Many hobby riders follow the Zone 2 and polarization training methods of professional athletes, but they often do not perform as well as expected or become deeply fatigued. This is because it only matches the 'ratio (%)' of the power band and overlooks the difference in 'absolute energy cost (watts)' actually consumed by the human body. For amateurs with limited training time per week, 'moderate intensity (Zone 3/tempo)', which professionals avoid, can be the most efficient and valuable training. 🚴♂️✨
1. Same Zone 2 training, why are the results completely different?
Let's say there are two riders who have the same green Zone 2 light on their speedometer Garmin or Wahoo screens and are pedaling at the same intensity. However, as time passes, one person becomes faster and stronger, but the other person falls deeper and deeper into a pit of fatigue that is difficult to escape from. 😵
The most unfair thing is that the tired rider was training perfectly based on the 'success formula' mentioned on the Internet. I believed in the 'Go slow to get fast' formula and faithfully followed it based on the base riding of professional athletes.
"As one rider gets faster and faster, the other rider starts digging a deep hole of fatigue that he can't get out of. What's really crazy is that the person digging the hole is doing everything the internet tells him to do."
Why does this happen? It is not because the theories of sports science are wrong. This is because only the rule book was taken, leaving out the 'context' of professional athletes' numbers (watts), unimaginable resilience, and training environment. The numbers on the speedometer screen actually hide important truths from us. 📱❌
2. The truth about training areas according to the world's best coach
The key to solving this confusion begins with a conversation with coach Mattias Reck. Matthias Reck is the coach of world classic rider and world champion Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek Team), and is the person who trained many Danish professional athletes. 🏆
However, before joining the pro team, he had years of experience coaching amateur cyclists like us who worked during the week and rode their bikes for about 6 hours a week. He is one of the few experts who has a deep understanding of both the top level of sports and the general hobbyist ecosystem.
When asked about the training zone, Coach Matthias Reck gave a quote to keep in mind.
"Training zones are relative, but the cost to the body is absolute."
Once you understand this, it will completely change the way you look at night rides after work or weekend group rides. 💡
3. The lies the numbers on the screen tell us
YouTube, podcasts, and every site that sells smart trainers talk about Zone 2 as if it's the 'holy grail of intelligent training.' There is no disagreement that it is one of the basics of maximizing fat burning (Fat Max) and building up the slow engine. It is clear that low-intensity riding is the foundation of the human body's durability. 🏋️♂️
However, Zone 2 displayed in the application or speedometer simply shows 'ratio (%)' compared to your all-time maximum aerobic power (FTP, threshold power).
"The numbers on the screen are lying to your face."
"Percentage of power tells you nothing about what's actually going on inside the muscles. It tells you nothing about how much that ride is actually costing your body."
Just because the same color appears on the screen doesn't mean the same thing happens at the cellular level. Even if two people are in the exact same training area, the metabolic reactions occurring in their bodies can be completely different. 🧪
4. Comparison of actual data between amateurs and world tour pros
Shall we compare with real numbers? Let's say two riders are riding in the so-called Zone 3 (tempo zone), the middle zone just below the threshold. 📊
- Strong Amateur Rider: A rider with an FTP of 280W would have a Zone 3 area around 230W.
- WorldTour Pro Rider: A rider with an FTP of 420W would have a Zone 3 (or higher Zone 2) area of approximately 370W.
Both speedometers show the same training zone. However, our human body burns fuel based on 'absolute watts (W)' delivered to the pedal, not 'percentage' of power. ⛽
Real-world measurement data shows that peak elite cyclists burn close to 3 grams of carbohydrate per minute at submaximal power levels.
- Pro Athletes (370W Zone 3): Burns between 150g and 170g of carbohydrates per hour without mercy. The body's glycogen tanks are quickly depleted and significant recovery time is required.
- Amateur rider (230W Zone 3): Carbohydrate consumption is much lower than that of a professional rider. Because glycogen depletion is slow, you can recover relatively quickly and get back on your bike the next day.
"When professional coaches say, 'The pros avoid the middle zone, so you should too,' they're missing the point entirely. The reason pros avoid the middle zone is because it's devastatingly expensive for them."
"But for an amateur, that same middle ground may be the cheapest, most valuable training site you can own." 💎
5. Why professional 80/20 polarization training is not suitable for amateurs
One of the most widespread training methods these days is 'Polarized Training (80/20 Rule)'. 80% of the training is very easy (Zone 2 and below), the remaining 20% is really hard as hell (Zone 5 and above), and the middle zone is barely touched. This is a proven schedule based on the renowned research of Dr. Steven Seiler. 🔥
But there is a question that must be asked. "Why does this model work so well for the top players on the World Tour?"
The secret is not in the magical ratio of 80:20, but in the 'overwhelming training volume' piled up at the bottom of that ratio.
- Mads Pedersen's actual training amount: Over 1,100 hours of training per year (that's over 30 per week).
- Training camp log after returning from injury: Riding 80 hours in just two weeks. (In week 1 alone, I completed 37 hours on a flat road with morning intervals and evening endurance.)
"There is no magical ratio hidden in the polarized training model. The 'enormous mountain of training volume' underlying that ratio is the real key."
For professional athletes who ride more than 25-30 hours a week, Zone 3 (tempo) riding is like poison. If you spend a significant portion of your 30 hours per week using a whopping 370W, you will not be able to perform at your best during important interval training or actual race days due to glycogen depletion and accumulated fatigue. 😵💫
"Pros must ride easy because of the huge metabolic cost of moderate intensity, so they can maximize performance and protect the all-important high-intensity interval days."
On the other hand, if an ordinary hobbyist who can ride for about 5 to 6 hours a week only rides 80% of the time slowly like the pros, he will not be able to provide sufficient training stimulation to the human body. For hobbyists, Zone 3 or the tempo zone is the most cost-effective zone to increase metabolic growth within a limited time without causing excessive fatigue. 📈
Conclusion: Smart training method suited to your own context 🚴♀️
There is no need to blindly follow the training schedules of famous professional athletes or the absolute rules of YouTube that others say are good. What matters is my own context: the 'absolute energy expenditure' that my body can handle** and the **'actual training time'** that I can invest in a week.
If your training time per week is short, mixing in some appropriate Zone 3 (tempo) riding can result in much faster performance gains, rather than being too confined to Zone 2. Understand what your speedometer really means and pedal smarter! 💖