ISM zone 2 and low tempo are the same.
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do this enough while paying attention and you might figure it out in the field for yourself.
Post ride I also look at Garmin performance condition, it uses machine learning on HRV, HR, and power.
A good day, two weeks ago:
that +2 is generally what I see during a slow rise in fitness. And power chart:
Versus this week after reduced training load last week (traveling):
that -2 is generally what I see during periods of reduced training load. And power chart:
next morning (yesterday) my RHR was up 5bpm. Sleep was just so so. Likely a little bit of stress from that endurance ride, from getting back in the groove after traveling last week.
And then last night another 2 hour workout with intervals, performance condition at 0, felt fine during and after, and woke up this morning with normal RHR.
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Yeap, that is about right.
I’d put it this way for well trained…
- Easy z2
- Normal / mid z2
- High Z2 / ISM z2 / Low Tempo
- Tempo
- Sweet Spot.
And this way for off the couch…
- Easy Z2 / ISM Z2
- ISM Z2 /Mid z2
- High Z2
- Low Tempo
- Tempo
- Sweet Spot.
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A couple podcasts on this idea:
Exactly. Worth a listen.
and this one:
(around 14:45 he briefly talks about “not ruining anything” by going into zone3)
Both basically say the same thing, don’t get too caught up in the current hype of “zone 2” training.
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Last week I did another one of my simple experiments to find the boundary between stable and unstable physiology. Some promote Critical Power tests, I just find it on the ride by riding around “FTP” without having to ride for some indeterminate amount of time.
Here is what my HR looks like when riding just above stable physiology:
just to make sure I push the power a little higher:
Yup, the separation between stable and unstable physiology is somewhere around 280-290W.
From Skiba’s Scientific Training for Endurance Athletes:
I’ve been doing this since 2017, its really not that hard to find with simple field testing.
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I kind of like his model. The whole idea of FTP and TTE doesn’t seem robust enough for me.
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One more podcast for the ISM fans:
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At this point I just wait for ISM to appear on Joe Rogan 
ISM: By riding in Z2 you increase mitochondrial function.
Rogan: That’s crazy man. Have you tried DMT?
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Just uploaded today. Every time I listen to him or Seiler I want to change my training. Then by the time I work through all the realities, I end up back at low volume with 3 added endurance rides 
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That’s what i keep saying…
Plus people think you should ride z2 all the time…
No, z2 has a metabolic cost and should be used in moderation. It can be more than above lt1, but needs to be considered in the overall training program.
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ISM in this episode: “I hope Z2 isn’t becoming a cult.”
Ohh boy
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Or worse: combine these ideas with other coaching approaches to form this “can’t we all get along/best of both worlds” Frankenstein training approach.
SweetSpot 
ISM Z2
Long tempo
TAN Tempo
Look at lactate Tempo
VO2max intervals
Interval du jour (usually some sort of go hard then barely pedal 30-40s)
Full rest
Recovery ride
Two-a-days
Over-unders
Hard-start Vo2max
Hard-start SweetSpot
F*ck it, hard-start all the things, bro
Ride by feel
Ride by heart-rate
Ride by power, it’s “objective”
Long ride
Time-crunched long ride (i just made that one up)
Ok, got it all checked off. Gonna do all the things. Now, how to fit that into my training week?
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Easy I’ve moved to a 20day week
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My vote for comment of the week!!! (7-day or 20-day )
I’m not getting the cult of Z2. Every time I listen to ISM, he says to ride Z2 - not some special, top secret, special sauce Z2. Just ride Z2 - talk test. Easy peasy, yet we have 701 posts in just this topic.
Are we fascinated because he’s the first TDF winning coach to talk to the people?
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I’ve seen a few references, in various places, to taking ~ 30mins to start getting adaptations again from ISM Z2 after going too hard. Can someone point me in the direction of info/resources backing this up/explaining? Had a quick scroll through the thread but didn’t see anything.
Has he rewritten zones in a meaningful way? My Z2 is right at my coggan 5 zone Z2. ISM basically says for the amateur to train pyramidal. 3-4 days Z2, one hard day, one club ride day.
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It’s not like an on/off light switch. He’s saying to stay in Z2 on Z2 days and not charge up every little hill. The idea is to stay in the zone to fatigue the slow twitch fibers. If you charge up a hill every 5 or 10 minutes you are activating the faster twitch fibers and generating lactate. It trains different systems than continuous Z2.
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He has interesting ideas outside the mainstream:
- Push z2 to the limit where it’s more like tempo.
- No FTP, no “thresholds”
- Training Camps, huge overloads are not a good idea.
I’m sure I’m missing others.
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You can debate semantics, but there is a clear narrow zone that separates stable and unstable physiology. Its known by some as Critical Power, others call it FTP, others call it MLSS, …
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