The TRUTH About Zone 2 

What percentage of your weekly training is done in zone 2? Drop a comment below to let us know... ...Also be sure to join our upcoming free workshop that will help you run faster: coachparry.com/udtk-Workshop

Coach Parry: Zone2 is a waste of time. Also Coach Parry: You should do 80 to 90% of your training in Zone2. Yes, I wasted some time here, but got something out of it. Dont know how I should feel about that...baited?🤷

Good content, but i don't like Click baits!

Misleading title. They follow zone 2 as well. 😅

If your starting running building your base as a endurance runner zone 2 is everything to build the strength to go long distances .

Do better titles.

There is one thing most fitness RU-vidrs forget to tell us: if you start from zero, it will take months to notice any progress. For me, it took eight months of consistent training and heart rate tracking to see improvement. This improvement was very subtle; basically, my heart rate dropped 3-4 beats for the same pace. Only after eight months did progress become much faster.

This video was so well made. The only thing missing would be to emphasize that even the best of the best athletes in the world train like this.

Zone 2 is walking for most average runners

I don’t understand this. No coach or training regime I’m familiar with ever says “only train in zone 2”. They almost all say “80/20” and this is what the video concludes here. Seems a bit of a hype headline imho…

At my age, I mostly just run to the bathroom

i love training in zone 2, but i add some sprints or interval once a week. works well for me.

My zone 2 story. I've been cycling for 3 months now and fallen in love. I pushed myself too hard in the beginning and popped a blood vessel in my eye... so I looked into training methods and found zone 2. About 45 days ago I began riding 5+ days a week doing strictly zone 2. I noticed more muscle growth in this 45 days than the 45 days prior and more speed gains on my computer. I've graduated to a higher gear on avg, but am now hitting a wall. I feel it's now hard for me to push out of zone 2, I used to come out of zone 2 @ 13mph, now it's 15mph, and much more leg strain to get my heart going. It's good in general but bad for training. I need to do 2 days a week @ a higher zone, but am having difficulty. I also just switched from evening rides to morning rides and it feels like my legs are asleep the 1st 8 miles. I'm letting the transition happen for now before pushing my zones. Baby steps!

I'm a 57 year old cyclist and the only time I do any work in Z2 is a recovery ride once a week. I use a trainer for all my training. Sprints ,Threshold and Tempo work makes up 80,%of my training, and because I'm a cyclist do not get injured doing this higher intensity work. RHR of 34 when it's cool.

Zone 3 gets the bad reputation but in reality, Zone 2 is a no man's land. It cannot be the best of all things for amateurs. Zone 2 is ideally suited to amateur joggers who want to cross train some jogging into their preparation for a running event. Great for their health and for injury prevention if you aren't a very good runner and are likely to injure yourself trying to run at a running pace regularly in training. But zone 2 isn't running in the form you would in a race unless you're doing multiple day stage races or a huge ultramarathon or something. If zone 1 is a walk or recovery jog, then zone 2 isn't much more than that - it's a light aerobic effort. I understand you can do a lot of zone 2 work, bore yourself terribly, and gain mitochondrial and capillary density. Those exact benefits also occur from doing specific run training in zones 3 & 4. If you're completely unfit, have terrible neuromuscular coordination, awful form, or need to lose a lot of weight before you can actually train to run fast... then fine, do some zone 2 work to lessen the impact on your load bearing joints and poorly adapted tissues. Once you're a bit lighter, stronger and capable of moving well, you'd be better off running a lot of threshold and some over/under threshold work - that gets you far stronger, has exactly the same benefits as zone 2, is far more time efficient and simulates race conditions (you wouldn't run all-out actual race paces). Running a bit faster means more shock to the system which risks injury, so you wear sensible footwear to minimise peak landing forces. But cumulatively zone 2 work can also cause injuries. Ultimately, all training requires adaptation and recovery. Doing predominantly threshold work and forcing yourself to run faster might actually result in your body learning to run faster. Spending 80% of your time jogging in zone 2 and a mere 10-20% in the zones you intend to race in might result in you getting good at jogging in zone 2. You might argue the point that zone 2 is used by elite runners in their training because they can run with a low heart rate and move extremely well... Most amateurs can't do this. Eiltes and professionals will run with remarkably similar form in their zone 2 to their zones 3-5. They're extremely efficient and capable of moving well in zone 2 whereas most amateurs are shuffling/jogging in zone 2 and not running. You're generally training a suboptimal gait in zone 2. It's not entirely useless... it's really healthy for aerobic fitness with low injury risk, but I think it's suboptimal for becoming the fastest you could be.

Running too much at slower than 10k race pace (or threshold pace) allows your mitochondria to get away with burning mostly fat as a fuel. There is current research being done to determine if the mitochondria starts burning carbs exclusively under threshold pace. Training for the 10k seems to be the in-between distance, but do more zone 2 to properly train for 15k and over, and do much more running under threshold pace (10k race pace) if you are training for anything under a 10k. Burning carbs in the mitochondria is aerobic. Anaerobic glycolysis occurs in cytosol of the cell, not in the mitochondria.

Mixing up the sessions is not only more interesting, it also makes a big difference in performance gains. A couple of years ago I just did Z2 runs, now I do 1xZ1 (recovery) each week, 1 interval or fast session, and the rest of the runs, including 1 long run, in Z2.

I love training in Z2! I'm 44 and I've had nasty tendinopathies from training errors so its niceto just take it easy. Now when I do the hard speed or hill work 1x weekly, I'm totally ready for it.

Hi from Argentina... so i tell you in spanish: CLARÍSIMO! BRILLANTE EXPLICACIÓN!🫂

The majority of my zone 2 comes from my cycling. I mostly run zone 3-4 and small stretches in Z5, getting one run a week in Z2

Coach Perry if Zone 2 is not effective than maybe you recommend your Donut training?

I just run to effort and how I feel

I run outside most of the year, so I’m ALWAYS popping into z3 when I hear a fantastic song and then stopping to say hello to a neighbor and dropping down into z1. I found this video to be the least useful in execution of just about any that you’ve done. It needed a different script. The 2 people doing it are lovely chaps. But one would try to introduce the topic while the boss would shoot it down and talk about something else. This needed to be a presentation of what CP believe, not a debate. It’s really hard to do “nuance” on video. You all are truly intelligent people. Just stick to the science. Stay away from clickbait.

some great info in this content, the human body is just genious

Do you recommend a particular song to sing? 😆

What's your opinion about MAF method - Phil Maffetone claims, that we should be running in "loooow zone 2" ONLY during the aerobic base building period.

Is zone 2 actualy (60-70%)of hrmax or (60-70%) of hrr + rhr? For 25yo with rhr of 60 it is 116-136bpm with first formula and 140-154bpm with the second one. So what is it? Acording to the first formula 140-154 is in the zone 3, so in the "thrash" training. Where shoud I aim with my HR while running for over 40 min?

Good information, In every run , I do different pace, different zoons, don't spend all my one hour run in one zoon. I stay in zoon 2 maybe for 60% of my runs, the rest I try to reach zoon 5.

the first 60 seconds of my runs are zone 2

Top athetes spend a lot of time in Z2 but they also do Z1 and incredible hard work in Z4 and Z5 as well!

Brad needs 100.000 km of zone 2 for sure

80/20 rule

Just train all the zone, but zone 2 must be 80% of your workout, so that you don't get injured and can grow steadily

Most ppl use a watch to track the HR, pace etc. My z2 is 117-125 bpm in my Garmin.Practicalyy is 9min/k or slower to stay in z2. No possible

Z2 training was my biggest mistake in 15 years of running. I ended up getting injured and super discouraged. It’s also impossible six months out of the year in Texas.

Why can’t you do 80% of your run in zone 2 and 20% at higher intensity? Or maybe not that % split but some majority of it at zone 2, and a final shorter distance at a threshold pace? Rest and recovery days in between.

It’s not the only thing you should do…you just need to include it

Is there any data about how Zone 2 affects the mental aspects of your training? When I started consistently training in Zone 2, my mood just plummeted. I got to the point that I didn't want to run, period. I dreaded it. I wondered if there was any correlation between the heart rate and the release of endocannabinoids and endorphins. I have depression, and I wondered if there was a bigger link between the two for those of us with clinical depression.

Even jogging very slowly I’m moving into zone 3 according to my watch - yes, I’ve set it up properly. Now, as I zone 2, I have enough breath to sing a few lyrics of a song (another zone 2 test ). Help! What’s to do?

Err, I just go for a run

Well, Maffetone math, 180 - age, suggests zone 3 training in most cases.

how can i transfer your idea to rowing, thanks

Nice video! But if you define Zone 2 = 65%-75% of the maximal heart rate, what is your definition for the other 4 zones?

some say this, others that,. who to believe? for cycling zone 2 is great tho.

You are totally not nailing it with the metabolic pathways.

I am running easy runs in zone 2 all my life and in lab tests my aerobic system, heart, lungs, lactate levels and so on is superior to other runners who run easy in zone 1 and do more mileage.

My zone 2 is a brisk walk so should I do that mostly.I f I jog I go up to zone 5 pretty quick so can keep it up very long.

It looks like Brad needs to spend time in any zone.

I’m 44 is old !!! Been trying run 9min per mile 7-10 miles with heart rate 150-170 . For zone 2 it’s to me run and stops . Then I don’t fell it’s work out . What’s ur recommendation for zone 2 as beginner ( 5 months )

Bart Kay might disagree....

I’m 56 and tried Zone 2 training…it only made me slower. 🤷‍♀️

Crikey, the biochemistry lecture was cringingly bad.

I’m almost always running in zone 3 😂.. long runs short runs every day,

Actually is like MAF, but (s)lower.

When you say Z2, do you mean both 1 and 2? I’m 55 and run mostly mountain trails, and for example last week I did 87% z1/2 (39 and 48 respectively) and 13% z3/4 for my running training. I find that doing some of my time in z1 really helps tremendously with recovery and helps me feel fresh for when I do intensity or a long run in the mountains.

Do zone's change or "shift up" when you are training in the heat?

This guy recommends polarized training. There I saved you 12 minutes of your life…

I run always in "suicide zone". Feel sick 1 or 2 day.

you are probably confusing carbohydrates with proteins at 2:22 and continue in confusing even more terms by saying that the body "starts to burn carbohydrates when its low on oxygen"

good video but clickbait

Since a german co-moderator of this years Tour de France told us, that Zone2 is on the lower end of the "EB" (Entwicklungsbereich, aka Zone4), we know that there is no truth about Zone2, because there is no globally established definition of Zone2. So before you clickbait with Zone2 titles, make clear the definition and then upload videos about it

This is the video that made me stop watching you.

"Zone 2 for over 50's runners is a waste of time." That is where I stopped and unsubscribed.🤣🤣🤣 Dr. Iñigo San Millán is Pogaçar's coach. He, Iñigo, is obsessed with Z2. Placing 1st in the Tour de France must be terrible. Then there is Alan Couzens, who has produced great Ironman athletes. This guy is obsessed with Z1 and Z2. There are countless other coaches and physiologists who back this up, including Jack T. Daniels. And you say, wait, what? 😂😂😂😂😂

OMG! You're still using lactate at zone 2, you're also clearing it! If you think zone 2 is a waste of time, you don't understand why it's beneficial and it goes beyond just burning fat as fuel, lactate utilization and clearance and improving cardiovascular fitness.

Nothing is a waste of time

As a novice runner, I had a lactate test done 2 years ago and that - and ofcourse the zone 2 training - helped me a lot to have fewer injuries. So I know my zone 2, but I wonder if this zone will move up or down as my condition improves?

Carbs are inefficient??? Wow. Disaster of a video.

The Zone 2 trending talk is for cyclists only. In some way probably through triathletes have leaked to runners.

smash the unlike for the clickbait thumonailo, but ... wait, the content is legit, well it sucks to work with clickbaits

To much talk. Run easy 80% moderate 20%. Done

As a physio since 1992, I tell all my over 50 exercisers to stay in z2, as you avoid injury at that pace. Add 1-2 sprint sessions a week and a couple of calisthenics sessions a week and you’re good to go. Most over-50 people who exercise in z3 are about to get hurt. I see them all the time in my practice. They’re great for my business, but they’re ruining their bodies.

So basically 80/20 principle…you still have to push yourself

There are two areas of disagreement among coaches I'd love to see addressed: 1. Zone 2 definition via % of max HR, vs. %HRR (heart rate reserve aka Karvonen method), and % of lactate threshold, all three of which produce different values from lowest to highest respectively. 2. How much of the 20% hard running should be in Zone 3, 4, and 5. GTN (Global Triathlon Network) and Mottiv in some videos seem to suggest that you should continue the pyramid -- for example 10% z3, 6% z4, 4% z5. Coach Parry and Run Elite seem to say go mostly VO2max z5 and only go to z3 and/or z4 closer to race day. What's best? Bonus question: GTN says to go ahead and train at higher BPM in the heat (i.e. your zone 2 HR goes up by 5 bpm as an example) when everyone else says run slower. RPE-wise and talk-test-wise I feel the former (go ahead with higher HR) is correct. Is it?

Researchers who promote 80/20 training, particularly Dr. Stephen Seiler who coined the term "polarized training", usually say you should do 80% of your SESSIONS in zone 2, not 80% of your duration. If you run 5 days per week, just 1 of them should be a workout (effort in zones 3-5), but that includes warm up and cool down, so you'll likely spend a decent bit less than 20% of your total training duration (in hours) in zones 3-5. Trying to get a full hour of Z4/Z5 effort in a 5 hour training week would be a great deal of stress for most people training at that level.

Constant repetition of the same point over and over, and I’m still not clear what the hell they’re trying to say this is disappointing

First explanation which is right. Thx a lot.

click bait … why? stop

Great video, wonderful explanation 👍

Bit misleading title. Just confirmed to me what all my coaches have told me: spend 70-80% in Z2. Do 20% speed specific training in Z3-4.

That information is about 30 years old and still valid ;-) click bait

is this channel for senior runners only?

Zone 2 is good for fat burning and endurance, and if you want to "take part". If you want to compete however ..... you might as well go for a 1km walk, or do yoga on your days off. You really, really reeeeeally don't want to feel your legs burning or getting into the anaerobic zone. In layman's terms, the muscle eats itself as a source of energy because not enough oxygen is reaching it to synthesise carbs.

I agree zone 2 for running should be avoided. Not because zone 2 running is ineffective but because running is for emergencies only, either walking or sprinting is acceptable. Otherwise ride your bike.

Zone 2 training is just a bridge to your next fast run, which is what is absolutely necessary for progress.

Diplomatic Immunity!!!

So, the correct title would be something like: "Running in ZONE 2 is really important but your training needs to be apporopraite for you and cover all energy systems/paces. Plus get your zones set right." I'll admit, it's less catchy! You missed off "Also, strength train!" Seriously though - great breakdown of the energy systems and why they need training. There's a great video on YT from Dr Iñigo San Millán on just how Z2 training works for anyone wanting a very scientific deep-dive. He also goes into how Z2 makes you faster in other zones.

Thanks for your sharing

Zone 2 is appealing to people because no one wants to run fast

Zone 3 is better