Zone 3

The Sweet Spot of Struggle The mountains don't care about your excuses, they only care about your capacity to endure. In the world of high-performance cycling, Zone 3 training—often called **Tempo**—exists in the gray space between comfortable endurance and the searing pain of threshold work. It sits at roughly 75% to 90% of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP). While modern training trends often obsess over easy Zone 2 base miles or high-intensity intervals, the middle ground of Zone 3 provides a rugged, efficient path to grit and speed. Physiological Adaptations and Fiber Recruitment When you push into Zone 3, you trigger specific biological changes that easier rides simply cannot touch. This intensity targets **Type 2A muscle fibers**, the fast-twitch aerobic fibers that bridge the gap between pure endurance and explosive power. Expert Christy Stoshuk notes that this falls within the **heavy intensity domain**, located between lactate threshold one (LT1) and lactate threshold two (LT2). Training here forces these fibers to become more efficient, allowing you to hold steady, aggressive power for hours without your heart rate skyrocketing. It builds a "diesel engine" capable of churning through massive climbs and long-distance breakaway efforts. The Cardiovascular Edge for Recreational Athletes For those of us not riding in the pro peloton, Zone 3 might actually be the most effective use of limited time. Sports scientist Peter Leo explains that for recreational riders, Zone 3 efforts are often enough to max out **stroke volume** and cardiac output. This means you gain significant improvements in VO2 Max and general fitness without the soul-crushing fatigue of repeated maximal sprints. It is a high-yield investment for the time-poor athlete looking to prepare for events like the Atlas Mountain Race. Pacing the Knife Edge Precision is everything when you are operating in the tempo zone. If you push too hard, you slip into threshold territory, accumulating metabolic waste that ends your day early. Using heart rate as a cap is vital. As fatigue and heat set in, your heart rate will naturally drift upward even if your power remains constant. To stay in the effective zone, you must manage this drift. Peter Leo suggests allowing a delta of 5 to 10 beats per minute, but if you exceed that, you must either drop the power or end the set. Avoiding the Plateau Despite its benefits, Simon Jones warns that constant Zone 3 work can "flatten" a rider, particularly sprinters who need explosive top-end speed. To keep your edge, you need variety. Incorporate cadence changes—jumping from 60 RPM to 90 RPM—to keep the stimulus fresh. The goal is to build a foundation that is stable and powerful, giving you the mental and physical toughness to keep pressing the pedals when the wild world tries to slow you down.