L3, L4 ... zones ... ? Explanation please?

KnightOfTheLongTights

Right newby-can't-be-arsed-googling Q here but anyway ....

I've heard talk of L3 and L4 and zones 1 and 2 - are these referring to the same thing, and if so, what is it?

Are they lengths of ride? or intensity of effort / power output?

nochekmate

Are they not regions on the London Underground?

I used to buy a weekly pass for zones 1 & 2 when I lived down there years ago!

danowat

Heart rate or power zones

Team Banana Spokesman

refers to power levels. there are no power 'zones'.

the levels blend together in a continnuum. the borders are hard to pin down and they are slightly different for everyone.

here is what happens at [ and around ] each level.

dexradio

Try this to start with........

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... sics-28838

Dex.

Pokerface

Team Banana Spokesman wrote:

refers to power levels. there are no power 'zones'.

the levels blend together in a continnuum. the borders are hard to pin down and they are slightly different for everyone.

here is what happens at [ and around ] each level.

The terms zones and levels are often interchanged. I am always told to do my rides in zone 3 or 4, etc - and these ARE power zones.

Possibly not correct - but still used.

Team Banana Spokesman

yeah. the nerds on the wattage list get uptight when you use the z word. the zones exist but you must find your own zones because genetic difference in cyclists allow some people to do crazy stuff. like ride for 20 minutes at 108% ftp or 150% ftp for 5 mins. the z word gives a impression that its very strict but the body's systems cross over and change over time when you train them. if you need to target wattages for training then you could call it a zone but it will be different to someone elses 'zone' even if they need to do the identical training to you imo.

danowat

Zones are individual, be it heart rate, or power, bloody pedants!!!

pneumatic

dexradio wrote:

Try this to start with........

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... sics-28838

Dex.

That article was a revelation to me. Thanks.

ricardo666

L3 and L4 are Postal areas of Liverpool

cjw

Team Banana Spokesman wrote:

me people to do crazy stuff. like ride for 20 minutes at 108% ftp or 150% ftp for 5 mins. the z word gives a impression that its very strict but the body's systems cross over and change over time when you train them. if you need to target wattages for training then you could call it a zone but it will be different to someone elses 'zone' even if they need to do the identical training to you imo.

That's not crazy stuff. FTP (functional power threshold) is power you can put out for 1 hour. For 20 minutes you should be able to ride at 108% and 150% for 5 minutes (that will hurt though) . Most training regimes use zone or levels to band the power levels (eg Coogan), and of course they are individual based upon FTP.

KnightOfTheLongTights

right well, er, thanks. That's clear. Sort-of ...

Pokerface

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

right well, er, thanks. That's clear. Sort-of ...

Read about zones here: http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2010/07/sh ... agree.html

StillGoing

If 100% is maximum, how can you exceed maximum? Riding for 20 mins at your best effort is always going to be 100% just as riding at your maximum for 5 minutes is. I wish the people who come up with these theories would talk sense. No ownder I prefer to work in HR zones.

danowat

philthy3 wrote:

If 100% is maximum, how can you exceed maximum? Riding for 20 mins at your best effort is always going to be 100% just as riding at your maximum for 5 minutes is. I wish the people who come up with these theories would talk sense. No ownder I prefer to work in HR zones.

100% FTP (which isn't your maximum, hence you can exceed 100% of your FTP)

amaferanga

cjw wrote:

That's not crazy stuff. FTP (functional power threshold) is power you can put out for 1 hour. For 20 minutes you should be able to ride at 108% and 150% for 5 minutes (that will hurt though) . Most training regimes use zone or levels to band the power levels (eg Coogan), and of course they are individual based upon FTP.

I can't do either. There's no reason why I should be able to though since we're all different.

My 5 minute power is only around 130% FTP.

Typical Analytical

Forget about zones. Just do intervals of different duration (2 x 20, 4 x 4, 10 x 30s) at max power you can sustain without fading toward the end. Plus a long ride matching the duration of your event.

imposter2.0

Typical Analytical wrote:

Forget about zones. Just do intervals of different duration (2 x 20, 4 x 4, 10 x 30s) at max power you can sustain without fading toward the end. Plus a long ride matching the duration of your event.

Did you know you just dug up a thread which is nearly 8 years old..?

Matthewfalle

mf says that you should ignore everyone on this thread except Pokerface - he'll be the only one that actually knows what he is talking about

#knowledgeispower

jgsi

I think we have an old friend who has re emerged from the twilight.
Has been catching up on all the old threads he has missed out on since his last ban.

Matthewfalle

JGSI wrote:

I think we have an old friend who has re emerged from the twilight.
Has been catching up on all the old threads he has missed out on since his last ban.

Who?

#intrigued

jgsi

Probably not Trev, but son of Trev