Build your training week
Tell us how many hours you can ride. You get a week built on two hard sessions, an optional long ride, and as much Zone 2 as your time allows.
Only the intervals themselves count as hard. The warm-ups, recoveries and cool-downs in the hard sessions are easy riding, so they count as easy.
Your week
How this week is built
The rules come from our review of the Zone 2 research. In short:
- Two hard sessions, every week. One VO₂max session and one threshold session, on non-consecutive days. At low volume these give you the most per hour, so they're protected first.
- Everything else is genuinely easy. Extra hours go into Zone 2, not more intensity. That's why the easy share grows as your hours grow: a big week has to be mostly easy to be absorbable.
- The long ride is optional. It builds durability, the ability to keep producing power late in a long ride. That matters for long events and much less for general fitness. It only goes in once there's room for it alongside the two hard sessions.
- At least one full rest day. Two when your week is six hours or less.
- Avoid the grey zone. Easy riding done a bit too hard costs you tempo-level fatigue without tempo-level benefit. Zone 2 only works if it's actually Zone 2.
Common questions
How many hours of Zone 2 should I do a week?
As many as your week allows once the two hard sessions are in. At four hours, Zone 2 fills the gaps and helps you recover. At ten or more, it's most of your riding, because that much training only works if most of it is easy.
Should I still do intervals if I only have a few hours?
Yes. With little time, the two hard sessions give you the most for each hour, so they come first. Zone 2 fills the rest.
Why only two hard sessions?
Two or three hard sessions a week, with everything else genuinely easy, is the pattern most well-trained endurance athletes settle on. Two keeps the hard days hard and leaves room to recover.
Do I need the long ride?
Only if you're preparing for long events. If your goal is general fitness, switch it off and the same hours are spread across shorter Zone 2 rides.
I'm new to structured training. Where do I start?
Start with fewer hours than you think you can manage, and consider riding Thursday as Zone 2 for the first few weeks so there's only one hard session. Add hours gradually, and take an easier week every three or four weeks.
Justzone2 holds your Zone 2 rides for you on any FTMS smart trainer
This is general guidance, not a personal coaching plan. Zone boundaries vary between people; if you have a medical condition or are returning after a long break, check with a doctor first.