In this video, World Tour coach Matthias Reck warns that training in 'Zone 3' during cycling training can actually hinder performance. In particular, we highlight that overtraining in this zone can increase energy expenditure, impede recovery, and ultimately have a negative impact on an athlete's performance. He explains that the importance of carbohydrate intake and a training plan tailored to one's individual engine size are essential for efficient training.

1. Why Zone 3 training hurts performance

Coach Matthias Reck emphasizes that Zone 3 training, or moderate-intensity endurance training, can actually ruin your training program. This phenomenon is especially noticeable for powerful riders, pointing out that the training methods of famous athletes such as Pogačar have been misinterpreted, leading many people to focus on moderate intensity training. He explains:

"Too much Zone 3 training ruins your program, especially if you're a really strong rider. Here at cycling school, everyone has heard of Pogačar's LT1, fat burn max, blah blah, 320, 340. And that's the most dangerous, the most important part."

This is because most people don't really understand how much carbohydrate they burn during endurance riding. Even at the maximum fat burning point (Fat Max), a significant amount of carbohydrates are used.

"Most people don't understand how much carbohydrate you actually burn when you endurance ride too hard, whether it's your fat burn max or whatever." "I don't think people understand how much carbs are used when endurance riding, so training too much Zone 3 and eating too few carbs can leave you unable to do anything after a few weeks, exhausted and not even aware of what's happening."

As a result, if you combine too much Zone 3 training with insufficient carbohydrate intake, you will be completely exhausted within a few weeks and will not see any results from your training. 😩

2. Overtraining or insufficient fuel intake?

The host asks whether the problem with Zone 3 training is too much training or not enough fueling (underfueling). Especially with the recent emphasis on the importance of carbohydrate intake, I wonder if this is simply a fuel shortage issue or if there are other issues inherent to riding at that intensity itself. 🤔

"But is this essentially a matter of training too hard, or is it a matter of fueling too easily? For example, if someone uses this in conjunction with a tool, as many of our viewers have started using tools like Hexis." "You've been one of the leading voices in the carbohydrate revolution. So when someone does endurance training at such a high intensity, do you think it's just a fuel shortage issue, or are there other issues inherent to riding at that intensity?"

To this, Coach Matthias answers that it is a problem of both.

3. Personal 'engine size' and training zone settings

Coach Matthias emphasizes that when setting up your training zone, you need to consider your individual 'engine size'. This means that people with large engines and people with small engines cannot have the same training zone.

"I think it's a problem of both. I think when you look at training zones, a big engine can't have the same training zone as a small engine."

If an average person works and trains 3-4 times a week, they can use the normal zone without putting excessive stress on their body. The explanation is that because their engines are not large, they do not consume a lot of energy. 🚵‍♀️

"If you're a normal person, have a job, and train 3-4 times a week, you can use the normal zone, because just getting out on the bike and riding doesn't put that much stress on your body, and it doesn't take that much energy because the engine isn't big enough."

But for professional athletes with 'big engines' the situation is different. For example, 250W burns 1,000 calories. If a professional athlete were to endurance ride for 5-6 hours at 300W, they would need to consume 9,000-10,000 calories per day, which is not realistically possible. 😱

"But like I say, if you have a big engine, 250 watts is 1,000 calories. If you're endurance riding for 5 or 6 hours at 300 watts, you'd have to eat 9,000 to 10,000 calories a day. That's impossible."

That's why most professional riders rarely actually train at 320W, even though they say they can train up to zone 320W. It is common to ride with an average power of around 250W to 260W and only occasionally train at high intensity.

"So pro riders, even if John gets up to 320, he rarely trains at 320. He probably comes home with an average of 250, 260."

Coach Matthias says he doesn't want to comment on the famous Pogačar, but emphasizes that most professional riders don't find endurance riding that difficult. 😥

"Sometimes it can go on all day. Okay, I don't want to talk about Pogačar. I don't want to say anything about him. I don't know him. I don't know how he trains, but in my world, most pro riders don't make endurance riding that hard. Even if the zone system says they can do it. Because it costs too much, and you die. It's like slow suicide."

4. The Mads Pedersen case and the importance of carbohydrate intake

Take world champion Mads Pedersen from the Lidl-Trek team as an example. He is known as the hardest training player on the team. His threshold is 450W, but when doing Zone 3 interval training, he uses 380W, or at most 400W. However, for typical endurance riding, I would average power between 250W and 280W. This in itself is very fast. 🚀

"Even Mads, although he's known to train the hardest and the most on our team, his threshold is 450. When he does zone 3 intervals, he's at 380. Probably around 400. But when he's endurance riding, he usually comes home averaging between 250 and 280, which is pretty fast in itself."

While riding like this, Mads Pedersen consumes 80-100g of carbohydrates per hour to provide sufficient energy. This is because the energy required to maintain that speed is very high.

"And he consumes a lot of fuel. Eighty grams per hour, 100 grams per hour, because the cost of doing that speed is quite high."

Coach points out that many people overestimate how much fat they burn. There are concepts like Fat Max or LT1 (Lactate Threshold 1), but the reality is that the amount of fat burned during an actual endurance or Zone 3 ride is very limited.

"I think people in general overestimate how much fat you burn. Even if your fat max goes up to LT1 or 2 millimoles, I've done a lot of research and testing. Even big engines with big VO2 and high fat max, the amount of fat you burn in endurance or zone 3 training is very limited."

Therefore consuming enough carbohydrates is essential. In the past, the dominant paradigm was 'Increase fat oxidation rate to conserve glycogen and maintain strength until late in the race'**, but now **'a new perspective is emerging: **'Eat more carbohydrates so you can ride faster all day'****. 🔄

"You need to eat a lot of carbs, and I think that's kind of a paradigm shift. 'Get a high fat oxidation rate so you can conserve your glycogen stores and last the race.' is actually starting to be questioned more and challenged in a way that says, 'If I eat more carbs, I can ride faster all day long.'"

Even if the fat oxidation rate is slightly lower due to high carbohydrate intake, the overall training efficiency and economy are better when carbohydrates are used. He adds that this change is one of the reasons why racing power is higher today, and because athletes have improved endurance and resistance to fatigue, allowing them to push harder on the final climb than they could 10 years ago. 📈

"Even if your fat oxidation rate is a little lower due to eating too many carbohydrates, the efficiency and economy of the entire session, the entire training, is better with carbohydrates. And I think this is one of the reasons why racing power is higher today, and the endurance and fatigue resistance of athletes has improved, allowing them to push harder on the final climb than they could 10 years ago."

Finish

Coach Matthias Reck's explanation helped us reconsider the importance of Zone 3 intensity in cycling training and how important individual physical characteristics and fuel intake strategies are. In particular, I was impressed that simply increasing exercise intensity is not enough, but maximizing training efficiency through sufficient carbohydrate intake and paying attention to recovery are essential for long-term performance improvement. 🚴‍♂️💨