.
  • Rogers, B. et al. (2021). "A new detection method defining the aerobic threshold for endurance exercise and training prescription based on fractal correlation properties of heart rate variability." Frontiers in Physiology.
  • Gronwald, T. et al. (2020). "Fractal correlation properties of heart rate variability as a biomarker of endurance exercise intensity." Frontiers in Physiology.
  • Rogers, B. & Gronwald, T. (2022). "DFA alpha1 as an activity monitor: DFA a1 as a physiological biomarker during daily activities." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Want Training Zones Built From Your Physiology?

Stop guessing from generic formulas. Get a program built on real threshold data with DFA Alpha1 analysis.

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