Z2 Endurance 90 min — Free Zwift Workout
(.zwo Download)
Ninety minutes steady at 60-75% FTP. The long indoor base ride — the session that builds the aerobic engine over a winter, when the weather has taken your outdoor volume away.
Built by Jim Camut. JB Cycling Academy 2004–09 · PCS-verified · Cyclingnews diarist alumnus.
Where are you in your riding?
Trains consistently — doesn't race
What do you want from this workout?
60–75% FTP — steady mitochondrial work
How long do you have?
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Pick your settings
Free .zwo file. Drop it in your Zwift workouts folder — it shows up under Custom Workouts the next time you launch the app.
Or build your own custom workout →
Z2 Endurance 90 min: prescription + science
Ninety minutes steady at 60–75% FTP. The long indoor ride is the session most riders skip and most riders need. Here's what the extra half-hour buys over the hour.
What the extra thirty minutes buys
Endurance training measurably increases fat oxidation during exercise, widening the aerobic base you draw on every harder day [1]. That shift is bought with time in the zone, so the back half of a 90-minute ride reaches work an hour never gets to.
Steady aerobic riding also drives mitochondrial density, capillarization, and the enzymes that let you spare glycogen [2]. None of that responds to how hard the ride felt; it responds to how long you stayed in the band.
Why this is the winter session
Elite endurance athletes spend roughly 75–80% of their training at low intensity [3]. When distributions are tested head-to-head, a polarized approach — plenty of easy, a little very hard — beats living in the moderate middle [4]. When the weather takes your outdoor volume away, the indoor long ride is where that easy 75% has to come from.
How to ride ninety minutes indoors
Keep it genuinely easy — 60–75% FTP, conversational. Indoors the temptation is to lift the power because you are bored; that turns base volume into junk fatigue and compromises your real hard days. Fan, drink, and something to watch will do more for completion than willpower.
Peer-reviewed sources
- 01Martin 1997. Effect of endurance training on fatty acid metabolism during whole body exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 1997.
- 02Holloszy & Coyle 1984. Adaptations of skeletal muscle to endurance exercise and their metabolic consequences. Journal of Applied Physiology, 1984.
- 03Seiler & Kjerland 2006. Quantifying training intensity distribution in elite endurance athletes: is there evidence for an “optimal” distribution?. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2006.
- 04Stöggl & Sperlich 2014. Polarized training has greater impact on key endurance variables than threshold, high intensity, or high volume training. Frontiers in Physiology, 2014.
Z2 Endurance 90 min: common questions
Is 90 minutes of Zone 2 enough?
It is a strong single session. Base is built from weekly hours rather than any one ride, so stack this alongside your other easy riding rather than treating it as the whole block.
What percent FTP is Zone 2?
Roughly 60–75% of FTP — steady, conversational, no surges. The .zwo holds you in that band for the full ride.
Should I do 90 minutes indoors or 60?
Take the 90 when you have the time and the ride is genuinely easy. If holding the band for 90 minutes pushes you into surging or quitting early, the honest 60 is worth more.
Can I watch TV during a Z2 ride?
Yes. At 60–75% FTP you should be able to hold a conversation, so distraction costs you nothing and makes the duration far easier to complete.
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