“To go fast, First you have to go slow…“

My coach to me, aged 8.

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Not all training zones are created equal, all are equally important but 1 is more important that the rest, and that’s your Aerobic Base or what its trendy name is now, Zone 2. (technically your Aerobic base covers 2 power and heart rate zones, both zone 1 and zone 2 and both carry equal importance).

What is the Aerobic Base?

The aerobic base is a mixture of Zone 1 and Zone 2 which is your recovery and endurance respectively and it’s primary focus is on the Heart rate, but is also quantified and measured using power.

Why train in this area?

Training in this area represents many distinct and important benefits both for performance, and a healthier lifestyle.

• Active recovery
• Contributes to power to weight optimisation (Through Fat Burn, NOT FAT LOSS)
• Primary contributor to a longer sustained endurance pace
• Builds Mitochondrial efficiency and aides quicker recovery from efforts
• Contributes to muscle growth, Bone Density, greater strength and stability
• Promotes Mitophagy
• Enhances Neurological stability and sustains Brain functionality including Co-ordination
• Promotes a stronger Blood-Brain Barrier
• Builds a stable base of performance for Aerobic and Anaerobic threshold efforts

How do you approach training in this area?

Easier than you think. Simply going for a long walk on some hills, or a slow run, an easy coffee ride on the bike is enough to work at and within the aerobic base and the general rule is, that if you can exercise while holding a conversation then you are operating within the aerobic base. Typically speaking 80% of your training should be spent at or in this area and here are some essential things you can implement when training base.

• Running.

When using a wearable (Smartwatch, or band) Setup your workout so that it includes base and threshold heart rate zones. EG – a 90 min run, and your smartwatch notifies you when you are above Zone 2, then you can adjust your pace accordingly, in which your workout should look something like the example below. (Note the fact that there is a larger Endurance base, typically to transiently taken into account of elevation but the threshold is the ceiling limit and that doesn’t change to ensure that you limit time in Tempo inadvertently. This is the same when you are on the indoor running treadmill, but is easier to alter pace as there is no elevation.)

If you run say, 4 times a week. Structure your runs so that the longest run is your Zone 2 and ideally placed at the end of the week. EG – 5 hours a week. 1×2 hour or 2×1 hour runs at your aerobic base. then other work and finish off the week with a 1 hour aerobic base run. At least that’s how I would plan it. Take a look at an example weekly planner.

• Cycling

So for the purposes of this overview and analysis I’m going to assume you have an indoor trainer with power and you have done an FTP test in the last 90 days.

So above is a simple overview of a Zone 2 workout. Total of 40 mins in your Endurance zone (75% of your FTP) and 9 mins off in recovery (45%) with 5 Minutes warm up and warm down. There is a Cadence requirement but that’s not mandatory, but when training Endurance I do like to have a cadence target to work to simply because keeping or working to a good cadence discipline as that area of cycling is (or at least in my opinion) critically important and often overlooked. Post session numbers should look like this.

The above image shows the time in Heart rate for Zones. Left to right, the smaller bar is Recovery or Zone 1, the larger Bar is Zone 2. As you can see the workout specifically targets Zone 2 and only Zone 2. (as a note for Clarity, you’ll always have a period in recovery simply because the heart rate needs to build into the Endurance zone )

As you can see, the power zones do fully compliment the Heart rate zones, and Zone 2 is specifically targeted.

The Balance of the Aerobic Base and Good Recovery Protocols

As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. and off Bike/Run recovery is absolutely essential to the contribution of Mitophagy (The caretaking process of the Mitochondrial cell). so the following must be promoted during your day to day recovery process.

• Refrain from Alcohol
• Good solid sleep time where there is a sufficient amount of REM. (One could go into sleep studies and given guidelines on time, but its dependent on the individuals circadian rhythm.)
• Nutrition. Good Carbs, Protein and Fat intake (I generally promote a 50% carbs, 30% Fats, 20% protein)
• Hydration. (Minimum 2.5 litres a day of water, this can include coffee, fizzy drinks, but CAN’T include Alcohol.)
• Periods of Autophagy. (This is a subject in itself, so I’m refraining from going to finer details here)
• Refrain from Stressful situations.

Closing Throughts

I’ve long since had the opinion that the Aerobic base is one of the pillars of a long healthy life alongside other significant tenets or disciplines that should be adopted. Right from a young boy I’ve had a healthy situation and lifestyle, right up to the age of 45 where I’ve relatively staved off most illnesses and knocks and bumps very easily and, with the continual discipline of training endurance, I hope to continue to do so as well as have a sustained performance on the wheels long term.

Thanks for reading.

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Sources read/referenced

Cellular and Mitochondrial Effects of Alcohol Consumption – PMID 21318009

Mitophagy: mechanisms, pathophysiological roles, and analysis – PMID 22944659

Autophagy and mitophagy in cellular damage control -PMID 23946931

Blood-brain barrier permeability and physical exercise – PMID 30678702

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults – PMID 30785893