The science behind Zone 2 training for athletes

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The concept of Zone 2 training is all the rage for endurance sports like cycling or running, but is the hype real?

If you're a cycling nerd like me, or perhaps into running or other endurance sports, you've probably come across the concept of Zone 2 training.

It's in direct contrast to the concept of high-intensity training and interval training, which were all the rage for a time, particularly for time-poor people. The idea being that short, sharp, high-intensity sessions could make up your entire fitness regime. "It's got this fancy new name, Zone 2, but it's basically the top end of the low-intensity training zone.

I need a goal, so I've committed to riding in the Snowy Classic – a Gran Fondo in the Snowy Mountains in March. Then I'm off and pedalling. Dr Stadnyk starts me off at a leisurely 80 watts and then every three minutes he asks me to increase my wattage by 20. Each time I go up in power, he takes a blood sample to measure my lactate.

At least it was meant to be a three-minute effort, but I made the mistake of going out far too hard and then had to hold on for dear life, while Dr Stadnyk quickly recalibrated it to a two-minute effort. "ATP is what our body uses to produce the actual muscle contractions and physiological processes that we need to sustain life," Dr Stadnyk says.

As we become more oxidatively powerful, our bodies can use fat for longer and put off using carbohydrates as a fuel source, saving those stores for when we really need it during high-intensity efforts. "And that represents the point where we start to have an increase in energy being provided by carbohydrates, which provide less energy , but can be oxidised at a faster rate.ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that’s making headlines.

Zone 4 is when you're on the red-line, staying just short of the level of exertion where you would burn out in just a few minutes if you upped the intensity. "A little bit in that Zone 3 and 4 area and then a smaller amount in that Zone 5 or 6 — if you want to put in a couple of extra sprint efforts that can be beneficial for the anaerobic power — you're going to get all of your zones ticked off," he says.

ABC Sport Zone 4 UTS Exercise Cycling Heart Rate

 

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