💊Daily Pill: What is Zone 2 Cardio?
The Foundation of Your Endurance Training
The Daily Pill is a series of short posts where I share the definition of a daily term I think you should know. Read it every morning and build up your medical vocabulary.
❤️Zone 2 Cardio:
Low-intensity, steady-state (LISS) training method that keeps your heart rate at 60–70% of its maximum. It turns out at lower intensities (zones 1 and 2) the body burns fat as fuel for exercise, whereas at higher intensities (zones 3 and 4) it burns carbohydrates. Hence, Zone 2 Cardio is a super effective method for improving endurance and fat burning without stressing the body too much. If you look at your cardio training zones like a pyramid, zone 2 cardio represents the foundation or the endurance base of your training program. You need between 150 to 200 min of Zone 2 cardio per week.
🤯Trivia:
The concept of exercise zones is rooted in the work of a Swedish physiologist named Per-Olof Åstrand. In the mid-20th century, Åstrand's research helped lay the groundwork for what we now understand as the different "zones" of exercise intensity. So, every time you monitor your heart rate to stay in zone 2, you're applying principles that go back decades to Åstrand's foundational research