Central London is zone 1, zone 2 is the ring around zone 1, zone 3 is the ring around 2 and so on. If you look at the zone map below it should make sense. *zones 7,8 and 9 cover a small area just outside North West London including Watford, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Amersham or Chalfont & Latimer.
Zone 3 makes a first class caseDespite these increases, you will find many areas around the 93 tube stations in Zone 3 still have a relatively affordable housing market. Prices across Zone 3 as a whole average around £488,000; that's around a third cheaper than the £723,000 you'd pay in Zone 2.
The theory is that you use Z2 to get in the training without overtaxing yourself and therefore give your body the proper recovery it needs to make your hard days hard. Z3 used to be referred to as “junk miles” because they were not hard enough to stimulate growth/adaptation, but not easy enough to facilitate recovery.
Zone 3 – aerobic exercise: Exercising for 10–40 minutes with a heartbeat of 70-80% of your maximum heart rate will not only burn fat effectively, but will also strengthen muscles as well as building their endurance capabilities. This medium level is suitable for those who exercise to sustain good health.
Greenwich and Cutty Sark stations are in both zones 2 and 3. A travelcard for zones 1 and 2 will take you from central London to Greenwich by any rail or bus route. to explain a bit - there are a few places that are in more than one zone.
Some of London's trendy neighbourhoods like Camden and Notting Hill are located in Zone 2. Make sure to use an Oyster Card or contactless payment when riding the underground to get the cheapest fares.
Zone 2 is considered the target range for aerobic and base fitness work and should be about 60-70% of your HRmax. Zone 3 is the range for aerobic endurance work and should put you at about 70-80% of your HRmax.
Within London, all London Underground, National Rail, London Overground, TfL Rail and Docklands Light Railway stations are assigned to six fare zones. Fare zone 1 covers the central area and fare zones 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 form concentric rings around it.