Zone 2 is such a deep subject that peoples individual experiences can contribute so much. This will just be a “lauch pad” post pointing to a bunch of questions. We believe in letting people train the way they like to train, but we also like to promote a health first approach to training. For most people a health first approach will provide their maximum results.
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#1 How do I understand and define my own zone 2 limit? As well as what are the potential benefits of zone 2. Click to view discussion.
#2 Here is a long discussion on finding your limit as well as important pre-ride fueling. It goes into different deep ideas of zone 2 with a guy that is an expert. View Discussion
#3 Maffetone Running vs Cycling and Heart rate changes (HRR)
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Here is a good video discussing what Zone 2 or low heart rate training should feel like.
https://forums.trainerday.com/t/good-zone-2-video-dr-seiler-80-20-i-e-polarized/
I just watched the video to give another try at zone 2 workout. I did when the zone 2 was introduced with TrainerDay. I rode 5 times a week around 3-40 mn each times. After a few weeks my Vo2max had decreased. I use a garmin that gives me a aerobic and anaerobic training effect to see if the workout was effecting improving my cardio vascular fitness. This is really my main goal with cycling. I alternate with strength training when i do not cycle. During these workouts at zone 2, my training effect was low and had no impact on my aerobic fitness. I decided to do 75 mn this morning and got a training effect of 2.3 that is giving me maintaining status. To impact my aerobic fitness, i need to reach a score of 3.0. I assume that i would have to ride 60 more mn to get to that. I do not have the time to ride 2 and half hour every morning. I guess this is great if you are a full time athlete and ride for living.
Garmin status is the worst place to look for this stuff. Their advice is terrible in general. You should measure something that is much more accurate for example HR/power ratio over a longer period of time. Their VO2max estimate is very dependent on your exact target power / hr again not accurate for fine tuning.
For sure if you do pure low heart rate for a longer period of time you won’t feel super strong and “ready to race.” It won’t get you in top shape quickly. It’s really meant to be a part of a seasonal periodization plan. It has some strong health components but if all you car about is current fitness level then for sure it is not what you want to do.
I saw significant measured benefit doing 20 minutes a day 7 days a week. Each person is unique.
If you read Maffetone you realize making aerobic gains from strict zone 2 frequently requires a very focused effort. For example he points out that many people combining weight training with low heart rate endurance work will completely stop any aerobic progress.
So as you point out it is not for everyone. It tends to be best for people that want to hit a peak outdoor spring time with a lot of high volume, hard cycling, people that seem to get sick often, people with high stress lives and people with a tendency to overtrain. Also people that put health at much higher priority than fitness should take a closer look at more zone 2 work.
For a person that just wants a smart simple year round pattern, polarized training year round at 6+ hours a week is a good choice and proven effective.
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Once people start to take the Garmin advice for truth, things can only go South…
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I like First Beat algorithm. I downloaded their paper on EPOC i need to read. I feel like doing zone 2 does not give me happy feeling after the workout. I ride 3 days a week so i have days in between to rest my legs as usually, Garmin gives me a longer recovery time. Another Garmin advice 
I usually look at the stress and intensity of the workout in TD and act depending on how i feel. I also have a whoop taht gives me a good picture of my cardio workout. I guess you got to pick your poison. I do appreciate Alex posting the video. It was interesting. I learned about angiogenesis.
I am a strong believer in people doing what is fun and feels like the right thing to them. Zone 2 is like a tool for a specific set of problems but many people (most people) get fantastic fitness results and are not doing tons of zone 2.
Garmin is a hardware and marketing company. First beat had some good ideas but that does not mean that Garmin implemented them well or provide the optimum suggestions based on that data. They provide much more mainstream advice. What Claude and I are suggesting here follows more elite coach, or even a sect of training not mainstream.
Have you ever seen a Nike commercial? Or Peloton classes? This is what sells. Intensity sells. If you are a hardware company, you don’t want to tell people to take it easy for 4 months when they are ready to do intensity now. You want to give them what they think they need and want, immediate results that make them feel different NOW. You want to sell them the dream. Garmin is a big company, they need to sell this dream. Buy their watch, become a real athlete.
But really if your not hurting yourself by over doing it their is no reason not to follow what Garmin suggests. You will be in reasonable shape following their advice and if it feels better and more fun by all means listen to them.
Thanks Alex. I read the white paper on EPOC by first beat. He does talk about training with low and high intensity. The paper does make sense. But like you said, did garmin implemented it well. I really never saw a Nike or peloton commercial but i know of them My garmin is a fenix 6 so it is 5 years old. My friend just got an 8 and it seems like the training suggestion takes your previous workouts in consideration not to overtrain. But it is a computer. If i feel crummy when i wake up, it really does not matter what the watch or whoop is telling me. I really like to look at the training plans you have available and try them if i like them. That is what I like about TD. I make the choice. Thanks for all the advice though. I always like to learn more about physiology.
Yes, actually this is what you find with science based discussions is they all sound good Easy to believe any of them and their is some truth in all of them and there is always the aspect of “it depends.” For example this other user here that is posting about his 400w FTP, his plan is exactly what we recommend against for most people but he has a unique physiology and mindset that makes it work.
So generally you start from a base recommendation and go from there. If zone 2 does not work for you, for what ever reason that’s fine, adapt, find something that does. The problem is most products suggest starting with killing yourself and should start more on the taking it easy end of the spectrum, at least if you care about a persons health and not just marketing. But regardless you as a self coached athlete should continually adapt to what feels like it works for you.
When I say commercial. I mean the “no pain, no gain” type of philosophy. While there is an element of truth to this. The problem is most people take this too literally and do too much pain with less than optimal micro gains and generally low work to results efficiciency. It’s like you could eat a donut or a banana for training. The donut might give you more power short term but the long term benefits are questionable.