All About Zone-Based Interval Training and How to Execute It

You probably already know interval training is an excellent way to spice up your cycling and improve your health. But besides keeping things interesting, inserting harder efforts into your rides provides the stress necessary to elicit an adaptive response. In other words, going harder leads to getting faster, more powerful, and ups your fitness level so those bigger rides feel easier. Wondering exactly how to make your interval workouts work for you? We’ve got you covered. The first step: Understand your FTP, which is your functional threshold power or the average power output you can hold for about an hour. Based on this number, you can create power training zones, which help you train smarter and achieve optimal results in each of your workouts. For example, to build fitness, most of your rides should involve zone 2 efforts, which is your endurance zone and it helps you ride longer. Zone 3, a.k.a. tempo, sits just above zone 2 and helps you get comfortable with the uncomfortable as you push your pace but for longer periods of time and well below an all-out effort. Now, for interval training, you typically want to go above those lower effort levels and hit zones 4, 5, and 6. Here, we explain zone-based interval training, including what each of these zones mean, how to train in them, and why you should. [View in Browser]( [Bicycling]( [SHOP]( [EXCLUSIVE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( [All About Zone-Based Interval Training and How to Execute It]( [All About Zone-Based Interval Training and How to Execute It]( [All About Zone-Based Interval Training and How to Execute It]( You probably already know interval training is an excellent way to spice up your cycling and improve your health. But besides keeping things interesting, inserting harder efforts into your rides provides the stress necessary to elicit an adaptive response. In other words, going harder leads to getting faster, more powerful, and ups your fitness level so those bigger rides feel easier. Wondering exactly how to make your interval workouts work for you? We’ve got you covered. The first step: Understand your FTP, which is your functional threshold power or the average power output you can hold for about an hour. Based on this number, you can create power training zones, which help you train smarter and achieve optimal results in each of your workouts. For example, to build fitness, most of your rides should involve zone 2 efforts, which is your endurance zone and it helps you ride longer. Zone 3, a.k.a. tempo, sits just above zone 2 and helps you get comfortable with the uncomfortable as you push your pace but for longer periods of time and well below an all-out effort. Now, for interval training, you typically want to go above those lower effort levels and hit zones 4, 5, and 6. Here, we explain zone-based interval training, including what each of these zones mean, how to train in them, and why you should. You probably already know interval training is an excellent way to spice up your cycling and improve your health. But besides keeping things interesting, inserting harder efforts into your rides provides the stress necessary to elicit an adaptive response. In other words, going harder leads to getting faster, more powerful, and ups your fitness level so those bigger rides feel easier. Wondering exactly how to make your interval workouts work for you? We’ve got you covered. The first step: Understand your FTP, which is your functional threshold power or the average power output you can hold for about an hour. Based on this number, you can create power training zones, which help you train smarter and achieve optimal results in each of your workouts. For example, to build fitness, most of your rides should involve zone 2 efforts, which is your endurance zone and it helps you ride longer. Zone 3, a.k.a. tempo, sits just above zone 2 and helps you get comfortable with the uncomfortable as you push your pace but for longer periods of time and well below an all-out effort. Now, for interval training, you typically want to go above those lower effort levels and hit zones 4, 5, and 6. Here, we explain zone-based interval training, including what each of these zones mean, how to train in them, and why you should. [Read More]( [Read More](   [Gabe’s Bike Shop: Bike Fits, Dirty Chains, Tarmacs & First Rides]( [Gabe’s Bike Shop: Bike Fits, Dirty Chains, Tarmacs & First Rides]( Dive into the latest episode of Gabe's Bike Shop where we tackle real-world cycling problems, provide exclusive gear reviews, and share insights from a beginner's journey. 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