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Intensity is important, thankfully you don’t need much!

Intensity is Important, Thankfully You Don’t Need Much!

Written by Jon Bula: Masters Athlete, Cat 2 Cyclist, MSc in Exercise Physiology

 

My previous post talked about Zone 2 training. While this training intensity should make up the bulk of your cardiovascular fitness training, the other important training zone for a healthy life is Zone 5. 

Zone 5 is your high intensity zone (think HIIT). You don’t need to train very much at this intensity, but it is still important to hit. Imagine a scenario where you have to shovel a large quantity of snow, or carry heavy luggage up a couple flights of stairs. To lead a long and healthy life maintaining the ability to do work at this intensity greatly increases the quality of those extra years you are working to gain. 

Zone 5 training is best done as interval work. Typically 1:1 work to rest. So you would run, hike, ride, swim hard for a minute then recover for a minute. Zone 5 intervals are typically done at around 4 minutes of work with 4 minutes of recovery, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 6 sets (16 to 24 minutes of work and the same time for recovery). The intensity should be hard, but not so hard that you can’t last the entire 4 minutes. Your last couple of sets should be close to the effort you can do during the first. 

Zone 5 exercise needs only be done 1-2 times a week. The main purpose is to improve the glycolytic capacity of your muscles. This has been shown to reduce with age and inactivity. Having healthy mitochondria that support efficient glycolytic capacity is highly correlated to a long healthy life. Hard work pays off!

If you are new to intervals and Zone 5 training, don’t worry about starting at 4 minute efforts right away. Keep the work to rest 1:1 and start with 60 second or even 30 second intervals. Build up to 4 minute efforts over the course of a few weeks. 

Below are a couple podcasts by Peter Attia. He is and MD and pioneer in health and longevity. I really enjoy his Podcast thedrive.  If you are interested in being healthier longer and later into life, this Podcast is for you!

How often should you be doing Zone 5 training? | Iñigo San-Millán, Ph.D. & Peter Attia, M.D.

Peter Attia on Zone 5 & Anaerobic Training Protocols

Zone 2 Training Demystified

Zone 2 Training Demystified

Written by Jon Bula: Masters Athlete, Cat 2 Cyclist, MSc in Exercise Physiology

 

Many of us have heard about Zone 2 training, or aerobic base training. The challenge lies in understanding how to use it effectively and determining the actual intensity required to be in Zone 2. I’m going try and really simplify things for you in this post and I’ll provide some great links if you would like to dive deeper. 

What is Zone 2?

  • It is an exercise intensity that elicits a heart rate around 70% of your maximum heart
  • There is large variability in maximum heart rate, so without proper physiological testing it is very difficult to to say exactly where your Zone 2 sits
  • The best method to determine it without proper physiological testing is to use the talk test while exercising
    • Imagine you are doing an indoor bike ride while participating in a 60-minute phone meeting. While in Zone 2 you should be able to carry on a conversation for the entire meeting, but the person on the other end of the line should be able to tell that you are exercising. If someone can’t tell you are exercising from hearing your breathing then you are likely in Zone 1, if you can’t participate in the conversation without gasping you are above Zone 2.  It’s actually that simple. 
  • The tendency for most people is to work too hard while attempting a zone 2 workout
  • Zone 2 is range: as an example here are my numbers as determined through laboratory testing:
    • Max HR 186 
    • Zone 2 HR range: 132 – 148, or 70-79% of my max HR – note, I’ve trained several years to improve Zone 2 as such my top end of that range is a bit higher than average 

Why do Zone 2?

  • If you want to be fast at the end of a race, do more Zone 2
  • If you want to recover from a hard effort faster, do more Zone 2
  • If you want to live a longer and healthier life, do more Zone 2
  • If you want to greatly reduce your chances of heart disease, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, cancer, chronic inflammation, among others, do more Zone 2

How does Zone 2 do all of that?

I’m not going to go too deep into the physiological processes behind all of this, I’ll leave that to you to investigate further the links I’ve suggested. These are the take home points:

  • Mitochondria (think of these as the powerhouse or engine room of our cells) are susceptible to training as well as inactivity. 
  • Zone 2 training is the intensity that triggers improvements in Mitochondrial health and function – training above this intensity does not (intense training improves other things and is definitely important/beneficial)
  • Improved mitochondrial health is highly correlated to longer healthier lives
  • Zone 2 training: 
    • Increases the number of mitochondria – more is better
    • Increases the flexibility of mitochondria: poor mitochondrial flexibility leads to a poor ability to use fat as a fuel and increases reliance on glucose – this can make us want to eat more and crave sugars
    • Increases efficiency of mitochondria: better able to use fat and lactate as a fuel
  • When you have good mitochondrial health you fortify your body against most chronic diseases. It really is one of the key ways to live healthier for longer. 
  • When you have poor mitochondrial health (this can occur alarmingly quickly from inactivity or even by only training at high intensities) you can quickly become insulin resistant and this can cascade into many other health issues over time. 

How much Zone 2?

  • Endurance athletes should spend roughly 70% of their training time in Zone 2 (more if training volumes are high)
  • To lead a healthier lifestyle accumulating 3-4 hours of exercise per week at this intensity is key
  • It would appear that you can’t really do too much Zone 2. Unlike high intensity training, Zone 2 work doesn’t have the same impact on the body and doesn’t require the same amount of recovery
  • Zone 2 is just one aspect of training, but it is a crucial part that is often overlooked or done improperly (intensity too high)

 

Train for a better life: train more in Zone 2!

Links:

https://www.howardluksmd.com/zone-2-hr-training-live-longer-less-injury/

https://peterattiamd.com/live-qa-on-zone-2-exercise/

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-peter-attia-drive/id1400828889?i=1000661504448

https://peterattiamd.com/how-to-find-your-zone-2-without-using-a-lactate-meter/