How Fit Did I Get Doing Zone 2?
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- 6 weeks ago Manon went to the sports science lab to do a step test and ramp test to find out her fitness levels and zone 2. Since then, she has EXCLUSIVELY trained in Zone 2. This approach has sometimes resulted in workouts where she hasn't even broken a sweat! So, we're asking: has this training made her any fitter? Join Manon to find out!
What has 6 weeks of zone 2 training done? 0:00
Manon’s training regime 0:34
How well did Manon stay in zone 2? 2:10
Will Manon’s results be better? 4:29
Step Test 5:23
Ramp Test 7:45
The results 9:25
What would be the difference doing harder effort training? 12:04
What would happen training this way for another 6 weeks? 12:47
Manon’s conclusion! 13:44
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What has your experience with zone 2 training been like? 👀
Let us know in the comments! 💬
Zone 2 is known for its harsh conditions and cold temperatures. It can drop as low as -50 to -40 degrees F here. Because of this, some plants simply aren’t suited to grow in this zone... 😂
Pretty impossible tbh. Velcro up shoes, HR 49... pedal off down the road, HR 165 😂
I mix it up on zwift for zone 2.sometimes I try to hold it for an hour and other times I do workouts with zone 2 efforts
@@LaurentiusTriarius 😂
I used the talk test proposed by Inigo san Milan as I do not have any fancy equipment, a lot of estimation. But what I think is Z2 has definitely improved my cardio.
No matter how many times I repeat to myself "stay in Z2". A plastic bag carried by wind is enough to start a race in Z4 😭
Same, that’s why I’ve stayed almost exclusively indoors on a stationary cycle.
@@RLiuMRGid rather have the fresh air and vitamin d and random encounters than optimize 1 bio measure
I have to stay inside to stay in 2….I just cant standing being seen outside running in z2 zone lol
@@webb3201 I guess doing zone 2 in normal clothes with a commuter bike might ease that pain. I'm sure Z2 in lycra with a rocket of a bike is making it more painful.
The amount of noise is key for me. If I'm riding next to a busy road, I will ride faster automatically. If it's quiet, it's easier to ride slow.
As an older rider, this all sounds pretty much like what we used to call the ‘getting the miles in’ winter training rides
Right?
Time on the bike goes a lot further than people realize.
yeah, just today you need a power meter, smart trainer, Zwift subscription and two VO2Max lab tests at the beginning and the end
@@KeithFlint350 well the only scientific advice back then was the older guys telling you not to use the big ring till May and just spin little gears everywhere, mind you that was often 42x23 so it wasn’t that little compared to todays bikes. Oh, and to eat a banana every hour ….. I still have a pathological hatred of bananas 30 years later
@@thedecliningcyclist3321you forgot to say it was a fixed gear also!!!
@@thedecliningcyclist3321 science is just another religion
I started cycling at the beginning of 2023, no cycling background at all. My brother in law was doing triathlons and was on my case about fitness. He told me just do zone 2 it’s not hard. I was 227-230 pounds totally out of shape. I finally gave in and tried it. I did zone 2 for a year straight, I lost 30 pounds! Starting this year I hired a cycling coach. Surprise, surprise 80 percent of my training time is still zone 2 :)
My brother in law is now the one getting dropped ;)
Now it is your turn to push your brother on.
Awesome! Sounds like you're smashing it 🙌 What's your next goal?
Zone 2 is also the most efficient at burning calories from fat stores while minimizing muscle loss.
How much is that in normal people metrics -kg?
@@geopolityk1160 30 pounds its about 13+kg. Just googe "pound o kg" it will be faster than leaving a coment
I joined you from week one. It has been a great experience. As a 60 year old cyclist of 40 years, aging has taught me that training must change as my age has. I get more out of lower intensity than I did when I was younger. Recovery time is critical as I age.
Here are my 7 week results. Starting FTP - 195
Ending FTP - 226
That's a huge difference for what felt like low intensity consistent riding.
Sooooo Goood!
👏 nice!
Nice! That’s a crazy amount of FTP gained in just seven weeks.
Woah! That is incredible!
Pretty much as Manon said: Outside cycling very difficult to stay in zone 2, inside very boring.
Whoop whoop! keep smashing it 🙌 Have you got a goal FTP in mind?
Lol at naming and shaming the 'well actually" dudes pointing out she momentarily went into Z3!❤
It's not shaming if your purposely running an experiment of Z2 only but hitting Z3 . Ironically the power zones suggest 80/20 .
I don't care either way but being a white Knight for blurring the results isint a flex .
Sounded to me they were pointing that out in jest...
But getting offended is "in" these days.
@@Paksusuoli95 or just being twats
Either it’s in jest or could be misogynistic peeps. lul
@@scninja07 Good citizen, always on the watch for wrongthink.
As a former distance running coach, my biggest problem was getting athletes to understand that all out every day is not the answer. That “no pain no gain” attitude still persists. Thank you for showing once again that science does show the way!
Yeah i train my athletes with running power and getting them to slow the hell down can be frustrating.
Personally, I believe that the reason behind this attitude (no pain no gain) is because in order to have the addictive endorphin effect, that makes you feel great after a workout, you need to feel the exertion. A zone 2 workout is 1)boring, 2) not addictive at all (so much less gratifying than a full gas effort), and for me, that I don't care about performance or improvements, not worth my time, simply because it doesn't give me the feeling that I look for when cycling/swimming/exercising in general. So, interesting video, but I won't change my attitude of training full gas all the time. But it's a matter of what each of us wants to get out of exercise...for me is just the feeling that I gave everything :)
Times are changing 🙌 Chilled zone 2 rides are the way to go!
@@mattiamarosohonestly I don’t get why they think that way. I love my indoor z2 rides because I can game on a console while riding on the trainer; can’t do that when I’m barely surviving on my threshold sessions 🥲
It’s true that times are changing. Everyone now wants “easy”, so that’s a simple message to sell. But it’s not really accurate or effective.
VO2 Max and muscular strength are essential for strong riding. Neither increase particularly well when training is restricted to Zone 2. You know this… it’s been covered elsewhere by GCN.
Zone 2 is great for recovery rides. It’s better than sitting on one’s ass too. But you must mix training… Zone 5 intervals, Zone 4 threshold rides, and yes, Zone 2 recovery rides.
Selling Zone 2 on its own does a disservice to those wishing to increase their riding fitness to the maximum extent possible.
It is good to know that just having a long and enjoyable ride is good for improving. Our cycling group is too much focused on riding faster and faster, and in the process people are being dropped literally and socially. Good experiement!
One thing I enjoy about my club is there are a lot of different ride levels. There's Advanced for the people who want to zoom, intermediate where the pace is good but nobody gets dropped, and social pace which I mostly stay in zone 1 for. You might need to make your own slower paced group!
I normally shoot for zone 5 and above, just because, and a month ago, I had an owie so I couldn’t go as hard as I normally do on the stationary bike. I took it easy that day, but the next time I rode outside on the bike, I had so much more power. Now, if I could just force myself to do zone 2 on days when I’m not injured. 🤔
Zone 2 only must have been torture for an ex-trackie. 😂
Well done Manon - it's great to see some of the data behind the zone 2 recommendations.
Hahaha a real test of patience here 🤣
Well done! The end of the ramp test was the face of someone who had given absolutely everything. Kudos 🎉
Manon smashed this 🙌
The weather here in Scotland was terrible earlier in tbe year so i decided to train indoors while watching pro races for 2 hours a day for 50 days. I dropped 13kg weight so far and my average speed has increased from around 20kph to 26kph for each ride. I dont have access to lab testing but i feel a lot fitter and a lot lighter and about to treat myself to a new Giant TCR for some out door rides now the weather's improved. 😂
I wrote a book about the importance, and benefits, of zone 2 training back in 2007; Base Building for Cyclists. I did the exact same testing on athletes back then with 6 week before/after zone 2 focus training with similar results. Great to see this training method getting some discussion/attention again. It's not a new idea! It wasn't a new idea when I wrote Base Building for Cyclists in 2007, but I wanted to communicate the importance of zone 2 base training to athletes that were often training too hard too often. One misunderstanding has been that base training is just riding around easy all day. Thank you for reminding riders that you need to be riding in zone 2, and not in zone 1, in order to stimulate adaptations and realize these benefits. Zone 1 is for warm up, cooling down, and recovery rides. Zone 2 is for base training. Thank you for sharing your experience and data! Brought back memories of doing this with my athletes many years ago. Great video, great information.
Historically I trained full gas as much as possible. Now after a 5 year break from anything over 15 miles I am training for a 115 mile ride. I have been following zone 2 training plan and am finding, that I can train more frequently and do longer rides and am seeing measurable improvements week on week. I’m 4 weeks away from the event and feeling confident that I will cover the distance, albeit not that fast. On real rides (away from the turbo) HR blows out the top on the climbs but then quickly comes back.
Practically anyone would have told you that just going full gas as much as possible is a bad idea😂. The same thing goes for avoiding anything over 15miles unless your schedule just doesn't allow for it
What about the ramp test?
What event? Cts?
That's awesome! Keep it up 🙌 Sounds like you're smashing it 115 miles is very impressive 🤯 Some of these tips might help 👉 czcams.com/video/AY4RN_82TpY/video.html
To make Zone 2 interesting also you could do cadence intervals which are at zone 2 but OBS different rpms. This is what I give to my athletes. E.g 1min at 100rpm 2mins at 90rpm x 10/20. Lots of variations to zone 2. Also progressive sessions from low zone 2 to high zone 2.
The graph presented shows blood lactate above 2 mmol/L. Zone 2, as defined by San Millan, is a blood lactate between 1.7 and 2 mmol/L. The power improvement stated (140 to 160 watts) in Zone 2 is still a blood lactate level above 2 mmol/L. What was Manon's heart rate and watts at a blood lactate level between 1.7 and 2 mmol/L when she started and then after the six weeks? Manon's Zone 2 training improved her Zone 3 and beyond zones, but did her actual Zone 2 improve? The graph does not show this. Please clayify
Best video I've seen on the actual implementation and then validation of Zone 2 training of a consistent block of time. Great job!
Thank You for sharing the research and results!!! Getting confident answers is very difficult to find as many athletes don’t want to share what works best!
That was a pretty crazy increase. I'll be honest, looking at the original lactate curve, I couldn't see how hey were coming up with 140 watts for LT1. Lactate was clearly increasing at that level. But with this second test, the 160 watt level is really clear. As the researcher said, it didn't really matter since you were training to heart rate. But what floors me is the improvement in only 6 weeks. I can see that I'm missing a trick by not doing some longer rides. Thanks for this series!
Have to think age also plays a role as well. Would be interesting to see a similar test (with similar fitness level subjects) for maybe a 40 year old and 60 year old.
Nah, probably she just didn't ride much nowadays, so the baseline is "detrained". To me it's obviously this is the case. For a well-trained and actively-training personel no such drastic change could be achieved in just 6 wks... Or you'll making all the Olymplians who train 20-30 hrs/wk a joke -- otherwise they can just do this easy stuff on and on and on and the lactate level will just approaching zero. If only thing to take home probably it's the consistency/frequency. With this program the frequency is the biggest change here. Not the length. Or in a simpler terms, just ride more.
I love this vid. I'm a big believer of Seiler's heirarch of training needs and this vid further helps that point. I also love that the coach was pointing that out near the end. Also that coach is a real hype bro and I love him for that too. Another thing is I also kinda feel what Mannon felt, that it didn't feel like I was "training" but every so often you get that feeling of "Did I get stronger" or "That segment felt real good/easy(compared to previous attempts). Edit: I further love this vid just coz Manon.
Finally Manon! You are the best. I thought I'd never find the result I'm so glad you posted this. I've been searching this every few days.
Hi Manon, I love your videos training tips and examples, keep it up you're giving such brilliant insights into both competition/racing, and recreational cycling. I am currently following a "Grand Fondo" Garmin training plan, and it is working really well for me. Most ( probably around 85%) of the rides are in zone 2 because I'm in the build-up phase and already I have increased my MAX VO2 from 37 around 8 weeks ago to 46 and recently (today) rode 45 km spending around 45mins at 32-34kmh with my HR at 130 so for me riding the majority of my rides in zone 2 is definitely working. My zone 2 is 110-150Watts and I often have to "come off" the pedals a bit because I'm finding it very easy to stray into 170Watts or higher without feeling any real difference in effort, so as you alluded to; it's quite difficult to remain in the specified range for long rides, but I think as long as you keep adjusting and trying to stay within it, the training effect seems to work. My other rides which are 2-a-week are full on intervals of varying power and duration but they are killers and together with the zone 2 training seem to be getting me where I need to be for racing my bike later in the summer. By the way I am 67 years old.
Great segment! Thanks for the time invested!
Very good content and results. Like how Manon really gives it her all. Take care and ride safe, Al
Loved this! Thanks for making this. Its very encouraging for me.
My favorite video with Manon to date. Very insightful for the every day guy or gal rider.
The amazing thing is I bought Davis Phinnie's book in the early 90's, used a Polar heart rate monitor & learned all of this back then and did fantastic fitness wise with it. The book laid out very well that your LSD (Long Slow Distance) Zone 2 was the hardest phase of training because it was so damn boring & felt pointless, yet would improve your cycling the most dramatically.
Now...we're being shown Zone 2 training for a new generation of riders who think this science is new. It's been around for so very long.
I was going to do a VO2 max ramp test next week. I'm thinking of cancelling it after watching this! Manon, you are a beast.
Don't cancel it. You still need to train your vo2 max. This video is just about sticking to zone 2 during the base building phase. Then you incorporate higher intensity into your sessions, but still keeping most of your rides to zone 2.
Def a benefit, best results I ran 5 miles with a much decreased HR, from 155 to 135-140.
Great film and study Manon. I really appreciated your honesty by sticking to the facts.Zone 2 has definitely helped me develop base fitness coming back from some poor health. I found I missed the anaerobic fitness to keep up with surges by it definitely gave me the ability to ride long and recover better.
What would work well now would be to add the harder efforts and see how that helps the adaptations.
I was eagerly anticipating this video. Thanks for sharing your results!
Glad you enjoyed it! What's next for Manon? 👀
I'm a senior rider now, not racing, but when I was racing many years ago we (my racing club) would do Zone 2 (that's what it's called now) after our racing season into the cooler months. It was a social thing to ride slower and we didn't have to train for races. When the spring came and we got serious rides in it was a lot easier and we reached a greater fitness level for our races.
Those winter base miles are often done at perfect zone 2 pace 👌
I did 3 days of zone 2 and 1 day VO2 Max internals all winter and got faster that i did last year doing mostly of sweet spot and VO2 Max. And the best part... It's easier!
At 1:09 Manon was reining it in so much she was peddling backwards. Great video Manon, loved you gave your insights into the training rather than just before and after numbers.
I’m 71 and started riding about 4 years ago. I was a squash player for 40 years, playing 3 to 4 times per week, so base fitness was pretty good. I found Zone 2 on the trainer over the winter to be key to beginning the outdoor season in great shape. Your results make sense and I encourage others to try it out. The key is time, you have to put in the hours on the saddle. It can be excruciatingly boring, so a good book on Audible really helps pass the hours.
Amazing experiment and amazing results! Love this stuff.
been waiting for this video! thank you!
Being of rather ye olde age I spend my winter months pedaling sessions on my stationary bike. But I've noticed it helps me get back to regular road riding a lot faster then not riding it in the winter months. As of late if its raining then i hope on the stationary beast as well just to "keep the legs spinning". Good stuff Mannon, looking forward to what you will show us next.
Well done Manon! 👏 Thanks for this testing and all hail to Z2! 🙌
Well done you. I did something similar two winters ago where I sat at exactly the top of zone 2 for every ride. I was doing 9/10/11/12 hour weeks then back to 9 on a repeat cycle. Alot on the kickr but I managed it outdoors also. So I did 5 months over the winter and my power went for 208w to 262w. I was amazed at the results. Your video has made me realise how I can improve it more. Thanks for the great content.
I’m really impressed by the vulnerability which Manon is prepared to share in this series (and likewise Dan in his new challenge). I can’t imagine it’s easy for elite athletes to talk about how their performance has dropped off (even if it is now growing again 😃) and yet it’s great for us to see the journey they’re going through and better understand what works. 👏
Really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice, I do cycling indoors most of the time to keep my health and sometimes get really frustrated to not keep a 168-175 pace in my daily trainning. I do not have the power meter but the hr monitor I do, I'll definitely add more varietie type of trainning in my routine, congrats and thank you, you are lovely! Take care, awesome work!
Thank you for the inspiration! I'm starting my zone 2 training today with an FTP test on Zwift. I'm training for my first century 😄 Wish me luck!
Really interesting! Great vid.
HI Manon, great video, very pleased for you. Zone 2 for me seems to allow me to do more rides more often (about 5 x 1 hr per week) in and around work, then a weekend longer ride or sportief. I seem to recover better now than before zone 2.
THANK YOU, Manon, for doing this! Very insightful.
Absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much for putting the work in and all of the details.
Our pleasure 🙌 With Manon's new found fitness, what should Manon's next challenge be?
Nice to see some numbers; I've also started of this season with way more lower intensity rides than usual and seeing some improvements to years before. Was a bit frustrating at first when you get to a nice stretch of road and just want to go full gas, but you get used to it. Doing some of the lower intensity training on relaxing gravel paths in nature has also been a nice change of pace.
I've been looking for this update!
Great job and video @Manon
Great work Miss Manon, yes I do a combination, as I too don’t have the time to do 3-4 hour rides!!
I have been waiting for this vid, thanks that was great, its hard to believe something that takes so little effort, at least physically can have such an impact.
Crazy isn't it! If you fancy a deeper dive into zone 2, this video should help 👉czcams.com/video/dBbK-0vh-d8/video.html
Brilliant, been waiting for this.
We hope you enjoyed it? 🙌
Great video of practical training !!
Love this! They didn’t really discuss the different shapes of women’s anatomy, but when I was searching for the perfect saddle I learned the difference between “innies” and “outies”. It was such an aha! moment. Changed my life. I finally found a saddle which works and also finally understand why so many of my female cycling friends never experienced painful chafing or used chamois cream before!
Congrats Manon on a good training experiment! Going to ride up and down some hills with less "stay in Zone 2" concerns now to have some fun?
I tried my Garmin intervals training workouts, and it really did not work at all where I live. Stoplights all over, and hills. High power for 30s? Sorry, stop light! Recovery or zone 1? Haha there's the hill!
I liked seeing that Manon improved with what is generally a "go ride the bike comfortably" sort of feel. Honestly that makes me feel better about ditching the Garmin recommended training - it made riding less fun. "Just ride the bike" for endurance improvements? Heck yeah. If I want to do some free form training, just go hard up a hill when I get to it.
I actually like training in Zone 2 and fitting in efforts twice a week to add resistance. With my lifestyle it works because I use my commute to train.
"Hopefully 300 watts" - what a look to camera!
Fantastic!!! Thanks for doing this experiment and sharing the results.
Manon smashed this! What should she take on next?
Another really interesting video, thank you.
It would be really interesting to see your progress Manon over a much longer period, say 12 months, and take us viewers along with the training plan.
To understand what could be achieved in 12 months would be fantastic!
Ive gone from 203 watts in december to 285 watts in april with 80-90 % zone 1 and 2, 1 to 7 ouers rides and still 2 months to go to raceday 👌🚴♂️💨🤣🤣
how many hours do you ride per week those are some impressive gains
@@vladf777 im over 5000 km so far this year, houer vary alot, 2 weeks back it was 6 houers, this week its 14 houers one 6 one 7 and one recovery ride today, then I do weights and I walk
That's very impressive. I'm going to try this in November and try it for 4 months
Love this! Well done and than you!
I have had some great results with zone 2 training for the last 6 weeks. Lost 10 Kg, and power output increased dramatically. I also just feel so much more comfortable (butt, hands, neck and shoulders) after putting in some long hours on the bike, and my position has gotten way more aerodynamic. Today I went out for my first interval session of the year and could not believe how good I felt. I definitely think almost entirely zone 2 at the start of the season is the way to go - and try to get in as many hours as possible.
One thing I’ll add - IMO it’s important to have some (short) climbs on your long rides even if they take you out of zone 2 for a bit. They really help to empty the tank, and get the most out of your long rides. Just try to take them as slow as possible.
64 y.o. Rider four months after my second total hip replacement in two years. Training for a week of riding in the Dolomites first week of July. I’ve been doing a combination of Zone 2 and hard efforts and mixing the two on weekends on long 4-6 hour rides in the mountains. I’ve been doing it more sporadically and getting 12-15 hours in a week. This will help me be a little more intentional and organized going into my last month of prep before tackling my dream ride vacation. Getting out the training plan spreadsheet now.Thank You Manon for such a well delivered lesson!
You are impressive! I hope that I’m still moving that well when I’m your age, and I wish I was as consistent as you are, now. Hope your training goes smoothly and that you have a wonderful trip
Great going. Same age and one hip replacement. Don’t do anything like your distance but ride consistently. Good to see someone demonstrating that a hip replacement is not an impediment to riding.
@@KelvinSuddith Thanks Man! That means a lot!
@@hoppers6899 Thanks! I had met another local rider who had both hips done a few years ago and he is in late 60s and still cranking up the steep climbs. We have one climb that gains 3,000 vertical feet in 9.2 miles. I have a love/hate relationship with it but go back week after week. Stubbornness is half the battle with rehab and a professional PT friend agrees, LOL
@@ancientfifer that’s savage! I try to do my local hill 3x per week but it’s only 4km/96m (2.5m/312ft). Technology has given me a gift so not going to waste it. Plan to ride until I go into the box! Also still play baseball (not well) so I agree about the stubbornness. Just got to have a crack. Too many people give up. Good luck with the event!
Great information 😊
Thanks Manon , Lawrence and crew. ....are you going to keep going ? AND. well done you !
Awesome Manon, we need this kind of proof to show it works as generally zone 2 feels like it is to easy to get any real benefit but you showed us, thanks so much. What's next?!
This is an amazing video, love to know about this stuff because I use the home trainer a lot!...great video thx....would like to see some evaluations on home trainers, since most of us have one, yet I never see anything about them evaluated...just a thought!
Loved the experiment! :D
That lactate dip after the 1st test is awesome. :) Aerobic system is working. Yay!
One thing that I will say after having done quite a bit zone two training is to focus more on RPE, rate of perceived exertion. Once you know and understand your body, it's a much more accurate way of staying in zone two. Accounts for day to day body changes and lets you work right at the edge of the zone easier. Also accounts for the fact that your zone two output will change over time as fitness changes. As noted, zone two works.
Coming from a period of not riding your bike much, you of course, are going to increase your fitness regularly riding your bike in ANY zone. Lots of hard work for you either way. Thanks for your efforts to provide content.
Zone 2 can be a great way to get people back onto bikes, it's a little less intimidating that going out on a smash fest 😉
@@gcnIf you live in a flat area that is. Coming back to riding heavily overweight, I would have to stick to flat boring roads in my area and that would make me quit fast. I simply can't go up 10+% hills while strictly sticking to zone 2 but that hilly terrain with lots of turns makes me love riding my bike.
Of all the GCN videos i’ve seen, this is the one i’ve been most interested in and waiting for!
Cruising speed is pretty much as fast as i can medically sustain/average for any noteworthy distance, zone 2 is basically flat out.
Everyones zone 2 will be different 🙌 If you need some help finding yours, with will help 👉czcams.com/video/qWSMTbg0P3U/video.html
After getting Corona in October last year and the flu 2 months later, which had a great impact on my health. It dropped my VO2 massive. The zone 2 training helped me getting back in shape over the past 3 months. And now almost back at the same number in the VO2 elite group for a 62 year old.
2 of the best videos gcn have ever done
This Z2 training definitely shows on your face. The before and after is really visible. Which comes as a surprise, since you really didn't start out as a slouch. What an amazing glow up.
Thanks for the video Manon . I'm going to change my training to see if I can get better results.
This was an amazing video man on fairplay, has inspired me to try and do some more zone 2 and build in some running at zone 2. Very informative thanks for making this video
You're one swim away from a triathlon 😉
As a runner I've been zone 2 training for the last 6 months and had a revelation. Looking at my past easy runs I was in low zone 3 for a lot of them even though they felt easy. It was hard at first every time i hit a hill the HR would fly up and I had to walk 10-20m to stay in zone 2. I had to slow my pace down for a 4:30/ km pace for easy runs to 5:15/km and on hills at first I had to walk some sections 10-20m just to stay in that zone.
I've noticed over time those those easy runs have got easier and the pace has gone from 5:15/km to 4:50/km and in addition my HR has dropped in zone 2 considerably. However, the biggest change I've noticed is that workouts in Zone 3 are harder to raise the HR meaning I need to run faster to get there which has meant my speed development has come along nicely. For example a workout in zone 3 that I'd have been running 3:55/km for HR would be moving north to zone 4, over time at the same pace HR has come considerably down. In addition I'm less sore coming into hard workouts and more recoved.
7 years ago, I got a Garmin 1030 and HR strap. I read about Z2 training and started trying to stay out of Z3 on my typical 20 mile rides. It took me a solid month of trying to get over a mid ride 8% hill below Z3 and that was mid season with a couple thousand miles in my legs.
Now, most of my solo rides are Z2 and it's almost trivially easy to make it over that hill in Z2 and last year, I road up the Tourmalet going just a few beats into Z3. I've most definitely increased my power output in the lower zones!
I'm happy this video exists, and it's fortuitous that it came out when it did. I'm finally back on a bike after eight and a half years off, and last week I started a Garmin training plan to ride a century later this year. I've been doing nothing but Zone 2 work so far so it's really great to see that the Zone 2 training actually has a measurable affect on endurance. Are you going to keep following a training plan that moves on from Zone 2 as you were discussing in the video? It would be great to see where you go from here, and personally I would like to see how much the Garmin plan deviates from what your trainer suggests.
It's so much more difficult to stay in Zone 2 than you'd think (especially riding in the real world) and I'm happy that the requirements aren't so strict that you can't bleed over into Zone 3 a bit. My legs hurt a lot more than they do after the hard rides I was doing with zero training plan so it's definitely having a physical effect on me; it's good to know what that's doing physiologically.
I should have done an FTP test first to really dial in my zones and give me something to compare against at the end to see how much my fitness improved, but the training plan has fitness tests built into it along the way which should help.
Anyway, thanks for another informative video!
Great video, Manon (as usual). For me, all of this recent focus on zone 2 has been so beneficial because I normally want to go hard and steady (I doubt I'm alone in this). So now I have a new focus for my training, and, to be frank, it's helped me just get out and have more fun rides, where I don't feel the need to push.
This is what it's all about! When you start finding riding run again you know you're doing something right 🙌
Interesting video. Thank you Manon 👍🚴💪
Congratulations Manon! Super inspiring :)
Im 52 have done December January February riding solely HR below 135 for the mallorca 312. No idea of my ftp or actual Z2. But it certainly improved my riding. Outside every other weekend when i could then doing an hour here and there when i have my kids.
Increased training in march and april to simply increasing cadence.
312 achieved and now riding longer faster at lower HR than before by around 15bpm.
Thank you Manon, and coach!
Glad to see it actually improves
We appreciate your efforts, Manon.
Great results!!!
Excellent video
Really good stuff
Congrats Manon, great improvements!
Awesome series, Manon! I'd be very curious how the improvement would've been if it was all zone 2, plus 1 intense HIIT with something like Norwegian 4x4
Zone 2 training helped me in sports, professional life, and personal life. Simply put, it taught me that fast doesn’t last, and pace wins the race… I no longer max effort everything. I now max out my time at manageable paces. Makes everything better in the long run..
You're spot on about zone 2 training outside being easy to slip into zone 3 before you know it. You have to be prepared to walk some hills that you would otherwise ride up. Very bruising to the ego especially if someone you know sees you!😂
I've been doing loads of Z2 training as part of my Marmotte prep. The power I can hold while maintaining a static heart rate at the top of my Z2 range for 2 hours has risen from 180W back in November to 220W now (May). It's helped me avoid overtraining and injury. Anyone who has held Z2 in erg mode on a trainer for 2 hours knows that it's not exactly easy. I'm convinced that it works, provided you have the time to do it. Doing it on the trainer is a good way to keep control and avoid going into Z1 or Z3, although I do add 6x4min blocks in Z3 just to add in some variety into what can be a very boring session.
Im trying to get my FTP to 300 by November. I have mostly been doing hard rides, I'm going to start adding in longer zone 2 rides thanks to this video
I don't know how many of your turbo sessions were on Zwift, but it's a brilliant way to stay in Z2 IMO...the robopacers are always filled w/ plenty of folks ready for a chat (or not)...I am sorry I missed your group rides. Congrats on your improvement and thanks a ton for these videos, they are extremely helpful to me
We're always on Zwift 🙌 It's such a great tool in keeping those indoor workouts fun 🥰
Excellent vid, really first class GCN content. My challenge is to find my zone 2 - is the able to chat test the best way outside of getting into a lab?
Won’t feel so guilty about just going out & enjoying the long hours / conversation rides anymore rather than feeling like I have to ruin myself just to get results. Thanks Manon, I throughly enjoyed these 2 videos 👏👏👏