Zone 2 heart rate training improves blood sugar levels, weight loss, and athletic performance. But how do I know if I’m doing Zone 2 exercises?
Heart rate “zone” training refers to the specific focus on cardiovascular fitness using your heart rate as a guide for intensity. There are five zones of heart rate ranges that affect your lungs, heart, and muscles in different physiological ways. You might be familiar with the terms “light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity.” This is essentially what you are achieving; however, following your heart rate zones will help you understand how intense you are exercising and what your body is using for fuel (fat vs. glucose). This article focuses on Zone 2 heart rate training, its importance, and how to use it today for your health and fitness goals.
Zone 2 training refers to moderate-intensity cardio exercise where you work at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate for long durations. This is considered a “sweet spot” for improving overall health and fitness because it allows you to stay at an intensity for fat oxidation (burning more fat for energy), reduce lactate build-up, and improve your stamina for more exercise all through the growth of your mitochondria.1 Training in these intensities tends to be the most helpful for endurance athletes, individuals wanting to improve their cardiovascular fitness, and those with weight loss goals because of its effect on the cell’s mitochondria and aerobic pathways. Here is a table of each heart rate zone and which fitness goal it targets.
When exercising at a Zone 2 heart rate, we focus on the health and growth of our mitochondria, the “powerhouse” of our cells. Energy (in the form of ATP) is made within each mitochondrion and used by all of the cells in our body to function. The more you exercise in Zone 2, the bigger and more efficient your mitochondria become.1 This allows you to have more endurance and feel more aerobically “fit.” Mitochondria also need to be “flexible,” meaning they must utilize both fat and glucose to create energy depending on the activity we need to perform. Individuals with chronic disease and type 2 diabetes become “inflexible” within their mitochondria and can only use glucose for energy instead of fat.1 This is why Zone 2 exercise is important for improving the health and mitochondrial flexibility in those with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other metabolic dysfunction.1
Mitochondria also help process toxic build-ups such as lactate and hydrogen. The more efficient mitochondria become, the better our bodies are at flushing out lactate (what makes us feel very sore and tired after a workout). If we spend all of our time in HIIT classes but zero time in Zone 2 training, then our body has not been equipped with a foundation to flush out lactate. This is why people have difficulty starting an exercise routine; the soreness from high-intensity exercise requires three to four days to recover before trying again, yet they still feel too fatigued to try. It becomes a never-ending cycle of soreness and failure.
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Exercising in Zone 2 heart rates benefits our overall health, wellness, and athletic performance. Some of these benefits include:9
To find out what your Zone 2 heart rate is, first, you need to calculate your maximum heart rate. There are many ways to do this; some more complicated than others. For a long time, it was recommended to calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. This is no longer proven to be very accurate as there are other factors (i.e., sex, fitness, etc.) that affect our maximum heart rate. Here is a simple yet relatively accurate calculation to use:2
HRmax (males) = 208.609 - 0.716 x age
HRmax (females) = 209.273 - 0.804 x age
For example, a 42-year-old male would have a max heart rate of 208.609 - 0.716 x 42 = 178 bpm. A 56-year-old female would have a max heart rate of 209.273 - 0.804 x 56 = 164 bpm.
It is fairly easy to find yourself doing Zone 2 training with any exercise (i.e., swimming, running, biking, weight lifting, etc.). However, the key is to stay within the 60 to 70 percent max HR range for at least 45 minutes at a time and aim for between 150 to 180 minutes per week.
If you are starting your exercise journey, it might be difficult to maintain Zone 2 heart rates with running or swimming as these activities are more difficult and require much more cardiovascular fitness to feel “easy or moderate.” However, stationary biking or walking might be great places to start since controlling the intensity of these activities is easier. Other ideas include light weight lifting, yoga, pilates, Barre, dancing, or light jogging. Low-impact exercises tend to be the best place to start if you are exercising for overall health, strength, and wellness.
You can use a few simple methods to determine if you are maintaining your Zone 2 heart rate targets while exercising.
Training in Zone 2 heart rates for most of your total exercise time during the week (about 80 percent) is best. Since the American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes per day of moderate-intensity activity for general health and wellness, this equates to about 120 minutes/week of Zone 2 training (or 3 times per week of 40-45 minutes per session). To obtain the full benefits of Zone 2 training, as explained above, most doctors recommend spending at least 45 minutes on this heart rate during a single bout of exercise.4
Overtraining is a syndrome or condition in which an individual has spent too much time doing high-intensity exercise without proper rest, recovery, nutrition, etc. Symptoms of overtraining include:
Overtraining for long periods can lead to major health concerns such as heart damage and arrhythmias, hormone dysfunction, infertility, weakened immune systems, and depression.5, 7, 8 It is important to remember that a balance of physical activity and exercise is key to having optimal health and happiness. There is a reason why people train “smarter, not harder.”
If you have more questions on improving your health, fitness, and nutrition, seek the expert advice of the Signos continuous glucose monitor and Signos team. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can give you the insights to make smarter nutrition and exercise choices. The Signos app provides a unique, personalized program to help you lose weight and reach your health goals. Take this quiz to see if Signos is a good fit for you and reach your goals faster than ever before.
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