The past week I’ve been trying tempo rides of about 2 hours each and I could feel my self get better. The Saturday before I did a 4 hour Z2 ride and the wheels came of at about hour three. That feeling of empty legs and a sore ass. The average was about 190 watts. Today one week later I just rode l…

I have trouble at low tempo power with aching legs. But when I bring the power up a little bit that goes away. I think it has to do with HR. Once HR actually gets up to a tempo HR I feel fine, but when it stays below LT1, legs feel like ass.

I experience something similar. My take on it is that true Z2 only utilises your slow twitch muscle fibres (Type 1) whereas Tempo utilises both Type 1 and your Type 2a (fast twitch) fibres. so using more muscles equals less fatigue. Disclaimer: I have no actual knowledge of this it’s just a theory.

In any case these tempo rides got my endurance up real quick. 5-6 hour Z2 rides with 200 watt plus average are no problem anymore. Doing 260-280 watts for 3 hours feels rather easy. Got people in the drops crying in the wheel while I’m riding the tops into a headwind. Tempo rides are supposed to …

[image] Rainier: tempo rides got my endurance up real quick I’m doing a ~1 month block of mostly tempo w/ occasional SS…very noticable fitness/power increase vs when I did a block of XHV Z2. As the consensus goes, use the right tool at the right time.

[image] carytb: My take on it is that true Z2 only utilises your slow twitch muscle fibres (Type 1) whereas Tempo utilises both Type 1 and your Type 2a (fast twitch) fibres. so using more muscles equals less fatigue. Depends how long the Z2 efforts are. If you do long, steady Z2 rides you wi…

True. When I do a low Z2 ride at between 2.25 hrs and 2.5 it’s as if a switch is thrown and my HR goes up a notch for the same power.

What %of FTP are you guys personally using for z2 vs z3? 65% for z2 and 70%+ for z3 ?

Endurance (55% - 75% FTP) Tempo (76% - 87% FTP) [image] Understanding Power Zones Power Zones are all defined as a percentage of your FTP. They allows us to scale workouts to each racer's individual fitness level, ensuring that everyone is working at their optimal intensity. ... …

In short: moderate intensity (tempo) increases catecholamines (adrenaline), which causes a number of physiological changes that promote blood flow to the muscles, contractility of muscles, and promoting metabolic changes. Additionally, at moderate intensity (tempo) makes muscular recruitment patter…

[image] Rainier: Tempo rides are supposed to be the “secret weapon” of pro’s Very interesting. Where did you hear this? I was under the impression they avoided this grey area. At least the few pro’s I follow in Strava don’t seem to spend much time riding tempo. It’s mainly zone 1/2 with a sma…

Why does tempo feel easier then Z2 ride

Training

Captain_Doughnutman March 21, 2020, 8:39am 18

Please check out all the time in tempo presented within the following thread:

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Why does tempo feel easier then Z2 ride

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