Paddy, love all of your stuff and have used much as a reference for doctor visits. Not generally one to question a Dr, but as a data geek amateur masters athlete I have done lots of reading on Lactate and have done several tests (Have an Edge Lactate tester) on myself and family member athletes. W.r.t Zone 1 lactate, I have never seen, nor understood that resting lactate levels are near zero. Always some lactate floating around, but yes it is a low-level... like 0.7-1.x mmol. However after sometime at a very low level of exercise, lactate levels can actually drop. This becomes baseline. Then top of Zone 1 is HR/Power/pace at 0.3 mmol above that baseline. Not 0.3 mmol as an absolute measurement value.
Of course I could be wrong, so If I have misunderstood, please direct me to the supporting research so that I may revise my understanding.
Hi Brian - I think the area of Zone training often creates a lot of confusion over where people place the boundaries on zones. eg Zone 0 or zone 1. Zones 1-5 or 1-8. In my experience it leads to both people being right but just defining zones differently. My general approach is to do lots of very easy with a good amount of activity at a lactate <2. Most meters have difficulty measuring down to very low levels and the drop after starting is well described. I have based all my knowledge from the work of Inigo San Milan and Alan Couzens who has a Substack and Twitter that is really worth following if you are an athlete. These are the masters in this area. https://twitter.com/alan_couzens/status/1674037102135365632?s=46&t=5VPtkbR6hZvzqgzO6M0boA
For those of us with a competitive streak, zone 2 runs can be hard to do but I’ve come to appreciate the slower pace which also aids in recovery. I now try to get in at least two or three zone 2 recovery runs in each week and I should probably be doing this even more often. Too often, I’m in the dreaded middle of zone 3-4 if I don’t make a conscious effort to slow down to zone 2.
Welcome to the club ;) Dialling in zones on an indoor bike is easy. Dialling them in on an outdoor run which is my preference is super hard. Sometimes we are investing in metabolic health with our activity but sometimes it is just nice to be outside moving in nature and not paying attention to zones. It's all about our own goals I suppose.
As you change so do your zones which is why you need to keep testing. The best athletes in the world use zone training and regularly recalibrate where they are. Applies to everyone.
I,ve always exercised, weights , circuits , rugby, sprints, outdoors stuff but stopped running 6 years ago after my 2nd knee operation. Was never able to run in zone 2 even 30 years ago when I was fit ( I’m 60 now and reasonable). For 25 years I just ignored the polar HR data because I didn’t feel bad on a run but was ticking along in the 160-170 zone.
I can’t do any running in zone 2 ( don’t know the reason ) but can substitute rower, elliptical , bike, assault bike & ski erg as Paddy had mentioned. Amazingly lost 8 kg since Christmas doing this ( and I won’t bore you with the long list of things I’ve been doing for the last 10 years without be same benefit).
Polar heart rate monitor . First ones to market years ago . Data was Heart rate only back in the day but you could set zones ( but using the 220-age as approximation). Now known to be very unreliable.
Phil Maffetone https://philmaffetone.com/method/ and his zone training, the MAF method has been around for years. It seems to me it's basically the same thing, except easier to measure with a simple heart strap. What do you think?
For anyone who is not likely to go for the accuracy of using lactate then the MAF method is a great place to start as provides solid and clear instructions that err on the low side which is good.
Another good one Paddy.The availability of metrics now makes "zone based training" much more targeted. Wish I'd know that 40 years ago!
A lifetime of high intensity training has been very enjoyable but sadly not physiologically beneficial ...the irony!
I think all exercise has benefit but Zone training has been a game changer for me.
Paddy, love all of your stuff and have used much as a reference for doctor visits. Not generally one to question a Dr, but as a data geek amateur masters athlete I have done lots of reading on Lactate and have done several tests (Have an Edge Lactate tester) on myself and family member athletes. W.r.t Zone 1 lactate, I have never seen, nor understood that resting lactate levels are near zero. Always some lactate floating around, but yes it is a low-level... like 0.7-1.x mmol. However after sometime at a very low level of exercise, lactate levels can actually drop. This becomes baseline. Then top of Zone 1 is HR/Power/pace at 0.3 mmol above that baseline. Not 0.3 mmol as an absolute measurement value.
Of course I could be wrong, so If I have misunderstood, please direct me to the supporting research so that I may revise my understanding.
Hi Brian - I think the area of Zone training often creates a lot of confusion over where people place the boundaries on zones. eg Zone 0 or zone 1. Zones 1-5 or 1-8. In my experience it leads to both people being right but just defining zones differently. My general approach is to do lots of very easy with a good amount of activity at a lactate <2. Most meters have difficulty measuring down to very low levels and the drop after starting is well described. I have based all my knowledge from the work of Inigo San Milan and Alan Couzens who has a Substack and Twitter that is really worth following if you are an athlete. These are the masters in this area. https://twitter.com/alan_couzens/status/1674037102135365632?s=46&t=5VPtkbR6hZvzqgzO6M0boA
"My goal is functional longevity." That is gold, and is going up on my wall. Again, great article, thank you.
Glad you liked it
For those of us with a competitive streak, zone 2 runs can be hard to do but I’ve come to appreciate the slower pace which also aids in recovery. I now try to get in at least two or three zone 2 recovery runs in each week and I should probably be doing this even more often. Too often, I’m in the dreaded middle of zone 3-4 if I don’t make a conscious effort to slow down to zone 2.
Welcome to the club ;) Dialling in zones on an indoor bike is easy. Dialling them in on an outdoor run which is my preference is super hard. Sometimes we are investing in metabolic health with our activity but sometimes it is just nice to be outside moving in nature and not paying attention to zones. It's all about our own goals I suppose.
Great article, how true does this hold up for people who have always exercised, i.e. not beginners?
As you change so do your zones which is why you need to keep testing. The best athletes in the world use zone training and regularly recalibrate where they are. Applies to everyone.
thank you...
I,ve always exercised, weights , circuits , rugby, sprints, outdoors stuff but stopped running 6 years ago after my 2nd knee operation. Was never able to run in zone 2 even 30 years ago when I was fit ( I’m 60 now and reasonable). For 25 years I just ignored the polar HR data because I didn’t feel bad on a run but was ticking along in the 160-170 zone.
I can’t do any running in zone 2 ( don’t know the reason ) but can substitute rower, elliptical , bike, assault bike & ski erg as Paddy had mentioned. Amazingly lost 8 kg since Christmas doing this ( and I won’t bore you with the long list of things I’ve been doing for the last 10 years without be same benefit).
Hope that helps ?
Thats amazing. Well done. We all have to be flexible with our approach and cross training always helps. Keep up the great work!
thanks for the tip, what's the Polar HR data?
Polar heart rate monitor . First ones to market years ago . Data was Heart rate only back in the day but you could set zones ( but using the 220-age as approximation). Now known to be very unreliable.
Phil Maffetone https://philmaffetone.com/method/ and his zone training, the MAF method has been around for years. It seems to me it's basically the same thing, except easier to measure with a simple heart strap. What do you think?
For anyone who is not likely to go for the accuracy of using lactate then the MAF method is a great place to start as provides solid and clear instructions that err on the low side which is good.