A lot has been made of the importance of the heart rate zone you train in. Mostly that zone 2 is good & that zone 3 is bad! A grey zone, which should be avoided. But why? What’s the reason for this? And should you avoid the grey zone when trying to improve your fitness levels? Mark is here to investigate!
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If you do track your zones when exercising, which do you spend the most in? 🤔
Zone 3 followed by Zone 4. Don't have a lot of time on my hands (Full time uni student and working) so get in what I can for best fitness returns
The thing is, most of the group rides around me are at zone 3. I just tried to advise a friend coming out of a 2 week break to take it easy for riding 2 days in a row, but his point is just to ride with friends, he just doesn't care about it. Trying to get them to ride slower to ride much faster is a lost cause, so for me that means I basically have to ride alone most of the time. Trying to train smart makes me look like a sociopath. And because I reap benefits from that strict training regime, and because I only ride group rides being recovered some people have even implied that I'm doping smh. Am I the only one? It's hard to find people with that mindset, especially among cyclists
For the last month I've been doing zone 2, 3x a week, trying to build an endurance base. I will do this for another 2 months, then closer to race day I plan on adding tempo runs and hill sprints and hope that will improve my speed!
Bulk of my training is Level 1 (~70-75%). Unpopular opinion amongst a lot of people, but majority of high level athletes I talk to are in this same range. Only variance may be how much level 2 training done, but still 70-75% of training done is level 1 & 2.
@@paultschommer I find that Zone 1 makes it easier to get more volume in at a lower cost than zone 2. A bonus is that if you measure volumen in Km you get some bonus volume as those km's will take you longer to complete as well! 😉
Any zone is going to be better than the sitting on the lounge watching KZhead zone ;-)
Haha KZhead zone
Hey hey, I ran this morning already
But if you go from months of youtube zone straight to zone 3 you can blow your heart up
Listening to youtube while doing anyzone is better 😂
true😄
I’ve just started running and only have two zones. The Run zone and the Walk zone. One make my heart go fast, the other slow. Coincidentally, these are also my two paces.
Me too! Maybe zone training is for intermediate runners?
Rodger that!
@@user-bs9zv4yw1h More or less, yes. For a complete beginner zones don't really matter much. A light jog for someone who hasn't worked out in over a year could easily see their heart rate going to 190 or beyond after a half mile (if they can even run that far.) The key for a beginner would be consistency. Doing a little bit every day so that you don't get hurt. Regardless of zone, doing SOMETHING will increase your fitness. Frankly zone 2 training when running is also extremely difficult. I have over a year of mainly cardio semi-consistently like 4 days a week and my zone 2 when running is still almost impossible without a lot of walking. Even these last 3 months I've heavily gone into zone 2 training with my stationary bike where I can hold zone 2 indefinitely. 3-5 60-90 minute sessions per week plus strength training and the occasional run on off days. Despite all that, my casual jog is still like 170 BPM on flat ground. It's HARD to run any slower. For anyone that wants to do zone 2 should definitely get a bike. Not only will it make doing hours of zone 2 significantly easier it also provides crosstraining which is essential to avoiding injury.
I've been running for 3 years now. He said Race Pace is Zone 3. for me, Race Pace is Zone 5. Easy run is zone 4. Super slow is zone 2. I have no idea how they can go race pace at zone 3. If I do a race at zone 3 I'll be doing a 5k in 45 mins
@@funnyberries4017 It's about building a cardio base. It's really difficult to do and also takes many months. For running you have to employ a run/walk cycle which honestly feels dumb because you'll hit zone 3 after like 5-10 seconds of running and spend most of the time walking. My recommendation is to use a bike. Not only is cross training a good idea but I found that on my stationary bike I can easily keep my heart rate at zone 2 for hours. And after 3-4 months of that I actually struggle to get to zone 3 on the bike at all. My heart rate during a normal run went from 188 to 178 after 3 months while also being like 20-30 seconds faster per mile.
As well as being useful to run at race pace, I also find that an hour’s run at zone 3 is best for clearing the mind
Sometimes this is the most important thing 🙌
This is why cycle and exercise, really…
True.. Zone 2 is too slow that your mind starts wondering
Genuinely, have you ever seen anybody running at zone 2 in public. Like, the claim that 80% of all running needs to be zone 2 or it's completely useless, is truly barking to me. If that was the case there would literally be no good runners who weren't pros and nobody who jogged would be any fitter than anyone never did any exercise at all.
@@luckyspursZone 3 is better then nothing, i think its more about optimisng and hitting Plateau after time...
As a lifelong runner who was coming into collegiate track/ cross right as "heart rate" training was becoming more prevalent-- I often think it's more important to get an understanding of where your body feels best. Most long-distance training is base miles. So building a strong foundation is key. This means some days; you're going to float in and out of zone 2 and 3. I think that after enough miles, you'll be able to get a decent understanding of what pace feels best (and where your heart rate falls). After years of running, I find that I hang out more in zone 3 (even on my longer runs), and it feels fine. Zone 2 is nice, but I often feel like I'm crawling along and basically walking.
+1, not much point training zone 2 if it's so slow that form goes out the window.
I agree 100%. You train enough and you start to understand how your body is going to react and when you might be close to an injury. I think there's a ton of benefit to learning to listen to our bodies.
Yes, aren't these "zones" also rather arbitrary? Who decides what percentage of your hr max that they start and end at? What's magical about zone 2 where you'd get benefits and then the second you entered the arbitrarily defined zone 3 you'd get no benefits?
@@Chris-zd7gw science
Yes sir, truth.
Thanks Mark! Fully uncovered the topic as usual!! Great work! 👍🏻💪🏻✊🏻
Thank you so much for this video, GTN! I naturally train in zone 3, either when I just pop out for a run without looking at the data, or when I am doing boxing and kickboxing sessions. I race in zone 3 mostly, so I found that familiar effort comforting and helps me to calm my nerves. Saying all that, I do try to stick to 80/20 when I am on a running training program.
thanks, GTN! that for me was one of the best explanations I’ve ever heard for avoiding Z3! Super-helpful!!!
Thank you!! That makes so much more sense than a lot of things I've heard on zone 2 training.
People run easy run way too fast. My 5K is around 20 min, and just run a half marathon with a light fever for 1:34 two weeks ago. I run my easy miles at 6:00-6:40 per K,that’s 10 min mile pace. I see people passing me all the time, but I know I will pass them in a race. Running in zone 3 isn’t a waste of time, but that’s not the most efficient and effective way of training. Easy day easy, hard day hard.
This video was so helpful. I am in week 6 of my first marathon programme. Doing my long run tomorrow and will make sure to do most, if not all the run in Zone 2.
i'm just gonna run and enjoy myself. screw this zone 2 and 3.
Good video thanks and some nice camera turns too.
Hi GTN! I'm following you and your sister channels for quite some time now... But this one really, I mean really clicked in! I was always wondering why no matter what kind a sessions I do (run, bike, other...) I just can't follow up for longer periods. I was thinking I'm not strong enough and tried to push myself even more. But now I got it - my body just can't get the rest it needs after Zone 3 training before the next workout. I've hurd about the 80/20 rule but it never matched with the Zone 2/3/4, at least for me till now! Definitely I will train smarter than harder! Thank you so much! Cheers to you and the community !!!
Zone 3 is sustainable and long distance race pace for many
An explainer that is very welcome 😊 It’s like it has become a battle between 80/20-training vs. high-intensive, when in reality it’s more about creating a good training setup with a mix of both zone 2 and zone 3 training, and some sessions in zone 4 (as Mark underscored in the video). Many thanks 🙏
Balance is key when it comes to training 🙌 Great to hear you found our advice useful!
You're absolutely right! I think that many videos in the area don't include that nuance and this makes for an unbalanced perspective... Thank you for the video!
Thank you for the great explanation! It finally all makes sense.
Best and most helpful video by GTN, thank you!
So well explained, thankyou! I personally really enjoy zone 3 training and most of the media is raving about zone 2 and 80/20 so its nice to hear that zone 3 has its place
Do you think it's about finding the best training type for you? 👀
The right training is found at the junction between time-availability, sport-specific needs and enjoyment. One person’s “plateau” is another’s pleasure.
Safety is another huge consideration too!!!! Some would rather do slow work in the gym but high intensity on open roads definitely increases your risk of exposure!
One thing I have found is when I don’t have as much time to exercise, meaning longer breaks between sessions, I can use zone 3 a bit to get a little more out of each workout since I’ll have a longer recovery time anyway until I find time to do the next workout. It’s not ideal but it seems to build fitness a little more with workouts spaced out by 3-4 days.
Thanks for clearing that up. It never made sense to me to train for race pace without actually training at race pace.
I personally have gotten alot more from Z3 and tend to recovery very well from it. My long runs are usually high Z2 to low Z3
thank you for this, very insightful
Helpful and concise thank you!
Man that video was like a shoulder to cry on. When you're chronically ill, all doctors will give you crap for not being able to workout in zone 4 for multiple hours and needing days of recovery after it. Glad to hear that a well trained athlete can't do that either. I've came up with cycling on my home trainer for 20 minutes at an intensity that puts my heart rate at 120, with oxygen of course so I can do it for longer than just 5 minutes, without feeling like I'm dying and needing a 12 hour nap. Man did that get me a scolding 😂 The running and cycling community have helped me more with my heart condition than any doctor ever has. The maximum of my O² machine is a 9L flow and I've recently reduced to a 5L flow. My doctors say I'm not building true endurance, I'm just doping, but I'm feeling WAY better, have more energy, I sleep like a baby, my heart rate is stable and low and I'm decreasing the O² flow without noticing much.
Great explanation! Thank you!
Peter Attia should watch this video!!! Thank you for providing useful information, that is both comprehensive and easily understood.
I run zone 3 on my Sunday run. Many people do a zone 2 long-run, but I break this up. For example, when training for a half-marathon I run 14km in zone 3, then 7-10km in zone 2. During the week, I'll do a hill session, a progressive session and 2x zone 2 long runs.
im building my endurance with the MAF method, and my MAF zone heart rate is 142-152 which is exclusively zone 3. ive seen immense benefits from it in my last triathlon.
Thanks for explaining the nuance of Z3 training, super helpful indeed
Glad you found this video useful to you! Is there anything you'd like to see from us in a future video? 🤔
One the best explanations of Z3 training on yt to date;) I very much advocate for the 80/20 rule, doing most of my running in Z2, and sprinkle in some tempo sessions in Z4 for good measure. Usually in my build phase I only do long slow distance, and when I have my base fitness sorted, I start doing some tempo stuff. In the peaking end, I usually incorporate tempo segments at the end of my long runs, to simulate the fatigue of running at race pace:) Thanks!
Sounds like great training! 🙌 What goals are you aiming for this year?
I started running via polarized training methodology - 90/10 split. 90% in zone 2, 10% in high-intensity interval training and never without my HR monitor. It's been about 4 years since I started seriously training, and I've graduated to running via feel. Sometimes my easy runs float into zone 3, sometimes, I maintain zone 2. What's important to me is how my body is feeling and how I am recovering (which is heavily influenced by diet and sleep). I still get a bit eggheaded with my tech, but I like this sense of hyper - connection with my body.
I'm four weeks out from my 70.3 and have been on an 80/20 training plan (through Training Peaks). Once a week I do - 5 minutes Z1, 5 minutes Z2, 4 x (8 minutes Z3/3 minutes Z1) 5 minutes Z2, 5 minutes Z1. I typically have 13 hours of structured training a week so Z3 running amounts to less than 10% of my total time.
As a coach I suggest all my athletes to do some workouts at race pace. Most should be Z2 and some intervals but if you never do race pace or Z3 you forget what it is to race. You need that mental strength as well. As long as you recover well.
It also depends on the racing you're doing. If you're doing Olympic distance, you'll ideally be able to do much of the bike in Z4
I train entirely in zone 3 5 times a week for over a year, no injury, no recovery problem. 5k 30+ minutes to 21 mins now. Half marathon at 5:00/km is easy for me. It works perfectly for me. I don't care what the "professionals" think.. Saying training in zone 3 is useless is far beyond stupid, if you gonna race in zone 3, the best training is in zone 3. If you are racing 100m, would you say training in 100m useless?
I get you Mark. Thanks for clarifying that Z3 misconception when it comes to effective endurance training.
Glad we could help clear some stuff up Ronald! Will you be using zone 3?
As an Olympic marathoner, zone 3 is not useless. Its very beneficial.
A lot of zone 2 and a bit of zone 3 and 4 might be the secret sauce ? :)
Proper distribution is everything
What year you participate Sir?
@@Spartakus68 i.e - fartlek/intervals 😅
U must be tops in the BS race ...
I think the problem is that people don’t run in “zone” 1/2 and 4/5… so they lack variability! I was one of those runners who kinda did zone 3 only & since really focussing on a *mix* of zones in my week I feel like I’m fitter + my runs are actually more interesting!
As someone that has only time for 2 runs a week (I also do full body weight trainings on two other days, so four days of sport a week, more isn't realistically feasible) zone 3 is the sweet spot. I feel the work I have done and I have plenty of recovery time.
Also depends on personal goals. For a hobby biker/runner who goes out during the weekends, even zone 3 is not that bad. Personally, when I began biking, I ended up in 3/4 because of hills around and was tired after 2-3 days. Now I set the goal for every run/ride if I know I will be exercising for example 4x during that week. If I would be following everything 110%, it would not be so fun.
There was a time in my life, when I had no idea of the concept of zones and I was constantly in zone 3 :D
Wow! Nobody dears to talk about Zone 3 and you guys not only did it, but in a magnificent way!!!... that's why I will never stop following your channel.
We're going to hold you to that! 😉
I am into listening to my body. Which means that if I like to go in zone two one day, I do it. One day I was roughly in zone two for three hours from 9 o clock to 12 and got tired.That evening i thought i should do a 46 minute zone 3,4,5 hard ride, I went on the bike but my tired body didnt want to push above zone 2. So I took it zone 2 easy. The next day it was easy training with a few short and fun fast sections. The day after that I was fresh and gave full power in zone 3,4,5. I believe listening to the body is a smart way to have fun and also some restitution. My training is in all zones, 0,1,2,3,4 and 5, probably most of the time in zone two, followed by 1,3, 4 and least time in 5.
Great explanation. My Apple Watch Workout app calculates my Zone 3 as Zone 2. I didn’t notice until I downloaded a different Zone training app and found my 60-70% to be much lower heart rate. I was wondering why I’ve been needing to sleep way more than I usually would. If I did an hour of the Apple Watch Workout app Zone 2 (Zone 3 in reality) as a 2nd workout after weight training, I’d need to sleep 11 hours.
As an old-ish bugger (54) who's been-there-done-enough with racing (including Kona), my priority these days is just... getting out there and having fun. And for me, Z3 is the most fun. So that's my go-to most days. This is a far cry from my competitive race training of 20 or 30 years ago, where every session had a strict purpose, and the bulk was either something like long Z1/2 sets, or Z3/4/5 muscular endurance build interval sets. Those days were also fun, but in a very different way. BTW, Happy with tonight's 15k run in 1.08. Almost all in that sweet (upper) Z3.
As a runner focussing mainly on 5k-10k, I do my long run on the border of Z2 and Z3 (and not more than 75% max HR). A tempo run is mainly Z3, intervals are Z4 and race pace is mainly Z4 finishing in Z5.
Also something that isn't pointed out very often and is worth keeping in mind for new athletes training by HR is that zone 2 or 3 for running equates to a higher heart rate than zone 2 or 3 cycling. Using myself as an example with a max HR of 198 or so I do zone 2 riding at 130-140 bpm whereas zone 2 running is at 140-150. I start to fall into zone 3 above 140bpm on the bike, and above 150-155bpm running. Important to keep in mind to avoid overdoing it on the bike all the time!
May I ask what's the reasoning behind the difference in values for zone 2? Thank you. I train on the same for run & bike, worried that I might be over reaching on the bike.
@@marxcanlas2845 you should observe that your heart rate is higher in every zone when running vs cycling. It's mostly because more muscle groups are utilised, and the heart needs to work harder to supply them.
@Marx Canlas power meters are better than HR. But try holding your z4 HR on a run and the same HR on the bike and you'll see how much shorter of a time you can hold that same heart rate.
@@marxcanlas2845 More muscles are recruited when running so generally your HR is higher than on the bike. Your perceived effort at say 160bpm on the bike will be higher than 160bpm when running. Like was mentioned below it can be more helpful to train with power zones on the bike. Once you know your FTP you can start to get a hold on what wattages apply in each zone. Generally your Z2 riding will be capped at about 70-75% of your FTP, anything above that and you'll start to slip into more of a tempo effort. So for your Z2 riding, try do most of it at .65-.75 of FTP. If your doing big rides of 3 hours plus for example, you may want to bring the power down slightly just to keep the amount of overall fatigue accumulated in check, but this is dependent on your fitness. The fitter you get, the higher % of FTP you'll be able to hold for given durations. Understanding your power numbers at each zone on the bike is key to training effectively on the bike, so get your FTP and go from there!
I dont think the zones are different across different sports,but there are at least two different ways to figure it out. One way is percentage of max pulse, and another way is doing lactate test. My zone 3 calculated as percentage of heart rate is very similar to zone 2 after lactate and vo2 testing. My fysio said that my zone two after lactatetesting is high because of a 78% high treshold.
I'm comfortable when I'm running at zone 3. When I do my zone 2 runs it's a mental challenge to hold back. Sometimes I'm in the right zone and I start to daydream about that Strava segment I'm gonna attempt and *beep goes my garmin. I'm now in zone 3... 😅
I love staying in zone 3 the most, it puts me at a solid pace that feel smooth/natural but doesn't stress my body out like running threshold sessions. I basically stay 15-30sec/mile slower than my marathon pace and just lock it in. It puts me at a HR of around 165, which I can hold for as long as I want to so long as I stay properly fueled on long runs.
As demoralising as this might sound for the beginner brisk walking is a better way of starting than running: it'll keep you in zone 2 although you'll need to put the hours in.
FWIW, Coros recently updated their software such that you don't earn "Running Fitness" for the junk/gray miles in the zone3 pace zone. e.g.: In my case, I must run slower than 9'39" to qualify for Base fitness, and then there's a big gray gap from there down to the 7'55-8'46" Endurance zone4 fitness (with Speed & Sprint fitness zone5 below that). I do try to stick to the 80/20 rule, but it's hard to stay in zone2 for anything other than the 3hr weekend long run.
When I first started, that was all I did, it's simple, it works, it gives your mind clarity and it's a great tool to sharpen the mental side of training too. Started doing 15 minutes, then 30, 50, 1h and more. Yes, recoveries are longer. But as the months roll on, the metabolism changes and they get shorter. I don't know about "being tired for the higher intensity workouts" because guess what? I didn't do them.
Zone 2 doesn’t feel like exercise and takes a lot of time from my day. I try to make most my runs half zone 2 and then finishing just as I’m getting into zone 4. Only the day or two after a zone 4/5 workout will I stay in zone 2 the whole run.
Running on the road I cannot stay in zone 2. Thanks for this video. All the KZhead doctors are saying ‘ZONE2 for long life’. The recovery process makes more sense
It can be good to accurately define zone2 & zone3 for the viewers also 😊. 40min of ze once a wk in an 8-10hr run training wk works great in base phase to keep the type IIa fibres active. Z3 I define as 88-95% of A.T/LT2 heartrate.
Recently I've run 5 miles a day for 7 days straight, and over I think 13 days with 2 days off all at zone 3 (one 7 mile long run also at zone 3), my fitness was right around the top of average (vo2 max) by age, I don't have muscle, I don't eat enough, and I have weak knees but I've had 0 problems ever recovering. I'm about to train for a marathon so I guess I'll see if zone 3 is as you say. (basically I just wasn't fit, ran a lot at zone 3 and I've been fine) I also trained brutally hard over ~2 months for a half marathon when I was 18, I didn't do zones but I basically always used to run in what would be top of zone 3 or zone 4 six days a week and was mostly fine. Did get a slight issue with my foot but I fixed it very quickly. this video is probably correct, but from my experience (only running) your body can probably tough it out while you're under idk like 35 years old maybe, and you're working less than 1.5 hrs a day
In Garmin Connect, zone 2 is "Easy" and 3 is "Aerobic", and it's built in training plans include quite a bit of zone 3 runs
Do you find that zone 3 is a good level to train at? 👀
I'm not sure, but I've come to suspect Garmin's zone 3 is the zone 2 talked about in the video, my zone 3 in Garmin ends at 79% max HR.
@@gtn at my level of fitness (which is not much), any additional training should be good....
@@gtn i think garmin zone 3 is good one, as long as i can recover before next training. My zone 2 run still too slow for a run. So, i think your zone 2 is zone 3 in garmin.
@@torandi I had the same question and doubt. In the end, I calculated my own zones using the HR Reserve method, and now I have a real zone 2 based on my max and resting HR. Garmin uses the Age formula and this is really easy to give inaccurate results
Thanks for the explanation. I didn’t know about zone 2 training until I got a coach. All my runs used to be at tempo or threshold which left me sore and fatigued. Now, I try to run in zone 2 as per my training plan but my heart rate creeps up into zone 3/4 quite quickly so I find I have to stop and walk…. Hence, I prefer zone 3 as I feel like I’ve had a workout.
Do you still sprinkle in zone 2 workouts when you want something more chilled? 👀
Lower zones during running can be a challenge to less than intermediate runners. Try hopping on a bike or a elliptical machine
On the bike I have really good 10sec power and I can also ride in zone 2 for 8+ hours. But I really struggle to keep up with people on those 1-4 hour rides. Hoping some controlled zone 3 training will get me some improvement in the middle
I am in Z3 the majority of my efforts, long runs it's the entry point of Z3, long bike rides and swims more the mid point. There are times I go into Z4 but outside of warming up I'm never in Z2, it's too slow for me.
I live in the Caribbean and running in 90 degree weather is my daily bread. I often run in zone 3, no matter how slow I run. I won’t walk because I’m past that phase. It is what it is.
Most of my training is done in zone 3 according to my garmin watch ... i cant for the life of me stay steady at zone 2 .
Interesting to see that most of my "easy" runs are actually in zone 3 rather than 2 with my recovery runs actually falling into zone 2 instead. No issues for me and honestly i'd probably get a bit too bored running in zone 2.
The challenge for me as a beginner is understanding the difference between zone 2/3 as there’s so much conflicting info. My Apple Watch and training peaks and the GCN channel put my zone 2 ~135-145bpm. Zwift, GTN and omnicalculator put that as my zone 3. 🤷♂️
if it feels boring and too slow, it's zone 2 if it feels energizing and awesome it's zone 3
@plyzct, I have exactly the same challenge across TrainingPeaks and Zwift for z2 and 3. For the time being I trust more data from TrainingPeaks
I’m using tridot and I always have a z3 race rehearsal before a race. Today I’ve got 3:10 one the bike followed by 40mins off the bike run all at z3 in pre for the Mallorca 1/2 Ironman
I know from my own experience it’s all about recovery time and injury niggles. If I let my long runs stray too much into z3 I end up feeling it too much in the following days.
Louisiana. 83 degrees 100% humidity. I'm in zone 4 at half mile. 12:50 mile
Run on feel, baby!
Any excercise is good. Zone 2 is great for getting you fit without injuries, zone 4/5 for strectching your capabilities and your ability to suffer. Zone 3 if you are calling it race pace is the best one you should train at. In my mind, loads of zone 2, some harder than race pace and and race pace is where your body is going to need to feel comfortable. You need to train there.
I hate the term Grey training. I'm trying to switch to training which covers the whole spectrum of HR zones. Like you say if your in a training block need to be careful when and how to use zone 3. However out of training block, a decent zone 3 effort is great fun and you can gain a load of benefit both physically and mentally from it.
Thanks for the video! What do you consider a "good" base, to include zone 3 training. Is running 10km with avg 150 bpm under 1 hour "good" enough? I hope you see my comment! And how many km would you advise me at that level to run in zone 3 ? Greetings from Germany
I'm a beginner. 4 months experience 3X/week. My long runs/jogging are done in zone 3. No choice as my zone 2 is still difficult to achieve while running. But I feel good there at zone 3 anyway, nasal breathing, I can even talk a little bit. So zone 3 is my friend in the meantime. And later zone 2 will kick in and I will switch.
Training up for a marathon and did a 35k in zone 3 to get a feel for it. I'm a proponent of "train how you fight" and "nothing new on race day." I'm planning on tackling the full 42.2 in z3, so it only made sense to try it first. Last thing I wanted was to go into the race and conk out just short of the finish line. It felt great. I think it's the only time I've felt a proper runner's high, but the amount of recovery time was double of what it'd be if I took that run in zone 2, with a tiny bit of zone 3 towards the end. Perfectly good for a long race, but wouldn't want to train in it long-term.
I'm always confused with those zones as a casual runner with no real ambitions. My Garmin gives me 5 Zones, Zone 1 - Warm up, Zone 2 - easy, Zone 3 - aerob, Zone 4 - intensiv, Zone 5 - Maximum. It often suggests workouts in "Zone 3". I think this is supposed to be the famous zone 2?!
I just started running and I am so out of shape I have 2 options walk in zone one or light jog in zone 4
I try to do most of my training riding the high Z2/low Z3 range
I just clicked create a program in polar flow and I stopped thinking about which zone it should be. I just follow training program :D
I’m usually zone 4-5 on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays Wednesdays I do 3-4s Tuesday 2-3s and Sunday 3-4 and Saturday rest days
respect that he actually reads the comments
If z3 is going to take an athlete longer to reach full recovery, and the program will go boom if the athlete misses that point, the video surely must explain a sure fire method of determining when the athlete has recovered. So what is it? How do we determine when we’re in fact recovered from the previous workout?
Zone 3 or 4 works best for me. With a small kid on my hands I need to get a lot of out of the 3 hours i got per week, and hence I got lots of recovery time, so the recovery problem is not really an issue.
I'm an unfit, heavier middle aged guy who loves running, and am coming back from injury (bad shin splints) - the lack of fitness means a comfortably easy run has me in zone 3 anyway, and to get down to zone 2, I need to do a less comfortable stride, which I fear may be putting strain on my shins again due to a less natural feeling movement. Is it better to go for the natural, comfortable stride, and ignore zones until my fitness builds up enough again to lower my heart rate, or get some zone 2 in now also to hopefully lose weight a bit faster, easing the stress on my legs? Probably more a #GTNCoachesCorner question?
Just run comfortably
I love Z3. It's probably the most productive and efficient zone. You can do a session every single day non stop for weeks on end. It doesn't absolutely kill you. It doesn't take too much of your day. It doesn't totally destroy your energy reserves. You can recover fast enough. You can impact on muscles... If I'm not focusing on stupid 10hr+ events then this zone is the perfect one for me. Zone 2 i find absolutely pointless in normal day to day life. And zone 4 is also fairly pointless for day to day life.
Productive for what? Doesn't kill, you can recover, professionals disagree, 10hr events are stupid, any more stupid than an hour or 3hrs both none have any real world application nor does running every day, zone 4 is pointless? High intensity cardio on a regular basis has been shown to have higher impacts on heart health and being able to run fast for a period of time quite clearly has more real time use than a steady but hard run pace. My real point hear is why do people assume there personal experience is indicative of anything but there personal experience and the limits of there knowledge and experience. There's a reason people do research.
A bit late to the party. I only run 4 times a week and with that I always take the day off after my long run so overtraining isn't really much of an issue. I always feel so much better doing a zone 3 long run rather than more zone 2 which is great for midweek recovery
My take is that Z3 is not ideal for overall efficiency, which is why I personally don't. I just don't do a lot of cardio since I prefer weight lifting. But that doesn't mean you don't get a specific benefit from Z3 that you may not get from other zones. I imagine that doing a mix of all zones is really the best for athletes or those who are really trying to push performance or get into racing shape.
I'm a 34 year old male, regular strength training, lately restarted cardio training. What does it mean that my brisk walking pace is 120-130 bpm, and my slowest possible jogging pace results in like 184 bpm? I literally can't jog any slower without just briskly walking. I'm hoping it's just an indicator that I need to continue building my aerobic fitness which is pretty poor currently. My nighttime resting heart rate is 55-60 average.
Zone 3 has its benefits and they can depend on what type of runner you are. Zone 3 has been done by many elite distance runners and they spent most of their time in zone 3 during their mileage runs. A common mistake made by the American running society is that zone 3 is the grey zone when it is lower zone 2 that is the grey zone which is called jogging which is slow enough to increase aerobic capabilities and gain any benefits for stamina. Zone 3 is the training zone that will benefit a long distance runner/marathoner because it teacher their body to run with lactate without any massive accumulation which can help their bodies to set in the lactate later. Spending time in zone 2 will not make you faster BUT make u run longer at a slow pace this is why zone 2 is seen as the endurance zone because you are doing it for hours which in turn can build endurance but not the specific endurance to run at faster paces for long { Zone 3 is responsible for this}. The purpose of zone 2 is to increase your basic fitness but I will not teach your body to run faster this is why many distance runners do not advise people to do mileage runs because they won't get any speed endurance benefit. To adjust to zone 2 well and gain proper benefits I would readjust my training schedule and use zone 2 for recovery and zone 3 for endurance zone 4 for speed endurance and zone 5 for vo2 max.
There is a big range from one zone to next . so for me something between 2 and 3 flirting with 3 is the best
Most peoples' long runs with creep into zone 3 anyway as a result of cardiac drift. And if you look at ultras, for the average Joe on the street their average will be zone 3. In the end, variety is needed.
For me 80/20 training feels natural. Zone 3 is too consuming to be done in quantity. I feel zones 4/5 boost fitness better. Recently I have moved from z2 towards z1 too, just to not get tired from training.
I always train at zone 3 for marathon and ultra racing. Zone 2 just feels so slow and feels like I'm working harder to go the same distance. (Not lungs just legs)
I'm a casual runner, I run 5km 2-3 times per week, with at least two of those runs in Zone 3. When I do this my Garmin tells me I've focused on my Base, which I would normally associate with Zone 2. Is this good, bad or indifferent?
I guess my fitness app (Zepp) is a bit wacky. It calls zone 3 "aerobic" and zone 2 "intensive" (zone 1 "light", 4 "anaerobic", and 5 "vo2 max"). I'm relatively new to running. Heard good things about zone 2 training just recently and started trying it. But, no success so far. Just fast walking would get me to zone 2 heart rate. Once I started running (6-7min/km speed), it would jump to zone 4 & 5 pretty quick...
I used to run all the time, but took 10 years off and am now getting back into it. I used to exclusively run 5ks, but want to try a 10k once I have gotten the 5k down again. I seem to have a lot of success training in zone five. For me zone 2 would basically be fast walking since I’m out of shape, and that seems like it won’t help me at all. My last run was 4.25mi and I spent almost 40 minutes of that run in zone five. Is this bad for me or something? I always feel great after, and in the last month I’ve gone from about a 10:45 pace for 4 miles down to 10:15. It seems like zone five is working for me.
I don`'t do Z3 at all... since in my view training is all about biological adaption, and for that you need to go beyond a certein threshold,which forces the body to adapt...Z3 the system can manage with the given fitnesslevel, just using more carbs than in Z2, but it does not require adaptions that much.... so when you go Z4 and Z5 on a weekly basis, it enables you to go Z3 for longer anyway...
I am 52 never did any sport in my life before ladt year. I now run everyday for 30 to 35 minutes a +-100 elevation 4k circuit at a heart rate between 160 and 170 (I ll walk to get back below 170 if I stay above for too long). Base on your graph that would be a full 30min zone 5. I don't have more than those 30ish minutes a day to workout. Am I pushing too hard? I sustained this for the last 6 month mostly, but moving around those 100kg up and down hill, I would be in zone 3 just walking.
It seems people are not talking on the same page regarding zones. 99% of people watching this video will be casual runners who run maybe once a week. In that case, zone 3 is perfect as it gives them a whole week to recover. This is the problem with KZhead fitness videos. They pretend to cater to elites, but are watched by the average Joe's, causing serious misunderstandings.
I'm not an athlete but I am trying to train as often as possible and I didn't know until now why my recovery times were all over the place once I picked up more miles. So yeah this is super helpful.
Well I can't even run in Zone 3 for a long time because my heart rate goes up very fast. So most of my running is in Zone 4, sometimes even in Zone 5. And I'm not a very fast runner (6 min/km). If I run a 7 min pace, I may manage to fall into a low Zone 4 but running like this is somewhat unnatural and is heavy on my knees. I run about 3 times per week around 30-50 minutes each, but still I don't get my heart rate lower. Any tips?
Great now i understand
Zone 2 running does not exist for me. Zone 2 is walking! Screw it I'm just gonna run in z3