Those of us on social media can’t get away from the hype and discussion around so-called “Zone 2” training. Like with many discussions on social media, you might easily be mistaken in thinking that so-called “Zone 2” training is a brand-new and somehow magical training construct and the only way to achieving your endurance training goals. Whilst that is not the case, training in “Zone 2” is one of the core pillars of my training philosophy when working with endurance athletes and long-distance triathletes in particular.

In this blog, I have tried to clear up some of the confusion around “Zone 2” training and offer my rationale for why accumulating a large volume of low-intensity training is important.

What do we mean by “Zone 2”?

Before discussing why so-called “Zone 2” training might be important, we need to nail down what we mean by Zone 2. In zone 2 training, athletes and coaches use a five-zone model...