Zone 2 is useful only after the model and anchor are named. Research using three zones usually calls work below the first threshold Zone 1; common cycling software often calls a conventional 56–75% FTP band Zone 2. Those labels can describe overlapping low-intensity work, but they are not interchangeable.
Zone 2 cycling: heart rate, power, RPE and LT1 is the canonical definition and execution guide. It explains why a measured LT1 or VT1 is a stronger anchor than a generic percentage, why methods can still disagree, and why power, heart rate and RPE answer different questions.
Professor Stephen Seiler's research supports the site's discussion of training-intensity distribution. Dan Lorang's Roadman interviews support narrower coaching observations about consistency and matching load to recovery. Roadman has no verified basis for claiming that Lorang coached Tadej Pogačar or Jonas Vingegaard.
Find YOUR Zone 2, not a textbook's
A percentage of maximum heart rate or FTP can be a starting estimate. A suitable lactate or ventilatory assessment can locate an individual first threshold more directly, although protocol and interpretation still matter. How to find Zone 2 with lactate testing explains the laboratory approach, while the at-home lactate threshold guide explains the extra uncertainty in field testing.
Use each metric for its own job
Power records external work. Heart rate and RPE describe parts of the internal response. Comfortable speech is a useful field proxy, not a precise threshold test. When the signals disagree, examine duration, terrain, heat, fuelling, fatigue and device quality before declaring one metric the universal referee. Aerobic decoupling can describe how heart rate and power separate over time, but it is not a diagnosis or a standalone fitness verdict.
Where Zone 2 sits in the bigger picture
Zone 2 is one training intensity, not a complete plan. A polarised distribution uses predominantly low-intensity work with a smaller high-intensity dose, but current evidence does not require an exact weekly ratio or show one distribution always wins. Sweet spot vs threshold vs polarised owns the programme comparison, while Zone 2 vs endurance training separates two labels that are often used as synonyms.
Judge the complete dose. There is no evidence-backed 60- or 90-minute minimum, no universal weekly percentage and no uniquely Zone 2 adaptation. Build a repeatable aerobic workload that supports the rest of the programme.