Build a Zone 2 Aerobic Base

Proof required

Share: (1) your calculated zone 2 HR range and the method you used to calculate it, and (2) logs for your first 4 zone 2 sessions, each showing date, duration (≥30 min), and average HR within your zone. GPS app screenshots or exported data work.

What gets checked

• A specific HR range is stated with a named calculation method — 'zone 2 is low intensity' is not a range; 'zone 2 = 120–135 bpm calculated using the Maffetone 180 Formula (180 − 38 − 5 for good training background = 137 upper limit, −10 for lower = 127–137 bpm)' is a range with a method
• All 4 sessions show average HR within the stated zone — sessions where average HR drifts above zone were not zone 2 sessions regardless of perceived effort; a screenshot of the session summary with average HR is required
• Each session is at least 30 minutes — zone 2 adaptations require sustained aerobic stimulus; 20-minute sessions do not meet the standard

Common mistakes

• Guessing the zone without calculating — running 'easy' by feel typically places most people above zone 2 when HR is actually measured; calculate the range first, then measure compliance during sessions
• Using a running pace that exceeds your zone — most people find true zone 2 running uncomfortably slow; walking mixed with slow jogging is completely legitimate and often necessary in the first weeks

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Ask the submitter to share the HR range and the specific calculation — if they cannot name the method and show the arithmetic, the zone was not calculated
• Check each session's average HR against the stated range — one or two beats above zone is negligible; consistently 15+ bpm above zone means the sessions were not zone 2
• Ask what modality they used and whether the pace felt uncomfortably slow — a truthful answer is yes; if the submitter describes zone 2 as 'comfortable and fast', the pace was likely above zone

Proof required

Share your session log for all 12 sessions across 4 weeks, showing date, duration, and average HR for each session. Calculate your weekly totals in minutes. Note whether you observed any change in pace at the same HR by week 4 compared to week 1.

What gets checked

• 12 or more sessions are logged across 4 weeks — fewer than 12 sessions is not 3 per week; partial weeks are acceptable if the total is at least 12
• Session duration is at least 45 minutes — shorter sessions may be valid warm-up or travel days but do not count toward the 12 for this milestone
• Average HR is within zone for all sessions — a session with average HR more than 10 bpm above the zone ceiling should not be counted toward the 12

Common mistakes

• Adding a fourth or fifth session per week before completing three consistent weeks — more is not better at this stage; consistency at three per week for four weeks is the foundation; adding volume before adaptation is confirmed often leads to fatigue and missed sessions
• Measuring pace in the final week without recording pace in the first week for comparison — the adaptation signal is only visible when you have a week 1 baseline to compare against; log the same data in week 1 that you intend to compare in week 4

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Count the sessions: 12 minimum, each at least 45 minutes — ask the submitter for the weekly breakdown (3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12, or some other distribution totalling ≥12)
• Ask about the pace/HR comparison between week 1 and week 4 — a submitter who tracked this will have a specific answer; one who did not will give a vague impression
• Check whether any sessions show average HR well above zone — if 3 or more sessions are clearly above zone, the adaptation was not truly zone 2 training

Proof required

Share: (1) your complete 24-session log with dates, durations, and average HR, and (2) a pace/HR comparison — state the average pace and average HR from your first two weeks versus your final two weeks. A one-paragraph narrative naming the specific adaptation you observed (pace improvement, lower resting HR, improved recovery between sessions) is also required.

What gets checked

• 24 or more sessions are logged across 8 weeks with dates, durations, and average HR — the 8-week span is calculated from the first session date to the last
• A pace/HR comparison is provided with specific numbers — 'I ran faster' is not a comparison; '8:20 per km at 130 bpm in week 1 vs. 7:45 per km at 131 bpm in week 8' is a comparison with numbers
• The named adaptation is observable and attributed to the training — 'I feel fitter' is not an observable adaptation; 'my resting HR dropped from 68 to 61 bpm over the 8 weeks' or 'I now run a 7:50/km pace at the same HR that used to require a 8:40/km pace' are observable adaptations

Common mistakes

• Increasing pace during sessions to stay at the same absolute speed rather than holding HR constant — if you run faster in week 8 but your HR is also higher, that is not an adaptation signal; pace/HR at the same zone is the measurement
• Skipping weeks and making up sessions in a shorter window — 24 sessions in 4 weeks is not an 8-week block; the aerobic adaptations being measured accumulate over time, not just volume

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Ask for the specific pace/HR numbers from weeks 1–2 and weeks 7–8 — the numbers are the claim; 'I improved' without numbers is not verifiable
• Calculate the improvement in pace per kilometre at constant HR — less than 10 seconds per km improvement after 8 weeks suggests either the zone was not maintained or the baseline was inflated
• Count the sessions and verify the 8-week span from first to last date — 24 sessions in 6 weeks is valid volume but not an 8-week block