Ride in Zone 2 ONLY and get fitter? Seems too easy right? We challenged Manon to 6 weeks of strictly Zone 2 training to see what happens to her FTP, aerobic, and anaerobic fitness. She heads to a sports lab to benchmark her fitness levels and identify her power zones.
Follow Manon’s zone 2 journey on Strava 👉 https://gcn.eu/aBB
00:00 Intro
02:03 Cycling fitness testing
03:14 What is zone 2?
04:39 Cycling ramp test
05:42 The Complete Athlete Coach interview
06:38 Cycling fitness test results
07:27 Should you train with power or heart rate?
08:38 Zone 2 training guide
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Everyone’s talking about Zone 2 training right now getting fitter and faster without having to ride hard it sounds great right but really how effective is it to find out I’m going to become a human guinea pig right here’s what I’m going to do I’m going to start off with a baseline
Fitness test of not having done too much riding recently and I’m going to be training in zone 2 and Zone 2 only only for the next six weeks to see if one my Anor robic Zone 2 Fitness improves two to see if my FTP improves and three to
See if my anerobic capacity improves it’s a lot to ask of little old Zone 2 but is it going to live up to the hype let’s find out before I kick off this experiment I’ve got some work to do firstly I need to establish my current Fitness levels
And most crucially find out what my zone 2 is so I know how hard I’m going to be training how am I going to do that well I’m off to a sports science lab to get the most accurate results I can a lot has been said about how to find your
Zone 2 and it’s worth noting that I wouldn’t be able to find my zone 2 off just heart rate and power alone but if you don’t have access to a sports science lab there are some pretty accurate methods out there which we have covered in a previous video so if you
Want to find your Zone 2 go check that out but after you finish watching this video then once I have established my zone 2 I’m going to need a training plan a very monotonous one but I thought I’m going to need a little bit of professional advice on this one to make
Sure I’m doing enough to make a difference so I got in touch with my old coach to see if he’d be willing to help me out and he was and he’s very used to working with very professional athletes that are world and Olympic Champions I
Did let him know that I was a lot slower and a lot un fitter than I previously was and he was still Keen to work with us so that’s great but now let let’s get to the lab to do some testing this is the University of bath
Home to a host of the UK’s best athletes as well as a few thousand students the head of the lab Jonathan Robinson is a familiar face of Die Hard gcn viewers and we’ll be putting me through my Paces today we’ll be doing a gradual ramp test increasing the intensity gradually every
1 minute to get an accurate gauge of how my body is responding to the effort levels we’ll also be doing a step test where the power will be increased by 20 W every 4 minutes to find my zone two we are looking for the intensity where my blood lactate begins to increase along
With my breathing rate as well he’ll also be analyzing the ratio of carbon dioxide in my breath which will also tell him when my body is Shifting metabolic gears so I’ve done a bit of a warmup and we’re going to get straight into the step test and Jonathan said
It’s not going to hurt too much yeah let’s do It so what is Zone 2 the theory goes that it’s the optimal exercise intensity to simulate your microchondrules and essentially chin the food that you eat into energy the more microchondrules moves elsewhere however if you improve your mitochondrial function you not only improve your Zone 2 level but in theory
You are able to perform better at higher intensity to because your body is more efficient so that’s why in theory Zone 2 training might also help increase my FTP like I was dribbling in there how did it feel though yeah not too bad got a little bit spicy towards
The end but on the whole right I think how’s you feel about the ramp test yeah got scared so that was a nice warm up but I know the ramp test is going to hurt like a like a lot oh dear so next up we have the ramp
Test which is going to hurt a lot am I ready for this no but we’re going to crack on with it anyway let’s see how far I can Get In you remember yeah just as hard but I’m like 10 times as unfit was the last time I did one which is not great for morale but you know the end of this six weeks fingers crossed I mean it’s still going to hurt is it but hopefully I’ll be
Sitter so I have got my test results that’s all that’s left to do now is send them over to coach Lawrence at the complete athlete so he can have a look at them and set my training for the next six weeks so Lawrence first of all would
You ever recommend Zone to training for six weeks to any of your athletes probably the only time I’d use it would be if someone really was struggling for capacity to ride like regular if you wanted someone to ride more more just more hours in the week um so I’ve used it with one
Pro Rider before where we’ve just done six weeks of low intensity just to build up capacity but generally no the there’s other intensities that are really important and six weeks is it enough time to really see a difference I think from your starting point man on absolutely okay I think if someone was
Really if someone was really well trained and someone have been riding Lots frequently you know recently been doing a lot of training you know going to see big shifts on in this area but from starting up for a lower point I think you’ll see some good gains in six
Weeks yeah and then moving on to my test results not sure I’m ready for this but first of all give me an idea of what my zone two is so your zone two for you is somewhere around um probably sort of that 120 to 140 Watts something like
That um heart rate um sort of 135 to 150 five um how are you if you’re using hard rare as well so not a big Power number and actually not a big sort of% of your maxal intensity just the way your profile is your your zone two is sort of
Up to lactate threshold that first point of the where the lactate curve breaks um and you see that in the graph um in your in your report and that actually occurs at quite a low percent of your aerobic capacity um of your V2 Max or V2 Peak
And when I’m doing my zone do training is it more important to focus on the power or the heart rate yeah so really important to use that combination the problem is when we talk about sort of lactate threshold and that first change in the blood lactate curve we tend to
Call it a precise number and we’ve got that on your report but actually it occurs at a much wider transition and a much wider band than we think and obviously when you get tired things in your physiology change and you can shift across into zone three before you know
It so heart rates really good guide it’s obviously still influenced by things like heat and hydration uh which is where you’ve got to combine RP as well um but what what’s really good about heart rate is as you get fitter and in the six weeks you will get fitter what
You should find is that let’s say you’re training at 145 beats a minute or 145 to 150 your power should gradually creep up over the 6 weeks so that way by using heart rate and rpe um of the 6 to 20 Bard scale you’ll make sure you’re at
The same sort of perceived effort same heart rate response um for an increase in power as you get fitter so it’s a bit of a better guide than just relying on Power and then moving on to my training what is my training going to look like
For the next six weeks is it just going to be slogging along for hours at the same power and the same heart rate zone two training absolutely so I think the the thing with this idea of zone two training is it’s it’s below laate threshold it’s steady but within there
There’s still a big difference in training intensity so it’s about finding that balance between duration and intensity how many hours a week am I looking at to start with I think you started somewhere around you know four to six hours in the first bit that’ be pretty good and then gradually build
That up oh thank you very much I’m looking forward to getting my training plan and I’m going to catch up with you in three weeks time at the halfway point see how my training is going Mega good luck with it thank you very much right
I’ve got my zone 2 and I’ve got my training plan for the next six weeks that’s all that’s left to do is ride in zone two and zone two only but if you want to keep up to date with all the training I’m doing make sure to head
Over to straa to give me a follow where I’m going to be loging all of my rides and I’m going to be doing a fair few of my rides indoors as well on zwift and if you’d love to come and ride with me and join me head over to the gcn club where
We’re going to put some rides on where you can come and join me but so all I have to do now is get training but let me know in the comment section what do you think is going to happen in 6 weeks time am I going to get fitter who knows
47 Comments
Will 6 weeks of zone 2 make you fitter? 💪
I would live to see this for 6 month instead of 6w
appreciate the effort.
From what I have read, it seems that Z2 training is very important for pros who are on the bike 20+ hours a week, because it allows you to get a lot of adaptation without much additional stress. However, for the average person riding <10 hours per week, doing a high percentage of Z2 work is leaving a lot of benefits on the table.
Would be amazing to have a:
1. Beginner
2. You as a retired Pro
3. A cardiac rehab cyclist
After a cardiac arrest, & then a mini stroke – I am starting from scratch again:
Zone 1 & 2 + guess what Bike:
💜Orbea Gain♥️road eBike
Which connects to garmin & uses the bikes algorithm to protect my heart.
Helps keep the heart safe on climbs. You guys really must highlight more about it.
So, just zone 2 riding, right? No other exercise such as weightlifting or jogging or squats or planks other isometrics or …..?
Should be a good experiment!
I thought Mitochondria is the stuff people have when there Jedis?
1 year would've been interesting
I like Manon as a presenter, but why would they split this over multiple videos…. could have just been one 15min video really
Hopefully I'm not being too presumptuous, but congrats on the nuptials. I'm sure the zone two training will hit your goals perfectly. I myself have been doing zone 2 training for the last 4 months and can confirm that the ftp gains are real. The finesse gain are real also. I'm sure the dress will fit perfectly.
Here is some historical perspective. About 60 – 70 years ago Arthur Lydiard coached many of the champion long-distance runners winning Olympic medals for New Zealand and Finland. He advocated building up an aerobic base with large amounts of long relatively slow (but not extremely easy) distance, with anaerobic interval workouts to build speed and anaerobic capacity, and periodization to peak for critical races. Lacking heart rate monitors or power meters runners used the "talk test" for their aerobic runs – if you couldn't carry on a conversation you were going anaerobically and should slow down. Lydiard was also an advocate of women running the marathon before they were allowed to do so. He was certain women could compete the distance because he had all his 400 meter women athletes doing 20 mile runs as part of their training. His methods sound like a lot of what is now being advocated for "zone 2" training. A spinoff to Lydiard's story is that Bill Bowerman, track coach of Eugene Oregon, made a trip to New Zealand to learn more about Lyiard's method. While there he was introduced to the NZ recreational activity of jogging by regular people, not track stars. On return to Oregon he felt this activity might be popular in the US, wrote a pamphlet on the subject later turned into a book and formed a jogging group for citizens in Eugene. This quickly morphed into the first running boom in the USA.
Zone 2 training is nothing more than the latest tech cover-up for Pro peloton DOPING – lest we forget the infamous Carmichael System – or the evil genius of Dr. Ferrari and his prepatori methods – or windtunnel testing or the Jiffy Bag tactics and Senor Marginal Gains of that evil genius Brailsford and some Doctor of his who had such an irrational fear of trials that they allowed him to NEVER attend and testify under oath – see rug – see broom – SWEEP – memory of the public is such a BYE – itch now don't you know – or is it the Pay Lawyers BIG BUCKS to make that doping POSITIVE all go away tactics of FROO-MONEY now let me introduce YOU to Tadej Pog-a-Bike and Zone 2 Training by wunderkind Doctor <WTF is his name again> – the cycling eras change indeed but the MIRACLE of training methods that allow otherwise ordinary riders like Armstrong – Froome – and pretty much the ENTIRE Pro Peletons from the last 20-30 years save a few rare honest souls out there who rode pan y agua – so now we are being told ( sold ) to simply train SLOW to race FAST – wow – amazing – so the SLOWER I train the FASTER I will race ? – obviously you need to be a specific select elite physical weapon to train SLOW so who amongst us can possibly train that SLOW to race that FAST ? – ah yes – thou newest-eth latest-eth form-eth of-eth blood-eth doping-eth by-eth any-eth other-eth name-eth doth-eth soundeth so sweet-eth to thine-eth ear-eth drum-eth – no? – I will NEVER train over Zone 2 lest my race speed drops – dumdums – IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCK – QUACKS LIKE A DUCK – WADDLES LIKE A DUCK – it MUST be doth BEAVER say-eth only the fool – the last time I saw a rider like Pog-a-Bike ride out of his skin and EASILY win everything by MINUTES over the nearest competitor sure looked like a DUCK to me – but then again – DUCKS do not TRAIN in Zone 2 so listen to the DOCTOR – I mean I just cannot imagine HOW any one will ever WIN another race if they ALL train in Zone 2 – ahh but wait – it is only the specific select elite physical weapons who can Train in Zone 2 after all – all the IDIOTS who LOSE are out there riding out of their skins km after km busting a gut – no WONDER why they lose – the fools race like TURTLES
z2 3mmol ?
i thought Z2 is 1.7-1.9mmol lactate. how is this test not considered fugazi?
It would be interesting if you had others with the same starting point only training in zone 3 or 4 as a comparison. I’m sure you will get fitter training consistently over six weeks but is it better than training in zone 3 for 6 weeks?
Great Job Manon. I'll be joining you in the process. At 60 years of age, I've found that lower intensity training has been one of the keys to me still riding as I age.
Based on the Zwift Step test, my FTP is 196. My weight is 221 pounds (100.2 KG). I've created three different length Zone 2 workouts in Zwift and will be riding 4 times per week. Let's see where I end up!
"only zone 2" sounds like the next useless fad like ketogenic riding. maybe useful only as a lie to tell your competition to send them down a rabbit trail wasting time instead of proper training
Here we answer the burning question, “Is zone 2 training better than spending the day face down on the couch?” Great, except nobody asked that – the real question is, do medium and high intensity efforts do significantly more for you than just zone 2? You won’t find out here.
I am living with quadriplegia and can only get my max heart rate up to 110 these days. So this video is for me! ♿️🇨🇦
i save you the time.. How fit can you get training at zone 2? not that fit, but it would depend on how much time you put on.. is funny they talk about this in 2024 when in the past, the season opener for cyclists was training in Zone 2 January and February and then start with threshold and more specific and hard training.
Zone 2 training seems a lot like long slow runs for runners, for endurance and strength, with faster, shorter efforts to add speed later. Arthur Lydiard trained 800m and 1,500m runners to run 100 miles a week base training when Europeans were all doing intervals. My rides are steady state below threshold, mixed in with attacks up hills and sprints
What are trainings for the zone 2 ??????!!!!!!!
i only watch sports training
That's aint fair…i clicked on the video to know the answer…ended up back with only the question…
METAchondria not micro
ZONE 2 is no way for me…….that's around 120-135bpm….
Very interesting!!
Don't think it will do a lot other than give you the ability to perform longer at what ever you do which will give you the ability to use what your body already has so your FTP will move slightly. The thing is unless you have very flat or rolling roads you will never stay in zone 2 on the roads certainly will not in Devon. /or any other zone.
Wouldn't it be far more interesting to take a well trained rider and replace their normal riding with zone 2 only. Then any changes in their fitness can be attributed to the intervention. Of course taking someone with a low baseline and putting them on the bike for 6 weeks will improve their fitness, regardless of the format.
Thank you Manon. You have inspired me to do the same. See you in 6 weeks 😊
I've got you figured out, Manon, you invented this test to take a 6 week holiday after you noticed your colleagues were getting such nasty assignments lately 😁
this has to be said. This entire experiment is highly INACCURATE. Our bodies respond to muscle memory. hence anyone who lifts weight regularly for years then suddenly stops for a year then comes back can easily regain muscle as well as strength much faster than someone who has never trained at all. this applies to athletes. so the fact that Manon is an elite Olympic athlete herself at one point has already made the result of this experiment kind of useless, to put it mildly.
To determine fitness, heartrate and power output isn't enough:
We will need to watch you walk around in yoga pants for a couple minutes.
Zone 2 is usually 2 out of 5 right??
Why does Strava have 7 zones. Who the heck else uses 7 zones?
Srsly? Even i could do a what ever zone training after a break and would prove that my what ever zone training has increased my fitness…after 6weeks.
Great stuff. As an older person limited to lower HR training for cardiac issues, it is very relevant to me.
Should have done one video. Definitely not coming back to check up on this BS.
I mean, she's not fit, so ANY riding with improve her fitness. You need to do A LOT of z2 to improve over time.
So if zone 2 is 70% of your max effort, the other higher zones are so small it makes no sense. Why is zone 2 70% of effort? It should be 30% effort. Zone 4 should be 70%.
Somebody messed up the zones and nobody fixed it after all these years?
No wonder you people are so lost in the numbers.
I believe, what we see on 2:42 means Mannon is married. Dismiss to all, guys. Thanks for the journey, GCN. Mannon, on behalf of all men, we wish you all the best.
I only ride in zone 5. Y'all need to quit complaining and RIDE HARDER
9:08 For a moment there I heard "fortysix" (46) hours per week to start with, not "four to six" 😀
Expect to see improvements, given that she stated she is unfit and has not been training. The title could read "Can you get fitter by working out?". Don't hold your breath, folks.
8:05 "perceived", please! Don't you employ any literate people?
I went to London at the weekend and stayed in Zone 2. will I be fit now?
I get the importance of Z2 training and, I've definitely but, it's just so g'damn boring!
When I hit the road, regardless of my intentions setting out, I invariably find myself creeping up into higher intensities.
I'm trying to join the GCN club on Zwift to try some of Manon's workouts, but I keep getting the message 'oops – unable to join club'. Any idea why?
Thank you Manon for putting yourself out there as a test subject for all of us! I'm very curious to see the results in 6 weeks.