Endurance training requires an understanding of the various training intensities.

All training sits on a continuum and most numbers attempt to estimate how hard you are working. (This is an imperfect reflection but it's the best we have.)

Each zone broadly relates to a specific domain of training where your body responds differently to each intensity.

There are 6 zones that you need to be training:

1. Recovery/Easy

2. Endurance

3. Tempo

4. Threshold

5. VO2max

6. Anaerobic

Consider this your guide to each zone - included are benchmarks for RPE, threshold HR and critical power (CP).

Zone 1: Recovery/Easy

Your easiest training zone used as active recovery through the week.

Also includes your warm-up and cool-down for sessions.

Training in this zone should be so easy you can have a conversation.

• RPE: 1-2

• HR: <68%

• CP: <56%

Average duration: 30 - 90 min

Zone 2: Endurance / Steady

This is your all-day pace - easy enough that with proper fuelling and hydration you could maintain it for the entire day.

You want to get super comfortable training in this zone as the bulk of your training will be done here.

Having a conversation here will get harder but it should still be possible.

• RPE: 3-4

• HR: 69-83%

• CP: 56-75%

Average duration: 1 - 4 hours

Zone 3: Tempo / Moderate-Hard

Tempo work or race-paced efforts.

This is the zone where you will typically race at, so we want to accumulate some time working here through your training.

You will not be able to sustain this pace for as long as your endurance pace.

• RPE: 5-6

• HR: 84-94%

• CP: 76-90%

Average duration: 1 - 2 hours

Zone 4: Threshold / Fast

Threshold work is your upper limit of sustained efforts.

The easiest way to think about your threshold from a training perspective is just under you can sustain, just over you will fade quickly.

We want to push the threshold work to increase the top-end fitness.

These are added as intervals into endurance based sets.

• RPE: 7

• HR: 95-105%

• CP: 91-105%

Average interval length: 10 - 30 min

Zone 5: Very Fast / VO2max

Beyond threshold you start to approach your peak ability to work aerobically (mostly with oxygen).

VO2 max work represents your peak aerobic capability.

These sessions will be done as intervals as they are very hard to sustain for long-durations.

• RPE: 8

• HR: >106%

• CP: 106-120%

Average interval length: 3 - 8 min

Zone 6: Max / Anaerobic

The absolute peak of your zones is your anaerobic region.

The intensity where your body has switched energy production methods to be able to sustain the high output.

These intervals will be very short.

HR is no longer accurate in this zone as it reaches your peak.

Intervals will be based on time and RPE.

• RPE: 9-10

• HR: n/a

• CP: >120%

Average interval length: 30s - 3 min

Takehome

Understanding your training zones are key for proper training. When defined well they will let you understand how hard you are working and help you avoid the 'grey zone of training' (every workout in zone 3).