😲 Wait, what?!? Zone 2 is the problem?

What worked for me a decade ago, doesn’t necessarily work now.

Over here in the Century Ride “lab,” I’ve been experimenting with some new tech and data. I’m hoping it will boost my fitness and (fingers crossed) improve my sleep.

More on that soon...

I mention it now because for the second time in a week I was asked what my primary training goal is:

Longevity... or Performance???

It’s a legit conundrum. What would you choose? (Hit reply — I’d love to know what you think.)

If I’m forced to choose, I guess I have to go with performance. Not because I’m entering Unbound next year. I’m not a competitive cyclist. But because cycling is my sport — not just a workout.

And one thing I know for sure is mountain biking is a lot more fun when you’re fit and strong. It’s tough to nail a technical feature when you’re gasping for air and your quads are screaming.

The thing is, what worked for me a decade ago, doesn’t necessarily work now. I may be fitter than I was in my thirties, but I feel my rides more today. Maybe you’ve noticed that too?

So it stands to reason we may need to adjust our approach to training and nutrition to meet our goals now, right?

Here are two big problems for 50+ athletes like us, though:

1. There’s a serious lack of research on older athletes. Most studies top out at age 50 — seriously.

2. It’s even worse for older female athletes. The data is practically nonexistent.

As Dr. Stacy Sims points out, “women are not small men.”

Well, duh! I mean that should be pretty obvious, right?

But in reality, Glen and I tend to adopt new habits and protocols in tandem — same dose of exercise or nutrients expecting similar adaptations.

And that’s where Dr. Sims comes in. She’s a world-renowned exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist — and she walks the talk.

She's dedicated her career to understanding sex differences in training, nutrition, and health bringing a wealth of dearly needed experience to everyday female athletes.

Which, I might add, affects men too.

Because around and after menopause (yes, I said the m-word), women may see significant declines in muscle, speed and endurance. Not to mention becoming a super-annoying, tossy-turny partner under the covers.

And that can affect the sport you love to do together.

It just makes sense that women are probably going to have to shake up their routines after 50. Dr. Sims is very pragmatic in her book, Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond. She’s not into the whole, “60 is the new 40” thing:

“I believe that you don't need to be younger. We all need to be okay exactly where we are. Forty is 40. Fifty is 50. Sixty is 60. There are a million ways to be 40, 50, and 60 (and 70 and 80!), and we're going to help you be badass wherever you fall on that spectrum.”

Sounds good to me.

Here are two rather mind-blowing discoveries I’m keen to experiment with in order to...

...improve body composition (more muscle, less fat)

...help me sleep more reliably (please, oh please)

...increase my cardio fitness

1. When you eat matters almost as much as what you eat.

So I’ve been thinking if I went for my weekday rides before breakfast, I’d burn more fat. But Dr. Sims warns women that “you do not want to go into your workouts underfueled. Doing that creates more stress and undermines your exercise progress.”

Huh!

Some banana and peanut butter or whole grain toast and nut butter gives you a bit of protein and carbs to fuel your effort.

But what about after?

The narrative that you need to get your protein in as soon after your strength training session as possible, has been thoroughly debunked on just about every fitness podcast.

Except, it’s not true for women in their 40s and older.

We do have a recovery window. Whereas men have up to 3 hours to refuel after a workout, women need to eat within 30 to 45 minutes.

That’s because after a hard workout, our cortisol (a stress hormone) is high and we’re in a catabolic state meaning we’re eating into our own muscles and breaking down tissues.

Quickly getting protein and carbs on board starts to lower cortisol and signals it’s time to start repairing. Skipping post-ride or post-weight training meals keeps your body in a stressed state where it’s more likely to store body fat.

And...

2. What if Zone 2 doesn’t burn fat?

Worse, what if it’s causing women to retain fat after menopause?

You may have seen my endless, often boring Zone 2 rides dutifully recorded in Strava. Now I’m learning that for peri-to-post menopausal women it could be contributing to fat retention?

Recently, Dr. Sims told Andrew Huberman that women need high intensity interval training for body recomposition.

Spinning away in Zone 2 or even the moderate intensity Zone 3 is “putting you in a state of intensity that drives cortisol up, but it’s not a strong enough stress to invoke the post-exercise growth hormone and testosterone that dampens cortisol.”

Essentially it’s leaving us in an inflammatory state without enough umph to trigger recovery.

So where does that leave endurance cyclists like us?

Turns out, Stacy Sims is one of us. Once an Iron Man competitor, today she loves getting out for long rides on her gravel bike. It’s great for your mental health.

But it does explain why for some of us, cortisol might remain high and a great night’s sleep hard to come by.

Just sayin’.

And that brings us back to where we started: what are your goals? Performance or longevity?

If your answer was longevity (with a side of better body composition), and you’re a woman in your 40s or older, high intensity cardio like Norwegian 4x4s or 10 to 30-second, all out sprints along with lifting heavy weights are the play, according to Sims.

Can we have our cake and eat it too?

Obviously, as cyclists we want to get out on those longer rides and, you know, enjoy them. If you’re doing 50 to 100 kilometers, it’s a lot of zone 2 and 3.

Here’s my question: what if we threw in a few high intensity sprints or a couple of 4-minute HIIT intervals toward the end? My guess is that would trigger the cellular clean up crew and get us triggering recovery... right?

That’s what Tour winner, Tadej Pogacar’s coach, Dr. Inigo San Millan does. But he’s a guy. I’m not sure... yet. I’m gonna put it to the test. Because I know from my data, that my sleep takes a hit after every Zone 2 ride.

Clearly, I need to get Dr. Sims on the Century Ride Show. I’ve got questions! But for now you can check her out here.

Let me know what’s working (or not) for you. I’d genuinely love to know.

See you soon!

- Kelly