Although it is a morbid thought, the reality is – most of us will statistically die from cardiovascular disease, cancer, or neurodegeneration.
But what if I told you that there is one specific type of exercise that has the ability to reduce your chances of succumbing to the 3 leading causes of death?
And the great news is, if you start now – you can actually drastically reduce the probability of succumbing to these diseases.
The majority of my clients are hitting their middle aged years and that’s when the doctor starts telling them that they have metabolic risk factors such as high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol.
And these risk factors are precisely at the root of the three major causes of death, which as I mentioned are – cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration.
But even if you are not middle aged or don’t have these risk factors, this stuff will affect you in your lifetime so it warrants taking action now.
Zone 2 Training
The single best type of exercise for improving your health is called Zone 2.
And guess what?
It doesn’t take a lot of effort at all!
It’s a low intensity form of cardiovascular exercise that yields immense dividends when it comes to improving your health.
Zone 2 training improves all of your metabolic biomarkers such as blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids.
And not to mention, it gets you super fit!
How to Tell if You Are in Zone 2
Zone 2 can be defined by 2 metrics.
The more accurate and fancy way which uses a lactate meter.
And the more user friendly way which simply involves monitoring heart rate and perceived exertion.
I’ll briefly go through the fancy way so you get a better idea as to how it relates to metabolic health.
Energy Systems and Zone 2
Cellular respiration is the process by which your body makes energy, or ATP from the food that you consume.
And this ATP is used to fuel muscle contractions when you exercise.
Different muscle fiber types prefer different fuel sources.
And when they are burning this fuel, it creates a byproduct called lactate.
And lactate is something that we can measure in your blood with a lactate meter.
This is useful because it tells us what type of fuel your body is burning at a given exercise intensity.
At lower intensities, your body burns fat as fuel and will produce less lactate.
At higher intensities, your body burns carbohydrates and will produce more lactate.
What Fuel Does Zone 2 Burn?
For Zone 2, we want to be burning fat as fuel which corresponds to a specific blood lactate level.
And this lactate level is between 1.5 – 2.0mmol.
Burning fat is ideal when it comes to targeting fat loss and improving your overall metabolic health.
I won’t go into it in depth here, but Zone 2 specifically trains your mitochondria to become more efficient which equals better metabolic health and less risk for disease.
So, the bottom line when it comes to lactate is that if you stay between 1.5 – 2.0mmol you are officially in Zone 2.
Easier Way of Finding Zone 2
But the reality is most people don’t want to use a blood lactate meter to find out if they are in Zone 2 because it can be a little tedious.
So, the next best way to approximate Zone 2 is by using heart rate and also monitoring your exertion.
The calculation is simple.
(180 – your age) gives you your Zone 2 target heart rate.
So if you are 50 years old, your Zone 2 target heart rate would be 130 beats per minute.
You can also use a more subjective measurement like your perceived exertion.
Simply put, Zone 2 is the highest intensity you can maintain while still holding a conversation.
Zone 2 Frequency & Duration For Optimal Health Benefits
I’ve used Zone 2 training to transform not only my own health but all of my clients as well.
They have all seen massive improvements in their health and body composition just by implementing Zone 2 at a frequency of 3 times per week.
You really need three days per week to see noticeable improvements.
You also need to perform it at a duration of 45 minutes – 1 hour.
Now I know that seems like a lot, but most people that have not exercised in awhile can achieve their Zone 2 heart rate by briskly walking.
It is not a super challenging type of cardio.
Remember, we want to intentionally be at a lower intensity in order to burn fat as fuel.
If you go too hard, you’ll actually be burning carbohydrates as fuel and you won’t be training the energy system which improves mitochondrial efficiency, a requisite to optimal metabolic health.
I prescribe most of my clients 3 days of Zone 2 at 45 minutes in duration and 3 days of strength training.
These two simple strategies always completely transform their health and body composition.
I also use this strategy to stay healthy and lean all year round.
It really is that simple.
If you need any help please reach out in the comments below or send me an email.
I’d be happy to help you reclaim your health, get back in shape, and start feeling better about yourself and your body.
I’ll see you next time, cheers.