Zone 2 Exercise

One of the most important measurements when it comes to improving your metabolic health and your heart fitness is heart rate. Heart rate is an effective way for you to track your fitness gains and also to see how hard you are working. Most importantly, knowing your heart rate will allow you to dial in your exercise for the most metabolically healthy exercise level known as Zone 2.

Five Zones

When it comes to heart rate and exercise, there are five zones: Zone 1 is sleeping, sitting, or an easy stroll. Zone 5 is an all-out effort that you can do for maybe a minute. Zone 2 is a light level of effort, which for many of us is equivalent to a brisk walk or jog. Sometimes referred to as the “Goldilocks Zone,” zone 2 is not too easy and not too hard. Someone who is optimizing for performance will likely move between multiple zones during their workout. A soccer player for example, will play up and down through all the zones.

Benefits of Zone 2

Someone who simply wants to get fit and optimize metabolic health will want to concentrate their efforts on zone 2 and zone 5. Exercising in zone 2 helps you improve metabolic flexibility, develop aerobic endurance, maintain mobility as you age, recover from activity quicker, burn more fat for energy, and reduce risk of common overuse injuries. Another great benefit of Zone 2 training is that it can be achieved by doing a variety of activities, including walking, cycling, swimming, or any other aerobic activity.

Zone 5 will be used sparingly compared to zone 2. It’s an all-out effort that can only be maintained for a very short time—perhaps a minute. If you want to get some of the benefits of zone 5, throw it in at the very end of your zone 2 workout.

Your Capacity Will Increase!

If you are already in great shape, your zone 2 may be an 8-minute mile pace—or even faster for an elite athlete. For a weekend warrior, a fast walk may get you into zone 2. If you haven’t been exercising at all, your zone 2 may be a slow walk. If you are just getting back to exercising regularly, the biggest barrier is overdoing it. You are more susceptible to injury and burnout when exercising in zones 3 or 4, but zone 2 can absolutely get you fit. With consistency, you’ll witness your zone 2 exercise capacity increase! Tomorrow we’ll go into more detail on how to determine your own personal zone 2 so stay tuned!