Adding ‘Feel’ to your Training Zones
By utilizing varying levels of effort we are able to train more efficiently and gadgets are a great way of providing feedback of those effort levels. Power and HR on the bike, pace and HR on the run and a lap timer in the pool.
By applying markers to those efforts levels – Training Zones – we can use gadgets to judge whether we are in those zones.
Gadgets give real time feedback of your data Training Zones, but do not take into account your particular situation in any given workout. Your training load, levels of fatigue, amount of sleep, nutrition and several other inputs all have an affect n your performance.
At PB+J we like to view your perceived effort as the highest priority marker for your levels of effort, regardless of what your gadgets say. You know your powe zones, you know your paces zones. But, how should those zones feel.
GREEN ZONE
Lower GREEN Zone
Descriptions: Easy / Recovery Pace / Zone 1
Variety: Recovery pace running refers to warm-ups, cool-downs , recovery runs, recovery running within a workout. It’s a little more than a job, but very low stress.
Intensity: In general, Easy sessions are working at a very comfortable, conversational pace.
Purpose: Working at your Easy Pace has physiological and recovery benefits. Increasing blood flow, and loosening tight muscles. This zone may also be used as recovery in between more intense intervals.
Upper GREEN Zone
Descriptions: Endurance Pace / Aerobic Pace / Zone 2
Variety: Steady Endurance or long sessions
Intensity: An Upper GREEN Zone effort should still feel relatively easy. Conversation should be possible and your breathing should be easy and controllable without effort. Of course, a very long GREEN Zone session may start to feel a bit tougher at the end as you start to fatigue
Purpose: A whole hot of benefits are available in this zone and, combined with the lower GREEN Zone, should form the bulk of your training volume. It encourages slow twitch muscle fibre growth as well as the bodies ability to utilize fat as fuel and builds a solid base from which higher-intensity training can be performed. The heart muscle is strengthened, muscles receive increased blood supplies and increase their ability to process oxygen delivered through the cardiovascular system. It also builds strength and durability in your structure.
YELLOW ZONE
Description: Tempo Pace / Zone 3 (also includes Zone 4 in some training plans)
Variety: Steady, prolonged or tempo intervals.
Important: Athletes tend to gravitate towards the YELLOW Zone far too often. We spend a significant time trying to get athletes to drop below YELLOW Zone when they should be in GREEN Zone and lift them above YELLOW when they should be in the RED Zone.
Intensity: These sessions will be done above the Ventilatory Threshold (VT1) Green Zone but below your Ventilatory Threshold 2 (VT2) Red Zone.
Breathing should still be controllable but in YELLOW Zone conversation would definitely be awkward and towards the top end. You will require a reasonable amount of focus to maintain great form and breathing, although both should easily be in control.
Although edging towards harder work, YELLOW ZONE efforts can still deal with any lactate being produced so they can be manageable over longer intervals.
It should be noted that there is evidence to suggest the YELLOW Zone is kind of a grey area. Similar adaptations to GREEN Zone but harder to recover from, while it has less benefit that RED Zone. In general, we do not want to be in YELLOW Zone too much, although it does provide race specific benefits.
Purpose: Tempo pace is often described as comfortably hard. It builds endurance, mental toughness and increases your ability to go fast for longer periods, such as you would during a race. Great for muscle memory if you are racing at a YELLOW Zone pace. Also good for strength work.
RED ZONE
Lower RED Zone
Description: Threshold Power / Threshold Pace / Zone 4 or Zone 5 in some training plans.
Variety Threshold + Intervals (see below).
Intensity: This is an intense workout zone usually reserved for shorter intervals of around 3 top 5 minutes. You should be able to control your form. Breathing will be harder and faster but still in control. You will only be able to maintain these efforts for fairly short periods of time Unlike Yellow Zone, you may experience a consistent increase in difficulty as lactate builds in your system.
Purpose: Build strength and power, improve run dynamics. Move your lactate threshold performance capability and increase mental toughness.
Upper RED Zone
Description: Maximum Pace / All out effort / Zone 5 or Zone 5a/b/c in some training plans
Variety: Pace reps and strides.
Intensity: Reps are fast, but not necessarily too “mentally hard” because intervals are relatively short and are followed by relatively long recovery bouts. Recoveries are to be long enough that each interval feels no more difficult than the previous interval, because the purpose of Reps is to improve speed and economy and you can not get faster (nor more economical) if you are not running relaxed. If it takes 3 minutes recovery between Rep 400s, then that is what is needed.
Purpose: To improve your speed and economy.
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