I came back after a dozen years of not being able to exercise due to health issues. Started doing a bit of running and riding 2 yrs ago a couple days a week. Last October I decided to ride 5 days a week. I've gone from 165-170 FTP to 236 in a year's time. Considering I still deal with health issues I think that is pretty good progress. I did it on 6-8 hrs of training a week. 3 zone 2 rides a week. Two 90 minute mid Z2 rides and 1 longer ride 2-4 hrs. My other two sessions I've stuck with a Zone 4 workout 4x10, 2x20 or up to a full hour up a long local climb. And my other session I usually do some form of VO2. 4x5, 5x4 and lately I've been preferring 30/15's and 40/20's. When I can and I feel up to it, especially the week prior to a recovery week I may try to hit 9 or 10 hrs if possible. And if it was me and there is absolutely no flat terrain I'd do indoor Z2 outdoor interval sessions till Im strong enough.
glad you said this! This year I started focusing on my z2 riding outside with the hope of increasing my Z2 power. This made a HUGE difference in my efficiency and strength on the bike. I was able to do long (for me) 2 hour rides and over the course of the fall increased my z2 power by 30 watts for the same course and lower hr.
I've always vibed with Dr Seiler's take on Z2. Use it as a stress management tool to keep the overall volume up while avoiding overtraining. Focus of extending those rides progressively and throw in a couple of intensity days per week but hit those days at fullgas. Simple stuff really. My personal schedule basically looks like: 2x intensity sessions per week (one interval session and one Zwift race of 1-1.5hrs because they're fun), 2x z2 rides 1-2.5hrs depending on available time, work fatigue etc, and a long ride (3-4.5hrs) in the Adelaide hills of primarily z2 with some tempo on the climbs. 2x rest days (Monday and Friday). Is it perfectly planned and structured? Probably not but it works for me and I can tweak the volume and types of intensity sessions depending on my goals (fondo, racing season etc)
3:17 you can thank Peter Attia for making people think they can’t do zone 2 outside. Tadej would beg to differ since he does almost all his 5 hour z2 300-340 watt efforts outside uphill
@ all companies and YT channels have to market something to stay in business. While I dont agree with Attia on a lot of things he does have a big following so people tend to listen to him even if he isn’t right
Lol. You can't compare Tadej to the average rider. His zone 2 is most riders threshold/vo2 max. So as you said, he can stick to zone 2 even going up 15% hills, whereas the average decent rider would have to go into zone 4 - 5.
@SteakandChains My point is that Tadej would NEED to do hills to keep his speed down, because doing 340 watts on the flats would mean he's moving very fast. And you can't just say "so don't do hills then", because most people live in areas where there are hills. I can't go out on any 2 hr route in my area without having to climb at least 4 hills requiring me to push into zone 4, or high zone 3 at a minimum. And then drop down to zone 1 for the descents. It's not consistent zone 2, and this is what Attia means.
Totally naive question, does it matter how you do zone 2 training? I just took 12 days off the bike to recover from the season (I;m not a racer, but enjoy riding, the faster I can ride the better, but in reality, I'm just an FOSG). I'm now doing Zone 2 work as follows: 1.5 -2 hrs 3 days a week on the trainer, if can get outdoors will do up to 3-4 hrs, however 2 of those sessions is at high cadence, relatively low zone 2 power with HR staying in mid to upper Zone 2 maybe into low zone 3 hr and 1 of those sessions is low cadence high torque with mid to upper zone 2 power often getting into Zone 3 power while HR stays in low zone 2 power. I do 1 day a week (outdoors if can otherwise on the trainer) doing high(er) intensity work, such as Tabata or 6-8 min efforts at FTP. The remaining 2 days each week is concentrated on gym work. My plan is to do this til after Thanksgiving then swapping a day (or 2) a week of Zone 2 to higher intensity work. As a side note, I'm 71, will not be racing, but that does not mean I do not enjoy the speed. Anyways, just your thoughts on does it matter how you do zone 2 work.
This is a good video, I absolutely agree training all the zones, with most of the hours going easy, but I think zone 1 is underrated or forgotten . I have a high treshold, and therefore my zone two is high (126-146 beats with 180 maxpulse). Therefore going for a long ride (2,5-4 hours) is exhausting in zone two. I have to dilute it with maybe 30% zone 1 if I want to be able to train the next day.
If i do too much HIIT or Z3-4 ie sub or just at threshold then i just get ill…. If i want to get the distance in and increase power then I find lots of Z2 plus 1-2 sessions per week of 90-95% of max HR equals increasing performance. Just doing Z2 obv isn’t enough!
For time crunched athletes, a good idea is to do 2 and no more than 3 sessions of high intensity, then fit in as much as Z2 as possible around those, preferably with one long (for your level) ride.
Can you define long? To get a benefit from a zone 2 is there a minimum time? 60 mins is probably isn't enough. The video mentions 2 hours but that wouldn't be a long ride for a professional. Does the definition of long change the more fit you are? Any guidance here would is appreciated.
@@richardratcliffe9698 Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by " need Z2 to keep my training going". You can keep your training going by doing training at threshold too. You just may need to be more careful about your recovery.
Even with 20% ish at 95% intensity im exhausted- note as well that I am trying to fit in about another 8 hrs of Z2. Z3/4 would tire me out to the same degree but without that top intensity
For me it is good to mostly stay at zone 2 or below several days a week because then I can get a lot distance and a lot days on the bike without getting exhausted and burned out.
@@erlendsteren9466 if you are training for an event that's more than an hour in duration, then those zone 2 rides should be about 80% of your training, but you could replace a few with sweet spot to save time if you are time-crunched. If you are training for something shorter, a relative rarity in road cycling, you'd get better training effect if you do about half of your sessions above zone 2, whatever fits your event. Also, for such events I'd caution that you may be better off some days, for recovery's sake, to just take an active rest day or total rest day. Oftentimes those so-called easy/recovery rides are only prolonging recovery and reducing the number or intensity of the sessions you should be doing at higher intensity as appropriate for your event. If you're not training for an event, but just for fitness, then zone 2 rides should be 90% of your sessions, and you could actually just throw in some higher intensity work at the end of a few of your week's zone 2 rides, when you feel like you've got some fuel left in the tank.
I came back after a dozen years of not being able to exercise due to health issues. Started doing a bit of running and riding 2 yrs ago a couple days a week. Last October I decided to ride 5 days a week. I've gone from 165-170 FTP to 236 in a year's time. Considering I still deal with health issues I think that is pretty good progress. I did it on 6-8 hrs of training a week. 3 zone 2 rides a week. Two 90 minute mid Z2 rides and 1 longer ride 2-4 hrs. My other two sessions I've stuck with a Zone 4 workout 4x10, 2x20 or up to a full hour up a long local climb. And my other session I usually do some form of VO2. 4x5, 5x4 and lately I've been preferring 30/15's and 40/20's. When I can and I feel up to it, especially the week prior to a recovery week I may try to hit 9 or 10 hrs if possible. And if it was me and there is absolutely no flat terrain I'd do indoor Z2 outdoor interval sessions till Im strong enough.
glad you said this! This year I started focusing on my z2 riding outside with the hope of increasing my Z2 power. This made a HUGE difference in my efficiency and strength on the bike. I was able to do long (for me) 2 hour rides and over the course of the fall increased my z2 power by 30 watts for the same course and lower hr.
I've always vibed with Dr Seiler's take on Z2. Use it as a stress management tool to keep the overall volume up while avoiding overtraining. Focus of extending those rides progressively and throw in a couple of intensity days per week but hit those days at fullgas. Simple stuff really.
My personal schedule basically looks like: 2x intensity sessions per week (one interval session and one Zwift race of 1-1.5hrs because they're fun), 2x z2 rides 1-2.5hrs depending on available time, work fatigue etc, and a long ride (3-4.5hrs) in the Adelaide hills of primarily z2 with some tempo on the climbs. 2x rest days (Monday and Friday).
Is it perfectly planned and structured? Probably not but it works for me and I can tweak the volume and types of intensity sessions depending on my goals (fondo, racing season etc)
Thanks so much for bringing some common sense to the zone discussion
LSD isn’t long slow distance
It’s long steady distance
Check Arthur Lydiard
3:17 you can thank Peter Attia for making people think they can’t do zone 2 outside. Tadej would beg to differ since he does almost all his 5 hour z2 300-340 watt efforts outside uphill
Atria is a disaster
He’s just all about marketing his products and services
@ all companies and YT channels have to market something to stay in business. While I dont agree with Attia on a lot of things he does have a big following so people tend to listen to him even if he isn’t right
Lol. You can't compare Tadej to the average rider. His zone 2 is most riders threshold/vo2 max. So as you said, he can stick to zone 2 even going up 15% hills, whereas the average decent rider would have to go into zone 4 - 5.
@ ok so don’t ride up a 15% climb. But anyone can do a zone2 ride outside
@SteakandChains My point is that Tadej would NEED to do hills to keep his speed down, because doing 340 watts on the flats would mean he's moving very fast.
And you can't just say "so don't do hills then", because most people live in areas where there are hills. I can't go out on any 2 hr route in my area without having to climb at least 4 hills requiring me to push into zone 4, or high zone 3 at a minimum. And then drop down to zone 1 for the descents. It's not consistent zone 2, and this is what Attia means.
Well I focused on Z2 this year however it was at the expense of VO2 and strength. Z2 focus primarily did not help me for my last race at all.
Totally naive question, does it matter how you do zone 2 training? I just took 12 days off the bike to recover from the season (I;m not a racer, but enjoy riding, the faster I can ride the better, but in reality, I'm just an FOSG). I'm now doing Zone 2 work as follows: 1.5 -2 hrs 3 days a week on the trainer, if can get outdoors will do up to 3-4 hrs, however 2 of those sessions is at high cadence, relatively low zone 2 power with HR staying in mid to upper Zone 2 maybe into low zone 3 hr and 1 of those sessions is low cadence high torque with mid to upper zone 2 power often getting into Zone 3 power while HR stays in low zone 2 power. I do 1 day a week (outdoors if can otherwise on the trainer) doing high(er) intensity work, such as Tabata or 6-8 min efforts at FTP. The remaining 2 days each week is concentrated on gym work. My plan is to do this til after Thanksgiving then swapping a day (or 2) a week of Zone 2 to higher intensity work. As a side note, I'm 71, will not be racing, but that does not mean I do not enjoy the speed.
Anyways, just your thoughts on does it matter how you do zone 2 work.
This is a good video, I absolutely agree training all the zones, with most of the hours going easy, but I think zone 1 is underrated or forgotten . I have a high treshold, and therefore my zone two is high (126-146 beats with 180 maxpulse). Therefore going for a long ride (2,5-4 hours) is exhausting in zone two. I have to dilute it with maybe 30% zone 1 if I want to be able to train the next day.
If i do too much HIIT or Z3-4 ie sub or just at threshold then i just get ill…. If i want to get the distance in and increase power then I find lots of Z2 plus 1-2 sessions per week of 90-95% of max HR equals increasing performance. Just doing Z2 obv isn’t enough!
For time crunched athletes, a good idea is to do 2 and no more than 3 sessions of high intensity, then fit in as much as Z2 as possible around those, preferably with one long (for your level) ride.
If you are someone who only looks to reduce body fat. What is the best intensity to utilize?!
As it relates to base building, what if we have more time than a time-crunched person?
Can you define long? To get a benefit from a zone 2 is there a minimum time? 60 mins is probably isn't enough. The video mentions 2 hours but that wouldn't be a long ride for a professional. Does the definition of long change the more fit you are? Any guidance here would is appreciated.
Putting it simply: 80-20 (Zone 2-Higher) training is for athletes whose event is mostly in zone 2.
I don’t agree.. most of my races are at threshold and above, i need Z2 to keep my training going, but of course HIIT is crucial i do 1-2 a week
@@richardratcliffe9698 Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by " need Z2 to keep my training going". You can keep your training going by doing training at threshold too. You just may need to be more careful about your recovery.
Even with 20% ish at 95% intensity im exhausted- note as well that I am trying to fit in about another 8 hrs of Z2. Z3/4 would tire me out to the same degree but without that top intensity
For me it is good to mostly stay at zone 2 or below several days a week because then I can get a lot distance and a lot days on the bike without getting exhausted and burned out.
@@erlendsteren9466 if you are training for an event that's more than an hour in duration, then those zone 2 rides should be about 80% of your training, but you could replace a few with sweet spot to save time if you are time-crunched. If you are training for something shorter, a relative rarity in road cycling, you'd get better training effect if you do about half of your sessions above zone 2, whatever fits your event. Also, for such events I'd caution that you may be better off some days, for recovery's sake, to just take an active rest day or total rest day. Oftentimes those so-called easy/recovery rides are only prolonging recovery and reducing the number or intensity of the sessions you should be doing at higher intensity as appropriate for your event.
If you're not training for an event, but just for fitness, then zone 2 rides should be 90% of your sessions, and you could actually just throw in some higher intensity work at the end of a few of your week's zone 2 rides, when you feel like you've got some fuel left in the tank.
too boring to listen to....