Tadej Pogačar's most important training metrics and his approach to zone 2 training

This clip is from episode 318 ‒ Cycling phenom and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar reveals his training strategies, on-bike nutrition, and future aspirations.

In this clip, they discuss:

- What kind of VAM is he able to reach when he's training?
- What is his heart rate in Zone 2?
- How many watts is he putting out at that heart rate?
- And more

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About:

The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 90 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan.

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[Nksmusings]

Loved the discussion and thank you Pogi for being transparent and honest with the data. Truly the GOAT!!!

[wojjiit]

320 Watts for 5 hours is insane. Thats like zone 5 for me for 5 hours straight

[sylvainhyais]

Incredible, he looks like a gentle teenager here, when you see his numbers, I mean, he turns into a beast ...

[SF_Native]

HELL YES. Tadej is at the top of the food chain in cycling. Just won the triple crown 👑 👑👑

[imbalolpro]

My goal is to get to around 65% of his numbers. Then I'll be happy (and exhausted).

[skillerfreerideexperience]

Many thanks, this is the best interview I've ever seen on training parameters. So refreshing to see someone asking who really knows what he's talking about. I was a bit surprised to see that Pog's zone-2 heartrate is in the 140s (when tired) or even in the 150s, would have thought much lower.

[mindsmartie]

I love the “rant” on Shimano Power Meters 😂

[BenSmithHuugs]

I spit out my drink when he said his VAM!!!!

[StevenBornfeld]

What might be useful when discussing (for example) VAM would be to compare Pog's 1700-1800 to what most pros achieve.

[adub]

Loved Attia’s WTF looks of amazement when Pogi is describing his numbers. Pogi seems like such a gentle soul….until he hops on a bike.

[sephiroth]

One of his legs has more FTP than both my legs :-/

[alpsalish]

His problem is using Shimano power meters😂. Now, what everyone misses is that he could go be hr, but he absolutely uses power.

[EricRichards]

I’m 49, 78.6 kg about and have an ftp around 282w. If I pedal at 300 and above I’m done in like a few minutes!

[yeahhhhh]

Hr is always the most accurate data..no doubts

[Gref]

I think he talks about zones more like Steven Seiler who distinguishes 3 zones (light, medium, hard) and with this system Tadej's words make more sense. Which is weird because San Milan is his coach and he uses 5+ zone system. All in all, that numbers are unreachable for normal guys in zone 100 so not a problem.

[tmdeath]

I'm 29 and my lowest hr is 42 and max hr is 208.
I wondered if this was even healthy but now i knlw it's actually good?
Like does this mean i have potential if i train a lot?

Sidenote: i can maintain 200+ for over 15 minutes

[adamgoodman]

Shimano is about to make the most reliable power meter ever made 🇯🇵

[andynater]

He looks 15 years old here! Would love to see an ECHO of his heart too, hypertrophy a possibility?

[srinip]

Asked ChatGPT to explain this to non cyclist. Here’s it is

To explain a 300–340 watt sustained cycling effort over multiple hours to a non-cyclist, you can use the following analogies and context:

⸻

1. What is a watt in this context?

Think of watts as a measure of power—how hard you’re working. It’s like the horsepower in a car, but for a human.

⸻

2. Real-world analogy: climbing stairs or jogging with weights

Imagine:
• Jogging up a steady incline (like a 3–5% hill) non-stop for 3–4 hours.
• Or carrying a heavy backpack (~15–20 kg) and walking briskly without a break.
That’s roughly the kind of sustained physical output we’re talking about.

⸻

3. Energy burned: like eating a buffet

At 300–340 watts, a cyclist is burning 900–1200 calories per hour. Over 3–4 hours, that’s the equivalent of:
• 3–4 Big Macs, or
• 8–10 full meals, just to stay fueled.

⸻

4. Elite-level fitness

To sustain this:
• The cyclist likely has a top-tier aerobic engine, similar to a marathon runner or professional rower.
• Very few recreational athletes can maintain this. It’s what pro or semi-pro cyclists do.

⸻

5. Mechanical comparison

If you powered a blender or a small microwave for a few hours straight with your legs, that’s the kind of energy output we’re talking about.

⸻

Would you like a chart comparing watts to real-life activities (like lightbulbs, walking, etc.)?

[patrickschilke]

Peter please post the whole interview and stop sneak peaking us!