Zone 2 TRAINING FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE...

This topic doesn't stand just for athletes, this goes for everyone. Why not build a better engine? If your heart and lungs work more efficiently then you're going to be healthier, simple as that. Who doesn't want to work and feel better?!

So what is zone 2 training?

When we look at cardiac output we place relative % to Max Heart Rate on a scale.

For the sake of the blog let's base everything on running paces.

Zone 1: Easy pace (recovery pace). Operating in the range of 60-65% of HR max

Can hold a full conversation

- Warm-up and cool-downs

- Weight loss inducing

- Improve aerobic capacity

- Helps with recovery

Zone 2: Steady pace (long runs-Jog) Operating in the range of 60-75% of HR max

Speak one sentence at a time

20-60+ mins

Best for:

- improving aerobic capacity

- Increasing HR max

- Increasing Vo2 max

- Weight loss implications

Zone 3: Brisk pace (Fast jog/run) Operating in the range of 75-82% of HR Max.

Speak a few words at a time

- More anaerobic (oxidative + glycolytic) energy source

- Moderate duration efforts of 10-20 mins

- Used to improve / work on 3-5km times

Zone 4: Hard / fast pace (fast run / sprint) Operating in the range of 82-89% of HR Max.

Can hardly speak a word

Lasts 2-8mins

Best for:

- Short spirts of speed and acceleration

- Working on finishing pace / starting pace

- HR Threshold work

- Lactate threshold work

Zone 5: Very hard (sprint) Operating in the range of 89+ % of the HR Max.

Can't speak at all, grunting is the extent of it.

Last <90sec

Best for:

- Max HR Threshold work

- Sprints

- Interval training

Now let me preface this with all zones have their particular use in performance development. Not one is more superior than the others. Zone 2 however, has some important implications that are pertinent to discuss as they affect the other zones and the intensity in which you can operate within them.

Zone 2 has a unique "ability" to help build lactate threshold, flushing hydrogen ions out of the cells and increasing oxygen uptake. Quick reminder LACTIC ACID is NOT THE BAD GUY! Lactic acid is an energy source. When oxygen is depleted from the cells lactic acid picks up the slack and provides the muscle cells with more energy from a different energy conversion than that of primary muscle activation. The burning you feel is the increased presence of hydrogen ions in the cells / absence of oxygen.

What zone 2 does is improve this tolerance or better yet prolongs the onset of hydrogen ion seepage into the muscle cells. Zone 2 training helps flush the hydrogen ions and better utilizes lactic acid to produce energy. So when training gets long and arduous, a better efficiency in zone 2 allows an athlete to perform at a higher efficiency for a longer time. I would argue that no other metric is more important than the ability to operate at a higher output than your competition for a longer sustained amount of time.

So how does one train in zone 2? Well it's rather simple. As noted above zone 2 occurs in the range of 60-75% of your HR Max. So you need two pieces of info; 1) Your HR Max, found by subtracting your age from 220 (eg: 220-24 = 196). 2) The heart rate zone % you want to be between. (196 x 0.6= 117bpm / 196 x 0.75= 147bpm). In this example if a 24 year old wanted to know their relative HR max and which heart rates to fall between while training in zone two the above calculations show that they would have to be within 117-147 bpm to be in zone 2.

Heart rate Max = 220-Age

Zone 2 = HR Max x 0.6 to HR Max x 0.75

Now, do you bike? run? swim? row?...doesn't matter. You choose! Pick something and just be diligent in hitting your prescribed range of HR. One caveat is that zone 2 training works optimally in mid-long length durations. Therefore, in order to get the most benefits, set aside 20-60+mins to hit a proper zone 2 training exercise. Last note, be mindful that if you go beyond 60mins and can't maintain the same cadence to land yourself in zone 2, then the exercise becomes aerobic (<117bpm for example) and is no longer zone 2. So keeping zone 2 exercises between 20-45mins is probably best.

Whether you are an athlete or simply want to lose a few pounds, you must be doing zone 2 training. It will improve your cardiovascular health, improve your performance on and off the field, and enable you to operate more efficiently.

Zone 2 = improved performance

Zone 2= Improved weight maintenance

Zone 2 = healthy living

More on Zones 1/3/4/5 to come...

"Progression is built through consistency and tested by passion"

JB