Zone 2 Cardio: Pros, Cons and Tips From Experts | Global News Avenue

Whether you’re an endurance athlete or a beginner starting your fitness journey, you’ve probably heard of Zone 2 aerobic exercise. But why does it trend, and more importantly, should you do it?

Area 2 Aerobic exercise is a low-intensity, steady-state exercise that allows you to maintain your efforts for a long time while mainly using fat as fuel. Gene SchaferBe a Nataboc certified sports coach and NSCA certified strength and conditioning expert. It involves exercising at 60-70% of the maximum heart rate and can effectively lose fat, build stamina and improve heart health.

Recently, District 2 Aerobic exercise As more people focus on long-term and sustainable fitness methods rather than pursuing rapid results, they are becoming increasingly popular. Continue reading to see if zone 2 aerobic exercise should be added to your fitness routine.

What is the heart rate area?

“The heart rate area is the range of an individual’s heart rhythm, suggesting the energy process the body uses when exercising. It’s also a measure of how strong someone works hard during exercise, usually the focus of cardiopulmonary breathing training.” Erin MahoneyGeneral Manager of the National Federation of Personal Trainers and a personal trainer with more than 20 years of experience.

From zone 1 to zone 5, there are mainly five heart areas. Each heart region has different intensity levels and energy sources. Here is the breakdown of each area:

Calculate the exact Heart rate For each area you need to first determine the maximum heart rate (MHR). You can calculate the maximum heart rate by formula: 220-your age.

Once you know MHR, you can use it now Karvonen formulathat is:

((Maximum Heart Rate – Rest Heart Rate) x Percent Strength) + Rest Heart Rate = Heart Rate Needed in Your Area

Rest heart rate is the number of times your heart beats while you sit or lie down. As for percentage strength, you need to use the minimum percentage for each area. Then, turn that percentage into a decimal. For example, the low-end area 2 is 60%, which is 0.6.

This formula helps you exercise with the right intensity according to your goal, whether it’s fat loss or endurance construction.

If you have an Apple Watch, you can do it too Enable the device Show you your heart rate area.

What is Zone 2 aerobic exercise?

“Region 2 is performed on a workout of 60% to 70% of the maximum heart rate. It’s a low-intensity, steady-state workout that allows you to keep your efforts for a long time while using mainly fat as fuel. It should feel comfortable enough to have a conversation, but it’s still challenging.”

“Another benefit is the activation of mitochondria in cells. Region 2 training effectively improves mitochondria function and increases the number of mitochondria in cells. This is why Region 2 training has become so popular, especially when discussing lifespan. The health of mitochondria will have a direct impact on the body’s impact on the body,” said Dr. Mike Deibleris an expert in strength and conditions for NSCA certification, and a certified personal trainer for the National Association of Sports Medicine and the American Athletic Council.

Two examples of zone 2 aerobic exercise are:

jogging: This is a slower running speed, most of which are less than 6 miles an hour. It can improve your heart health and strengthen your mood without putting you at risk of injury.

Riding a bicycle: Cycling is a low-impact sport that helps strengthen the lower body without putting a lot of stress on the joints. It can improve your mood and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Area 2 aerobic exercise is usually safe. “Region 2 has less impact on the body. It’s not as stressful as higher intensity training, so we can recover it faster and do it regularly,” Deibler said.

Area 2 Aerobic Welfare

Area 2 training is ideal for increasing stamina and endurance and will help you build a cardio base. Rachel MacPhersonthe American Sports Certified Personal Trainer Council.

In fact, everyone benefits from this particular type of training. It is particularly popular among endurance athletes and those seeking healthy aging benefits. But the reality is that everyone benefits from regular regional training, Deibler said.

Some common benefits include:

• Low impact: Most Area 2 exercises have low impact and reduce stress on the joints, helping to reduce the risk of injury. It also doesn’t tax the body, McPherson said, so it can help you stay active without having to recover too much.
• Improve heart health: Zone 2 cardio can improve your heart and heart health strength.
• Energy saving: Area 2 Aerobic exercise mainly uses fat as an energy source, which may help lower body fat levels and support weight management.
• Easy to execute: You can hit zone 2 cardio with your favorite activities like jogging, cycling or even dancing.
• Faster recovery: You can recover faster from zone 2 aerobic exercise because it puts less stress on the body than high-intensity training.

Area 2 aerobic exercise

Although Area 2 aerobic exercise has several benefits, it may also have some disadvantages. These include:

• More time: It’s time-consuming, Schafer said, because it takes about 45 minutes to work and is actually not ideal for strength training. In addition, for such exercise Long time It can be boring for some people.
• Slower calorie burning: If you are looking for improved body ingredients (such as weight loss), it is not very time-consuming efficiency. According to Mahoney, you can burn more calories in a shorter time by transitioning to higher intensity intervals.
• No effect on anaerobic capacity: It won’t improve your maximum oxygen consumption (vo2 maxMacPherson says) or mine your anaerobic energy system to build your anaerobic capacity, power or speed, such as 4 and 5 zones.
• Almost no improvement in endurance: If you want to increase overall endurance and speed of distance or time, then Zone 2 aerobic exercise won’t increase endurance like you do in Zone 3.

Who is the best place for Zone 2 aerobic exercise?

Mahoney says Zone 2 aerobic exercise is good for most people, but especially those who want to do it in a recreational and more enjoyable way, such as Burpees or intense indoor cycling.

“People of all fitness levels and abilities can do some zone 2 aerobic exercise, because zones can be tailored to your maximum heart rate,” McPherson said. “Runners can use zone 2 aerobic exercise for most training. Weightlifters, athletes, and other active people can use zone 2 aerobic exercise to increase physical exercise, increase blood flow, regulate blood sugar and burn calories without interfering with their main exercise or activity.”

Area 2 aerobic exercise tips

“I recommend using Heart rate monitor First, over time, it can estimate your personal 2 heart rate, as everyone’s rest and maximum heart rate will vary. If you want the most accurate training guide, using a personalized number is ideal. ” MacPherson said.

You can also accept it.”Talk test“If you can’t monitor your heart rate. According to this test, you can speak comfortably while performing zone 2 aerobic exercise, saying about three to five words at a time before you can breathe. However, you won’t be able to sing; be able to sing; indicating that you are not in zone 2 aerobic exercise.

Next, you can choose any activity like jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing. You can perform 30-45 minutes of activities and accumulate from there. You should do three to four activities a week.

The last tip is to do cardio on different days of weightlifting. Suppose you like to do both on the same day. In this case, it is best to do zone 2 aerobic exercise before lifting, especially on the legs (if your cardio includes running/biking or other lower body work), so you don’t overwork and hinder recovery after workout.

Should the average person track their heart rate area?

It is highly recommended to track your heart rate during exercise. Mahoney explains that it not only ensures that you not only achieve your goals during the workout, but also performs proper recovery during interval training before increasing intensity.

This is also a useful mechanism if you overtrain or need to recover your days. She added that if you have trouble recovering from the area or pushing yourself into a specific area, it can take several days.

However, Deibler said: “If you update your training or just retrain, I’ll be working on getting into the habit of regular exercise before worrying about using the heart rate zone. After several months of ongoing training, you might be able to implement it to help continue to see progress in your training.”

Bottom line

Area 2 Aerobic exercise is an effective and sustainable way to lose weight, enhance endurance and improve heart health without burning yourself. You can choose from various activities such as jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing as part of the second zone workout. Additionally, it is very easy to perform and recovers faster than high-intensity exercises. However, it can feel slow, time-consuming and boring. Therefore, we will definitely choose the activities you like to make Zone 2 aerobic exercise pleasing and a long-term part of your fitness routine.