While during summer, the main cycling season, we may do all kinds of cycling. If we pursue bicycle touring, our performance may vary, and although we may cover long distances, our cycling lacks systematic training. When I am cycle touring, I must carry gear hence need to drape my bike with bags. Even if I may ride at a pretty decent pace at a time, often I stop to admire something and to take pictures. This kind of riding is not building up endurance or speed, although it helps maintain a decent stamina. Hence, in winter is best to train systematically to become stronger cyclists and to prepare for the next season of cycle touring and bike travel.

As you have become more of an avid cyclist, you have certainly come across what’s called Maximum Sustainable Power – Functional Threshold Power, or FTP, one of the key training terms in cycling that refers to the maximum power you can sustain cycling for an hour. FTP is also an integral figure in setting your training zones, which you then can use to guide you in your training program.

How do you establish your FTP?

If you don’t know your FTP, you could ride “like mad” for an hour. Of course, that’s really painful. A lesser taxing option is to find out through a 20-minute test. However, for most, even 20 minutes may be too painful to endure. Luckily, there are other ways to figure out your aerobic exercise zones. Forget the most simplistic of them all, subtracting your age from 220. Instead, use Heart Rate Training Zone Calculator.

If you may struggle with what’s your Maximum Heart Rate and Resting Heart Rate, just consult your Garmin Connect to find what they were over the last 6 to 8 weeks; you should use at least your Resting HR / Waking HR from Connect, and look up your maximum HR in your Strava account – simply page through data of your last few rides and pick the highest heart rate you recorded, and plug the two numbers into the calculator. You’ll get:

Zone 1 – Active Recovery; Zone 2 – Endurance Building; Zone 3 – Tempo & Race Effort; Zone 4 – Vo2 Max; Zone 5 – Top End Power & Speed.

What will you want to do with these zones’ data? According to Exercise Physiology, the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise, there is more than one way to improving your performance. While this post is not about pulling 50 to 80 years of research studies, ultimately one or two approaches or combination of both can achieve the desired goal – to become a stronger cyclist. As I noted above, the outcome not only depends on the intensity of your training but also the duration of the sessions and their frequency. But frankly, not only that. Much depends also on your focus and motivation, not to mention your personal situation, conditions and circumstance and support under which you train.

But never mind all of that. Your choices are: Interval training or riding in zones. While some avow you must do both, let’s make it simple. If you’re young, in your 20s and 30s, yes, your improvement will come quickly from doing a variety of painful intervals. If you’re a middle age to an older rider, suffering is unlikely your preference, hence best focus on the recently becoming the most popular topic among cyclists (although it’s not a new topic), revealing benefits of doing systematic training in Zone 2.

Let’s forget “critical power”, the power output that can be sustained during high-intensity exercise performance, namely riding in Zone 5. Instead, focus on the much-longer sustainable power output achieved in Zone 2. Forget Zone 1, that’s recovery zone, so use it for that, “to recover”.

The premise much hailed these days are the benefits of training in Zone 2, the Endurance Building zone. While you want to focus on riding in Zone 2, with any changes in topography at all, you will be slipping into Zone 3, the Tempo zone, and thus consequently to a higher heart rate and that’s OK. Fact is eventually riding even in Zone 2 will become non-sustainable, but it will take much longer than in Zone 5 or 4, of course.

Now, having established the desired intensity of training, the next questions is how far or how long, and how often. Per the recommendations of Iñigo San-Millán, a doctor focusing on cellular metabolism, cardio-metabolic disease, and also the head coach of the UAE Team Emirates, training the likes of elite riders as Tadej Pogačar, he emphasis training in Zone 2. Although he notes riders like Pogačar to win the premier races as Tour de France must train more than enough in Zone 5, he confirms they too must spend extensive hours in Zone 2. While Pogačar trains at least 30 hours per week, for most amateur cyclists including myself, San-Millán claims must ride a minimum of 300 minutes per week in Zone 2, and gradually increase the workouts to 400 minutes per week. That translates to approximately 60 minutes + per ride. Thus if you will stick to this 300 to 400 minutes per week minimum, you will ride 5 to 7 hours per week in Zone 2.

So much for intensity, duration, and frequency. But what does that really mean for a cyclist to train in a Zone 2? How do you really know you ride in Zone 2 other than the numbers you got from the Heart Rate calculator? Sure, you can track your heart rate in your cycling computer. But is there another way to tell that you actually ride in Zone 2?

Let’s break it all down further:

Zone 2, also known as the Endurance Zone, is a specific range of intensity used in training to improve your aerobic fitness and endurance. Put another way, this zone falls between 55-75% of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP).

Zone 2 is an intensity level where your body can primarily use fat as fuel and efficiently remove lactate, a byproduct of exercise. This allows you to train for longer durations without accumulating fatigue.

So how do you establish your Zone 2? Other than calculating your maximum power output over a set time, allowing you to calculate your Zone 2 based on that percentage, or measuring your blood lactate levels at different intensities, directly identifying your Zone 2, or using heart rate monitors and estimate your Zone 2 based on your maximum and resting heart rate mentioned above, you can use RPE, Relative Perceived Exertion. RPE is a subjective measure of how hard you feel you’re working, with Zone 2 typically feeling like a comfortable conversation pace with another cyclist riding next to you. When I ride alone outside I may talk loud to myself, or on an indoor trainer I read aloud from a tablet or a mobile phone mounted on my handlebars. Then what? Maintain a steady pace! Your effort should feel sustainable, conversational, and you shouldn’t feel out of breath or need to recover frequently.

I repeat, Zone 2 workouts typically should last at least 60 minutes for the first month of riding ideally your indoor trainer and then increase your rides to say 90 minutes per ride and ride 4 to 5 times a week. As you build your aerobic base, pay attention to any fatigue or discomfort you may feel and adjust your intensity accordingly. Monitor your heart rate and perceived exertion over time to see if your Zone 2 is changing.

What are the Benefits of Zone 2 training? In short, you will feel tangible improvement after a month or two:

Improved endurance: You’ll be able to sustain higher power output for longer durations.

Increased fat burning: Your body will become more efficient at using fat for fuel, especially during longer rides.

Reduced risk of injury: By training at a sustainable intensity, you’ll minimize stress on your body and reduce the risk of overuse injuries.

Improved recovery: Zone 2 training aids in faster recovery between harder workouts.

Keep in mind to “stay in Zone 2” for the duration of the ride. To stay in the zone means not to sprint and jack up your output to Zone 4 and 5 and then stop pedaling, coast and let your heart rate go down do Zone 1. This kind of riding, bouncing up and down between Zone 1 and 5, is counterproductive to a systematic training in Zone 2. You can sprint the last 300 meters of your one-hour+ / 30-minutes ride and perhaps reach your Zone 5 for a few seconds in the end of your ride, that’s OK, go for it if you feel like it, but for the duration of your Zone 2 ride you should stay diligently in Zone 2. That means, it’s better you pick rides that do not have too many or any steep climbs so you don’t have to step on it and climb up to Zone 5 and then rest coasting downhill to recover. Of course, as you get stronger, mix in sprints or intervals on separate rides, but for the first two months, just stay in Zone 2!

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VO2 max and heart rate are two important physiological measurements used to assess cardiovascular fitness and performance in athletes, including cyclists. Understanding the relationship between these two metrics can help cyclists optimize their training and improve their overall fitness.

VO2 max, or maximum oxygen uptake, represents the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual’s body can utilize during intense exercise. It is a direct measure of aerobic capacity and is considered the gold standard for assessing cardiovascular fitness.

Heart rate, on the other hand, is the number of times the heart beats per minute. It is a more readily available and easily monitored metric than VO2 max, but it is not a direct measure of aerobic capacity. Heart rate can be influenced by various factors, including exercise intensity, environmental conditions, and individual genetics.

Relationship between VO2 max and heart rate

There is a strong correlation between VO2 max and heart rate, particularly at higher exercise intensities. As exercise intensity increases, both VO2 max and heart rate rise. However, the relationship between the two is not linear, meaning that the increase in heart rate is not directly proportional to the increase in VO2 max.

VO2 max and heart rate in cycling

Cyclists rely heavily on their aerobic capacity to perform well, as cycling is a predominantly aerobic activity. VO2 max is therefore a crucial factor in determining a cyclist’s endurance and ability to maintain high power outputs for extended periods.

Heart rate is also an important metric for cyclists, as it can monitor exercise intensity and ensure that the cyclist is training in the appropriate zone for their goals. Heart rate zones are commonly used in cycling training programs, with each zone representing a specific range of intensities that target different physiological adaptations.

How VO2 max and heart rate manifest among cyclists

Elite cyclists typically have higher VO2 max values than recreational cyclists. This allows them to process more oxygen during exercise, which translates into better endurance and performance. For example, a professional cyclist may have a VO2 max of 80-90 ml/kg/min, while a recreational cyclist may have a VO2 max of 40-50 ml/kg/min.

Heart rate responses to exercise also vary among cyclists. Experienced cyclists typically have lower heart rates at a given exercise intensity than less experienced cyclists. This is due to adaptations in the cardiovascular system, such as increased stroke volume, which allows the heart to pump more blood with each beat.

Optimizing training using VO2 max and heart rate

By understanding the relationship between VO2 max and heart rate, cyclists can optimize their training to improve their cardiovascular fitness and performance. VO2 max training typically involves short, high-intensity intervals that push the cyclist to their VO2 max. Heart rate training involves monitoring heart rate zones and ensuring that the cyclist is training in the appropriate zone for their goals.

In addition to using VO2 max and heart rate for training, cyclists can also use these metrics to track their progress over time. By monitoring changes in VO2 max and heart rate, cyclists can assess the effectiveness of their training and make adjustments as needed.

Your specific training zones reflect your own level of fitness. You can use either your heart rate (BPM) or your power output (Watts) data to establish your training zones. For the last three weeks, I have been training focusing on shorter rides, around 15 km to 30 km only; all done Zwifting*. I spend most of my time riding in Power Zone 2 – that’s Power Distribution 100-125 Watts. Riding in Power Zone 2, my Heart Rate Distribution stays mostly in Heart Rate Zones 4 (124-138 BPM) and 5 (140-170 BPM), although of course it drops throughout the rides even below 100 BPM (Zone 1 / Recovery Zone). As long as I can hoover between 130 and 170 beats per minute, I ride in Power Zone 2 and that’s the optimal workout effort for me and most cyclists. While in my Heart Rate Zone 2 (95-110 BPM), AKA Endurance Zone, I could ride for hours, in Zone 3, AKA Tempo, I can stay only for around 20 min to an hour, hence that’s why Zone 3 works well with my shorter rides. Perhaps in a month, I will mix in longer rides, but not now. In Zone 4, AKA Treashhold Zone, I can stay only a few minutes at a time, and in Zone 5, AKA VO2 Max, that becomes a few seconds to 2 to 3 minutes maximum.

Spending most of your time training in Power Zone 2 is said to be the best zone to ride in to improve your cardiovascular fitness, and that’s what it’s all about. Hopefully, I can keep it up for at least two months and I should see some benefits when I ride back outside, and ride 30 km to 80 km and more again. Fact is, your VO2 Max goes down as you age, beginning already at age 30. While it’s best you keep up training, getting older will continue working against you and your VO2 Max will keep dropping (about 2% per year after age 40), and the best you can do is to keep slowing the decline.

*”Zwifting” refers to riding a stationary indoor trainer bicycle using Zwift.com app. Before you can consider signing up, you will need to get a Wahoo KICKR CORE, a Direct Drive Bike Resistance Trainer (paid link). Note, the Kicker Core comes without a cassette (although you can buy it also with one included for a higher price.) That said, cassettes are relatively inexpensive, such as, for example, SHIMANO cs-r7000 Sprocket Cassette (paid link). The beauty of riding an indoor trainer like Wahoo KICKR is “watching yourself” ride, or rather an animation of you and your ride, whatever the route you select using the Zwift app, on the screen of your laptop or a tablet in front of you; the easiest setup is to get a Tablet Holder Bike Handlebar Mount Clamp (paid link). And for a better stability, and because you will definitely sweat when you “Zwift”, and will need to mop up after each ride, you will also need a Bike Trainer Mat (paid link) under your Kickr! More on “Zwifting” in another post, but getting into riding an indoor trainer, whether you may entertain the idea of mounting your regular bike on your Kickr, or you plan to buy a cassette to install on it, invest in an inexpensive sturdy and stable Bike stand you’ll need for doing all your bicycle maintenance, repairs, and upgrades.

**Footloose Cycling is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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