Heart-rate zones are only as useful as the max heart rate behind them.
If that number is too low, normal hard work can look extreme. If it is too high, a serious effort can look easier than it really was. The zones may look clean on a watch screen, but the foundation can still be wrong.
That is why MOTRA does not treat max heart rate as a static guess.
MOTRA starts with an estimate, then uses real workout data to adjust the picture over time. The system looks at how your heart actually responds during sessions, including sustained peaks and repeated evidence across workouts. When the max heart rate profile changes, the heart-rate zones change with it, and Effort Points are recalculated from the time you spent in each zone.
This matters because EP is built on relative effort. Zone 2, Zone 3, Zone 4 and Zone 5 are not arbitrary labels. They are percentages of your current max heart rate, and each one contributes differently to your score. Zone 2 earns 1 EP per minute, Zone 3 earns 1.5, Zone 4 earns 3, and Zone 5 earns 5. Zone 1 is recognised as movement, but it does not earn EP.
In internal testing against actual max-heart-rate tests, MOTRA's zones reached the correct ranges faster than the competitor defaults we tested. That does not mean every workout instantly fixes the model. It means varied, honest training gives the algorithm better evidence than age alone.
The practical move is simple: use MOTRA as the source of truth, then make your training devices match it.
In MOTRA, open your profile and copy the five BPM ranges shown for your heart-rate zones. On Apple Watch, Apple says you can go to Workout > Heart Rate Zones, switch to Manual, and enter custom limits for zones 2, 3 and 4. On Garmin, Garmin Connect lets you customise heart-rate zones from your device settings or user profile, with changes applying after sync on supported devices.
Once your watch and MOTRA agree, the live workout screen becomes more useful. Zone alerts, post-workout charts and the EP you earn are all speaking the same language.
Your zones will keep improving as MOTRA sees more training. When they move meaningfully, update the watch again.
Better inputs make better effort data.