When it comes to training effectively on the bike, sticking to set cycling training zones isn’t just about following a plan — it’s about optimizing your progress, improving different aspects of fitness, and preventing overtraining. Training zones, when used correctly, act as a guide for ensuring that each session has a specific purpose and that your efforts are spent efficiently.
What are the Cycling Training Zones?
Training zones represent different levels of effort based on either your power output (measured in watts) or heart rate. The most widely used training zone system was popularized by Dr. Andrew Coggan, focusing on seven distinct zones. Here is a summary:
- Zone 1: Active Recovery (<55% of Functional Threshold Power, FTP)
- Low-intensity riding to promote recovery without stressing the muscles or cardiovascular system.
- Zone 2: Endurance (56-75% FTP)
- This zone is used for long, steady rides and is essential for building aerobic fitness.
- Zone 3: Tempo (76-90% FTP)
- Moderate intensity that can be sustained for extended periods. It’s not too hard but not easy, often used for improving endurance.
- Zone 4: Lactate Threshold (91-105% FTP)
- Close to your maximum sustainable effort. Training here pushes your body’s ability to clear lactate and improve your overall threshold.
- Zone 5: VO2 Max (106-120% FTP)
- High-intensity intervals that help increase your maximum oxygen uptake and improve your cardiovascular and muscular efficiency at high intensities.
- Zone 6: Anaerobic Capacity (121-150% FTP)
- Short, high-intensity efforts designed to improve your ability to perform at maximal effort without oxygen.
- Zone 7: Neuromuscular Power (Max Effort)
- Maximum-intensity sprints lasting a few seconds, focusing on developing pure strength and speed.
If you have a TrainingPeaks account, you can calculate your zones based on FTP/Threshold power within your settings. If not, you can use the cycling power training zone calculator. Or if you use heart rate, you can use our heart rate training zone calculator.
Why You Should Stick to Cycling Training Zones
1. Structured Progression:
Each training zone targets a different aspect of your fitness. For example, while Zone 2 helps develop your aerobic base, Zone 4 works to raise your lactate threshold, allowing you to sustain harder efforts for longer. Jumping between zones without a purpose can lead to stagnation or overtraining, which can reduce your progress.
2. Long-term Gains:
Consistency within zones builds your fitness steadily over time. While it can be tempting to push harder when you feel good, sticking to the prescribed zones ensures you accumulate the right type of training stimulus. Training smarter, not harder, allows for better long-term improvements and reduces the risk of burnout.
3. Avoiding Overtraining:
Training too hard, too often, can lead to overtraining. Overtraining syndrome is the result of chronic fatigue and stress caused by excessive training without adequate recovery. By adhering to your training zones, you give your body time to recover while improving the areas that matter most.
4. Maximizing Efficiency:
One of the biggest advantages of structured zone-based training is efficiency. Instead of wasting effort by riding aimlessly, you can target specific systems (like your aerobic base, threshold, or neuromuscular power) and optimize each session to address particular weaknesses.
The Discipline to Stay Within Zones
Staying within your designated zones requires discipline, especially when you’re feeling strong and tempted to push harder. But each ride has its purpose, and sticking to the plan ensures you get the most out of each training block. Hopping between zones without intention can confuse your body’s adaptations and slow down progress.
To sum up, training zones are more than just numbers. They’re a roadmap for improvement, helping you train with purpose and precision. Stick to your zones, and you’ll build a strong foundation for long-term gains while reducing the risk of burnout or injury.
Zone 1
Zone 1 is mainly for active recovery and helping the body recover rather than building training stress. Spending longer time in this zone can still bring benefits, like improving the muscles’ ability to use oxygen and burn fat for energy. This happens through changes like more mitochondria and better blood flow to slow-twitch (Type I) muscle fibers. This zone is typically used for recovery rides lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours or for rest periods between harder intervals to help clear lactate.
Zone 2
Zone 2 is the key zone for building endurance and should make up the majority of your training. It’s an intensity you can sustain for long periods and is highly effective for improving your muscles’ ability to use fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates. Training in Zone 2 encourages adaptations like increased mitochondrial density, helping your body rely more on fat for energy, which doesn’t produce fatigue-causing byproducts like carbohydrates do. This makes Zone 2 especially useful for longer events, as your body has nearly unlimited fat reserves compared to its limited carbohydrate stores.
For a deeper dive into Zone 2 training, check out the dedicated post – Zone 2 Cycling Training: Unlock Your Endurance Potential
Zone 3
Known as the “Intensive Aerobic” zone, Zone 3 sits between moderate and hard efforts. While it still boosts aerobic fitness, it’s more demanding on the body than Zone 2 and should be used strategically. Zone 3 targets muscle fibers (Type IIa) that aren’t typically engaged during Zone 2 efforts, making them more efficient and enhancing muscular endurance. This is critical during long events when your primary muscle fibers fatigue. Zone 3 can also help increase your lactate threshold by reducing lactate buildup in these fibers. Depending on your fitness level, Zone 3 can be used for steady rides or interval sessions.
Sweetspot
The “sweetspot” intensity lies at the higher end of Zone 3 and edges into Zone 4, just below the lactate threshold. It’s often marketed as the “ideal” training zone for building endurance and power. While it may provide quick improvements initially, over-relying on sweetspot training can lead to stagnation or burnout over time. Research and real-world experience suggest that balancing efforts across a wider range of intensities, particularly polarized training, delivers better long-term results for most cyclists.
Zone 4
Zone 4, or the threshold zone, is where your body produces lactate faster than it can clear it. Training at this intensity improves your ability to clear lactate and use it as an energy source, boosting your lactate threshold and allowing you to maintain harder efforts for longer. This zone is ideal for moderately hard interval workouts, typically lasting between 6 and 40 minutes, and helps build stamina for sustained efforts.
Zone 5
Zone 5 is all about improving VO2max, or the maximum rate at which your body uses oxygen during exercise. Workouts in this zone increase the amount of blood your heart can pump with each beat (stroke volume) and improve how efficiently your muscles use oxygen. Intervals are usually short, ranging from 2 to 6 minutes, and may vary in intensity to keep your heart rate near its maximum. This zone is crucial for developing high-end aerobic capacity.
Zone 6
Zone 6 focuses on anaerobic power, helping you generate high-intensity bursts of energy for short durations (10 to 120 seconds). Training here enhances your ability to rapidly break down glycogen for energy (glycolysis), increasing your power during sprints or hard efforts. However, too much time in Zone 6 can lower your lactate threshold, so it’s best used sparingly. Workouts in this zone can also target anaerobic stamina, allowing you to sustain intense efforts for longer periods.
Zone 7
Zone 7, or the neuromuscular zone, is about activating as many muscle fibers as possible during very short bursts (under 10–15 seconds). Instead of focusing on energy systems, this type of training strengthens the connection between your brain and muscles, improving your ability to recruit fibers quickly and efficiently. Zone 7 is particularly useful for boosting explosive power over very short efforts, such as sprints.
Next time you’re on the bike, resist the urge to go all out unless it’s part of the plan. Follow the guidance of your training zones, and you’ll see the rewards over time. Whether you’re looking to improve your endurance, raise your FTP, or increase your sprinting power, staying true to your zones is key to becoming a better cyclist.
By structuring your rides based on your training zones, you’ll find that your efforts are more effective, your recovery is better managed, and your progress becomes more measurable. As always, consistency is the foundation of any successful training plan!
Training Plans
Are you interested in taking the next step with your training? Take a look at the affordable and flexible cycling training plans below.