According to longevity experts, there is a 50% reduction in death from all causes over the next decade among people with below average cardiovascular health compared to people with low cardiovascular health.
By improving from low cardiovascular health to above average, there is about a 70% reduction.
Cardiovascular health is measured through VO2 max, which is effectively your body’s ability to intake oxygen and send it to the muscles as energy. The higher the number, the better.
Among elite athletes, long distance cross country skiers have the highest VO2 max on average compared to other athletes, even above marathon runners.
This should be no surprise, since the skiers incorporate more muscle groups in their performance compared to the marathon runner.
So, how do we improve our cardiovascular health?
Cardiovascular exercise of course, i.e., walking, jogging, swimming, biking, rowing, or cross country skiing. Take your pick.
However, as we age, we must strike a balance between our cardio exercise and our strength training.
Too much cardio exercise of the wrong type will cause you to lose muscle mass by catabolizing muscle tissue to produce energy.
This is why marathon runners have very little muscle mass.
Zone 2 Cardio Exercise
Zone 2 cardio is the easiest, but most boring form of cardio exercise. However, it is the best place to start when building your cardiovascular fitness foundation.
Cardio conditioning is generally broken down into five levels, with Zone 1 being the lowest and easiest level, akin to going for a walk, to Zone 5 (or 6, depending on who you are talking to), which involves the most intense and exhaustive effort.
These training zones are based upon your heart rate as you are training. The higher the rate, the higher the zone.
Zone 2 training is done with a heart rate that is around 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate.
A rough way to calculate your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220.
Then, multiply that figure by 70% to get your top line Zone 2 figure.
So, if you are 50 years old, your maximum heart rate will be somewhere around 170.
If you are in pretty good cardio shape already, it may be somewhat higher. If you are untrained, it may be a good bit lower.
Zone 2 is best for burning fat
Zone 2 has been identified as the level that is most efficient at burning fat, building long term stamina and endurance, and improving longevity.
Over the years, exercise scientists have developed “training zones” to help athletes and coaches understand which energy systems and muscle fibers they’re using at a given exercise intensity level.
One such system divides training intensity into six zones. Zone 1 is the lowest intensity (sitting down, walking around your house, etc.), and Zone 6 is the highest intensity (all-out sprinting, deadlifting a heavy set of five, etc.).
- Zone 1 Energy source mainly used: fat
- Zone 2 Energy source mainly used: fat
- Zone 3 Energy source mainly used: fat trending into carbohydrates
- Zone 4 Energy source mainly used: carbohydrates
- Zone 5 Energy source mainly used: carbohydrates
- Zone 6 Energy source mainly used: carbohydrates trending into creatine phosphate
To understand how Zone 2 cardio works, it is necessary to understand how your body uses food to power your existence.
All cells in your body are fueled by adenosine triphosphate or ATP.
When you walk, you’re using ATP. Sitting on your ass? Powered by ATP. Doing heavy squats? ATP.
ATP can be produced in three ways:
- Through oxygen-dependent metabolism that utilizes fatty acids
- Through non-oxygen-dependent glucose metabolism
- Through the recycling of previously-stored ATP
As you can see, the fuel used by your body to create ATP changes with the intensity of the exercise.
In Zone 2, your exercise intensity is at a level in which you are stimulating your cells’ mitochondrial function the most.
You can meet your body’s demand for ATP using only fat and oxygen in your mitochondria.
Once you start working harder, your body starts to use more carbs in your cells’ cytosol to create ATP through the process of glycolysis.
The interesting thing is that Zone 2 exercise is actually quite easy.
However, staying in Zone 2 is also quite boring, as you will effectively work at the same pace, whether jogging, cycling, etc.
It’s also more difficult to stay in the proper zone unless you are using a piece of equipment such as a treadmill or stationary bike.
Lastly, the best information I have found on this subject suggests that you need a minimum of 2 hours of Zone 2 Cardio per week to start getting the most benefit.
The ideal range is 3 to 4 hours, and the ideal session length is 60 to 90 minutes.
With that said, you will still get some benefit with shorter sessions, but you will need them to be at least 45 minutes.
So, these Zone 2 sessions are long and boring. But…
Benefits of Zone 2 Cardio Exercise
Zone 2 cardio exercise has a number of important benefits.
First, Zone 2 is the level at which you’re stimulating your mitochondria the most to create ATP.
As you spend more time in Zone 2, your body will respond by creating more mitochondria to power your Zone 2 activity.
The more mitochondria you have, the more you’re able to create ATP through fat oxidation. And remember, your mitochondria can make a lot of ATP.
Zone 2 training not only increases the number of your mitochondria but improves their efficiency as well.
The more you exercise in Zone 2, the better your body gets at burning fat for energy.
The body’s inefficiency at using fat for fuel contributes to many health problems like insulin resistance, dementia, and even cancer.
Secondly, if you’re an endurance athlete, spending more time in Zone 2 will allow you to go faster for longer.
Zone 2 cardio has been used for decades by elite athletes.
One of the things that separates professional runners from amateurs is that the professionals spend as much as 80% of their workout time in Zone 2.
In contrast, the weekend warrior runner will spend most of his time in zones 3 and 4. Pros go slow (relative to their fitness, of course).
Next, Zone 2 cardio also gives your heart and blood system a workout.
Your heart will get stronger and will require fewer pumps to pump blood; it will become more efficient.
Your body also expands its vascular system, better enabling it to deliver oxygenated blood to the different parts of your body.
This improvement in cardiovascular fitness will result in better performance when exercising as well as a lower resting heart rate.
An average adult’s resting heart rate is 60-100 bpm.
Next, Zone 2 cardio helps you can improve your overall work capacity.
This is something I’ve personally noticed since I started incorporating Zone 2 cardio into my own program.
Zone 2 cardio can help you recover more quickly between lifting sets which in turn can allow you to do more work in a training session.
Lastly, Zone 2 cardio helps prevent injury and aids recovery.
Zone 2 stresses the body very little. It thus enables you to add volume to your training routine without getting sidelined by injuries or fatigue.
Even after doing a long session of Zone 2 cardio one day, you’ll be ready for another the next.
Zone 2 cardio also serves as great “active recovery exercise.”
When you’re in Zone 2, you get the blood pumping, which delivers nutrients to your muscles to help them bounce back from a weightlifting session.
Final Thoughts
If you need to lose weight, then Zone 2 cardio should definitely be at the top of your list.
Zone 2 cardio will also work well for people who are prioritizing building strength and muscle.
In that regard, I would recommend 2 to 3 sessions per week.
Over time we’ll look at some other cardio exercise strategies to implement in your training.
The bottom line is that Zone 2 Cardio should play an important role in your overall training program.
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