Zone work/

Perceived Effort Descriptions

Zone 2/Endurance

Perceived effort scale: 3-4/10

Described as: Moderate to somewhat hard

Brain feels like: all day pace, no problem!

Legs feel like: low sensation

Talk test: can hold a conversation easily

Zone 3/Tempo

Perceived effort scale: 5-6/10

Described as: Hard/ getting harder

Brain feels like: need concentration to hold pace

Legs feel like: some sensation of leg effort

Talk test: deep, rhythmic breathing. Too hard to converse, but can work in sentences

Zone4/Lactate Threshold

Perceived effort scale: 7-8/10

Described as: very hard/starting to hurt

Brain feels like: mentally very taxing to maintain

Legs feel like: relentless leg sensations (feel the burn!)

Talk test:breathing too hard to say more than a word or two