Zone 2 training and skill efficiency for Crossfit
Can you use more exercises in your Zone 2 training?
When people think of zone 2 work they think of low-intensity training on a bike or running, for example. You typically use an exercise where you can maintain a certain output for a long duration and your heart rate does not spike or gradually raise over time, hence you’d use modalities which are simple to perform.
Crossfit requires you to be efficient in many different exercises, ranging from simple single modality exercises to complex gymnastic skills. Finding time to get all of this training in is difficult, but we train with an aim to become so efficient that we could include more exercise in our zone 2 training?
I started reflecting on this after my conversation with Physiologist Evan Peikon on The Progress Theory (Hit link to hear the full episode) and his excellent article “Sport Specific Limitations in CrossFit” on his Substack account Emergent Performance.
In this article he talks about the importance of training so the athlete’s response to CrossFit workouts look physiologically more like a single modality event. Evan describes this as ‘cyclical’.
For example, your physiological response (heart rate, muscle oxygen saturation etc) looks much more linear and consistent throughout the event and does not go through peaks and troughs like you would expect in a metcon.
He provides the graph below which displays muscle oxygen saturation (Sm02) for two athletes going head to head in a metcon. The top athlete goes through intervals of hard work and rest, so his Sm02 levels drops and rise throughout, ultimately ending with the longer metcon time.
NIRS trends for two different athlete competing at the same Metcon. This picture is from Evan Peikon’s work on Emergent Performance
In contrast, the bottom athlete is able to maintain a steady output so his Sm02 doesn’t drop so rapidly, which would force the athlete to rest. The physiological profile her eis much more similar to that of a 2km row or 3 km run. This consistent performance means they finished the metcon with a faster time.
Yes, tatics are likely a big part of this, but surely this highlights a key point. Should we aim to become very efficient at all CrossFit skills so we have the physiological ability to perform all metcons cyclically?
In order to do this we must train all exercises so that we are efficient at them so we can:
Avoid sharp increases in heart rate
Allow consistent delivery and utilisation of 02 in the working muscles
If we achieve this, could we also incorporate certain exercises into our zone 2 training?
For example, let say I’m really efficient at toes to bar, 1 arm dumbbell snatches, and burpees. Could I then incorporate these exercises into a 40-60 minute EMOM or AMRAP type session, including easy cals on a row, a bike and ski erg?
Yes, I would have to structure the reps a certain way, break sets up, maybe use lighter loads and slowly walk between exercises, to achieve that cyclical physiological profile, but could this part of my Zone 2 training?
Overall, this is an idea that still needs further testing. Everyone physiologically responds differently to each exercise and certain exerises might feel easy but give a physiological response different to what we want to achieve with our zone 2 training.
There will be ceratin exercises that you would never be able to add into your zone 2 work because of the muscle tension created by exernal loads (e.g high rep weightlifting, thrusters etc). The high levels of muscle tension required to move the weights will obviously create a different physiological response to what you’re trying to achieve with zone 2 training.
We can still a cyclical physiological training response with these higher intensity exercises, but this would be more reflective of work in zone 3 & 4.
This creates the question:
Can we become very efficient at certain exercises that we could have the ability to imcorporate them into our zone 2 training?
Or, should we just keep these exercises in our tempo and interval work and keep our zone 2 training consisting of running, cycling etc
What do you think? Let me know in the comments or message me on Instagram
Dr Phil Price
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