How to Make the Most of Your Long Slow Distance Training (2024)

Long, slow distance training, a.k.a. zone 2 workouts, might seem too easy to create a training effect, but spending time at a conversational or endurance pace is fundamental to your performance. “Zone 2 training builds your endurance and becomes the foundation on which you can build higher-intensity efforts,” says exercise physiologist and former cycling coach, Mollie Brewer.

While an effective, well-rounded training plan will always include higher intensity work, the “no pain, no gain” philosophy just doesn’t make sense. “When we go above zone 2 we begin to bring in some non-aerobic metabolic processes,” says Rob Pickels, a USA Cycling-certified coach, exercise physiologist, and consultant with Forever Endurance. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing; we know we need to be riding harder than zone 2 at times. But zone 2 maximizes our ability to focus on these beneficial processes without adding too much undue stress onto the body.”

While you’re logging easy miles and enjoying the scenery or chatting with a friend, important physiological adaptations are taking place under the surface. For one thing, in zone 2, your body relies primarily on fat, rather than carbohydrate. Over time, this helps you utilize fats more efficiently, which spares your carbohydrate stores so they’re available when you need them to power higher efforts, says Brewer.

Lower intensity training—about 4 out of 10 on the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale—also stimulates the production of new mitochondria while also making them more efficient, says Brewer. Those microscopic powerhouses help process lactate, and with a bigger, better-trained army of them, you can ride harder for longer before fatigue slows you down.

Zone 2 training is also where your body develops new capillaries (the tiny blood vessels that deliver oxygen to your muscles), says Brewer. With more capillaries on board, you can deliver more oxygen to your muscles with every heartbeat, which over time, helps you generate more power without necessarily working harder.

Why You Should Log Long, Slow Distance Miles

One of the most compelling reasons to train in zone 2 is that you can crank out significant mileage here without a high risk of injury or overtraining. “Because this is a low-stress, low-inflammation zone where you’re very resistant to fatigue, you can do high volume,” says Brewer.

While it may seem obvious, those long, slow distance miles also develop your endurance, says Brewer. If your goal is to ride (or race) long, practicing riding your bike for long distances at a sustainable pace is one of the best ways to do it.

And though it seems counterintuitive, training at a lower intensity is fundamental to tackling higher intensity training and racing. In other words, you have to go slow to get fast. “Your body will do a better job of clearing the lactate and other byproducts that accumulate when you work hard and do it repeatedly because of the base you’ve established with zone 2 training,” says Brewer.

So don’t be surprised if prioritizing zone 2 training makes your intervals (and all your riding, for that matter) feel a little easier. “You’ll decrease your heart rate for a given workload,” explains Pickels.

You may also find that endurance training gives you a powerful mental boost when your schedule calls for a spicy interval session. “Because zone 2 training feels easy, it tends to make people really excited to go hard when it is time to go hard. They’re chomping at the bit to get out there and do some interval workouts,” says Pickels. “But if every day is kind of hard, when they have to do a hill climb, they’re like, ‘Oh god, again?’”

Tips to Optimize Your Long, Slow Distance Workouts

Zone 2 training is an excellent way to boost your fitness—but it can be tempting to ride just a little (or a lot) harder. But working harder than you need to won’t make you stronger. “Training even a little bit harder than we should be actually makes us worse. It doesn’t make us better,” says Pickels.

Here are some tips to ensure you’re actually in zone 2 during your long slow distance training.

Be Clear About Your Objectives

Zone 2 training is the perfect workout for enjoying a conversation with your training buddies. But a casual ride among friends can easily turn into a hammerfest if you’re not careful. To make sure you keep your effort where it needs to be, state what you want out of the workout up front. “Announce your intentions at the start of the ride,” suggests Pickels.

If you’re with friends who are stronger than you, let them know you plan to sit on their wheel. “Instead of feeling like you’re obligated to take pulls, you can just say ‘Hey man, today is an easy ride, I’m targeting 170 watts.’ Just let people know what the plan is,” says Pickels.

But Don’t Go Too Easy

On the other hand, don’t let your group rides get too light on the effort scale. Look at your RPE to make sure you’re in the right zone for gaining all the benefits of zone 2 workouts.

If you’re any lower than 4 out of 10 RPE, you’re probably in zone 1, which is great when you need active recovery, but it won’t yield the benefits you’ll get from a zone 2 ride. You can also use metrics like power and heart rate to ensure you’re not going too easy. Although it depends on the athlete, generally speaking, zone 2 is 56 to 75 percent of your functional power threshold (FTP) and 60 to 70 percent of your max heart rate.

Pay Attention to Power

While you don’t necessarily need to train with a power meter, it can be a very handy tool for ensuring you stay in zone 2. “Power updates a heck of a lot quicker than heart rate,” says Pickels. “So you can be pedaling around at lower zone 2, you push it up a hill, and your heart rate might climb to upper zone 2 and then fall back down once the climb is over. Meanwhile, your power meter will show that you were well over your FTP.”

While both heart rate and power are important metrics, if you have power data, take advantage of the numbers in real time during your long slow distance rides to keep your efforts in check.

And while you’re looking at those numbers, be honest about how much time you’re actually in zone 2. Both Brewer and Pickels agree, if your average wattage or heart rate puts you in zone 2, but you were mostly above or below that range, you’re not getting the benefits you’d get from being squarely in zone 2 for most of your ride.

Choose Your Route Carefully

Some routes include inclines that will inevitably force you to exceed zone 2 training. And while some time at higher intensities won’t ruin your workout, you want to be mindful of keeping the majority of the workout (not the average heart rate or wattage) in zone 2.

To avoid workouts where you have no choice but to go anaerobic for significant chunks of time, plan your route accordingly. “For a true zone 2 day, maybe you have to find a rail trail and ride on that instead of the rolling hills,” says Pickels. Then you can keep your intensity in check my tuning into that RPE of about 4 the entire time.

Bring Your Workout Inside

If a flatter route isn’t accessible, consider getting your long, slow distance miles in on your trainer. “People think zone 2 isn’t a good trainer workout but it’s a great movie watching pace,” says Brewer, who prefers doing endurance training to hard intervals on the trainer.

To keep it interesting, she suggests breaking up your workout with alternating intervals of high zone 2 efforts with intervals of low zone 2 efforts.

Don’t worry too much about your long, slow distance ride on the trainer being too short. “It’s actually a great way to get a concentrated steady state workout. You can get a lot of benefit from a 45-minute workout,” says Brewer. After all, something is better than nothing when it comes to building endurance.