WTF is Zone 2?

The fitness industry is full of trends, fads, the latest, and the greatest. Lots of things have come

and gone over the years. Nautilus, Bowflex, step class, Curves, high carb, low carb… What

was wildly popular yesterday is a thing of the past today. Such is life in the fitness biz.

Today’s hot topic? Zone 2 cardio.

Haven’t you heard? It’s all the rage.

Zone 2 cardio is touted as being one of the best ways to improve your VO2 Max, and your VO2

Max is a very strong predictor of your longevity.

VO2 Max, by the way, is the maximum amount of oxygen a person can use while exercising as

hard as possible as expressed in millimeters of oxygen consumed per minute per kilogram of

body weight… Translated into real words, VO2 Max is just “How good is your cardio?”

So VO2 Max improves your longevity and Zone 2 cardio improves your VO2 Max.

And naturally, since we all wanna live forever, Zone 2 has become the new toy that all the cool

kids are playing with. But WTF is it?

Zone 2 cardio is the highest metabolic output of work that someone can sustain while keeping

their lactate under two millimoles per liter… Or more simply put, it’s cardio that passes the “talk

test.” It’s cardio where you are able to speak in full sentences, but are just on the edge of being

out of breath. It’s cardio you could sustain all day long.

Of course, you could get all nerdy and track your heart rate while you do cardio. I use my Apple

Watch, but lots of devices today can track heart rate. Zone 2 should be around 70% heart rate

for most people, but it will vary slightly. The talk test is the simplest measure for most people.

Where do you do Zone 2? Anywhere you want. The treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, road

bike, outside, swimming. Yes, some methods might be more “optimal,” but the best exercise is

the one you enjoy and actually do. Personally, I throw on a podcast and walk on an incline

treadmill.

Is Zone 2 training the real deal? Yes, I believe that it is. I think Zone 2 training is here to stay. It’s

proven by science to be one of the best ways to keep our hearts healthy.

Most recommendations start around 150 minutes per week of Zone 2 exercise, and many

recommendations go even higher. But start with what you can do. Anything is better than

nothing. A half-hour twice a week is better than the couch!