Everyone's Doing Zone 2. Are They Missing Zone 5?

Nobody tells you this. The longevity research on cardio has shifted. Zone 2 still matters. But if you're time constrained and want to extend your life, there's a more efficient path. Most business leaders are disciplined as hell and still leaving performance on the table. I'm Todd Vanderhigh and this channel is about the physiology than ever taught you and why fixing it changes everything. Zone 5 cardio has dominated the health optimization conversation for the last h it's got to be three to five years. Peter Aia built a following around it. Every Longevity podcast covers it, including this one. And it's genuinely valuable. But a question is emerging. For someone who is time constrained, that'd be you. Is zone 2 the most efficient use of your cardio time? Or is zone 5 true highintensity and miserable intervals? Today, I want to lay out the science, design a mini experiment you can run in yourself, and give you a framework for thinking more about this. But let's start with what zone two actually does. Zone two is steadystate aerobic work at about 60 to 70 70% of your max heart rate. The kind where you can you can hold a conversation while you're working. Typically 45 to as much as 90 minutes as little as 30 sometimes as well. Let me explain what it does on a cellular level. It builds mitochondrial density and more mitochondria per cell you become better at burning fat for fuel. It also improves something called lactate clearance, which is your body's ability to get better at recycling lactate before it actually starts to accumulate. It also trains your aerobic base, which is the foundation on which everything else is built. So clearly, it's important. The research is solid. Zone 2 is genuinely protective for cardiovascular health, metabolic health, and longevity. But here's the problem for us, for you, the the listener, and for me certainly in my life. Four 45 minute zone 2 sessions a week is three hours of cardio. And for most of you, including me, that shit's not happening consistently. Now, zone five is on the it's nearly on the other end of the spectrum. Not completely, but but nearly. Zone five is almost max effort. It's 90 to 100% of max heart rate. It's the kind of work that makes you you feel like you want to stop. It's the kind of work that you avoid. uh true V2 max intervals are physically miserable but you know there's a benefit to doing physically miserable things you as you've heard me talk about you have an appreciation for the things that are not miserable that are pleasurable and joyous those the appreciation for those things increase if you have periods of time in your life where you're doing things that you really don't want to do now the most studied protocol within the zone five category is the Norwegian 4x4 it's four fourminute bouts at 85 to 95% of max heart rate with three minute co recovery sections in between. So the total work time with the recovery inter intervals is 28 minutes. The reason I like it, well the only reason I like it is because it's short. It doesn't take a lot of time. You accomplish a lot in a very short period of time. Well, there's a second thing I love about it as well. When you're doing it, you can't think about anything else. You can't. And in that regard, it is meditative. It pulls you into the present moment. You can't think about what you're going to be doing next. You can't worry about what happened in the past. You are in the moment when you do zone 5 cardio. And for most business leaders, it's really, really hard to get into that state. So, it's a helpful tool psychologically and emotionally because it enables you to get into that state. All the physiological benefits is what we're really focused on today. So, let's talk about what that means. Zone five cardio is the primary driver of V2 max improvement which is one of the things that we measure to determine how long your life is going to be and how what the quality of your life is going to be like. It it stresses cardiac output and oxygen delivery at at the ceiling of your capacity and and can very slowly lift that ceiling and it also produces adaptations that zone 2 alone cannot do. Uh the research on V2 max and longevity is unambiguous. Dr. Peter Aia calls it the most powerful longevity biioarker we have. And moving from the bottom quartile of V2 max to above average is associated with, brace yourself, a 45% reduction in all cause mortality. That's a bigger effect than something like quitting smoking. So keep smoking and do V2 max training. So zone 5 cardio raises V2 max faster than zone 2 does period in a shorter period of time in shorter intervals, no pun intended. And you can do a mini study test yourself. Here's how you can run this test for yourself over an 8week period. You need a V2 max estimate at the start and at the end. You can use your Apple Watch, Garmin, Polar. They give you V2 max test results. It's not perfect, but you know, you'll get a directionally accurate and consistent measurement. Even better is to actually go to a place that does V2 max testing. So, group A, zone 2 focus, do three times a week of zone 2 sessions per week, 45 minutes each. Keep your heart rate at 60 to 70% of max. No high intensity during the eight weeks whatsoever. Reset V2 max at 8 weeks. See how you did. The next group, zone five focus, two time a week, four by4 sessions of Norwegian intervals. It's a total time of 35 to 40 minutes per session, including the warm-up and the cool down. One easy 20-minute walk or light movement session per week, just one. No sustained zone 2 cardio whatsoever. Retest V2 max at 8 weeks. And then the last group, combine them, which is what I would actually recommend and what I actually do myself. Two times a week of zone two cardio, 45 minutes each. One time a week of zone five cardio, Norwegian 4x4s per week. Retest again at eight weeks. This is what happened with me and this is what I believe will happen with you. Group C wins on V2 max improvement. Group B surprises people with how much it moves in less time. And group A improves, but it plateaus faster. You track three things. B2 max estimate, resting heart rate, and and how you feel during your daily activity. This is a really important one. What I think you'll notice if you're a business leader like me is that those long days, at the end of those long days, you're still filled with energy. You can still focus. You can still emote. You can still debate. You can argue with your attorneys or whatever it is that you're doing at 10:00 at night. That last bit of course is subjective, but it does matter within the confines of your motive to do anything like this at all. Anyway, the only issue that I see with doing fully zone five cardio or a blend of zone 2 and zone 5 cardio within your work life is that you cannot do anything other than zone 5 cardio when you're doing zone 5 cardio. When I'm doing zone two cardio, I can conduct Zoom meetings. I can speak with people over the phone. I can continue to be productive. It doesn't have to be a break in my busy schedule. And that makes it easier to be more consistent. All right, let's talk about a framework on how to do this. If you have unlimited time, and I know that that probably is not you. Zone two is your base. Zone five is your ceiling razor. It's a classic 8020 split. 80% easy, 20% hard. But if you're time constrained, which is most of you, two zone five sessions per week will do more longevity work than four zone 2 sessions in less time. Don't skip zone 2 entirely, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good. And if you're starting from scratch, which is probably most of you, zone two is your first step. Build the base before you stress the ceiling. Zone five on a weak aerobic base produces diminishing returns and higher injury risk. Also important detail, my favorite my favorite zone 5 tool is the Aerodine. It's a an exercise bike. You've seen videos of it. You've probably seen one in your gym. It looks like a regular exercise bike, but it's got handles that swing back and forth with the pedals. It's a miserable piece of equipment. There's a fan typically on it, so it's a little bit loud. I absolutely hate using it, but because it's it's full body in nature, not just legs like on an ordinary bike and and some of you have probably seen me using it because it's full body. Uh it's not doesn't have the pounding that you typically get if you're going for a run or running on a treadmill. Uh and and as a result, it's not as aggressive as sprints. You can pull a hamstring, you can injure your knee, your ankle, your feet. So, it minimizes the risk of injury because it is on a bike and it's helpful for old dudes like me, but has the same outcome associated with doing something like a sprint, but obviously much safer. It It also is quite small. It takes up about eight square feet and costs about $1,000. So, if you have the means, drop one into your homes, drop one into your offices, wherever you go for easy access. you can just pop on that thing and in 25 minutes you can get a partial zone 5 cardio workout. Uh you'll be a little bit wrecked, but at least you can you can squeeze it in in between appointments or whatever. And like I said, zone 2 cardio is easy to accomplish on an aerodine because you can use it while you're actually conducting meetings. So to wrap this up, the the answer isn't zone two or zone 5. It's understanding what each one does and and using them intentionally. Zone two builds the engine. Zone 5 raises the ceiling. Or if you want to use 100% car analogies, zone 2 is like creating a Prius, so you get incredible gas mileage. And zone 5 is like turning that Prius into a Ferrari. You have way greater top end. Having both as a human is ideal. The ratio depends on your time, your current fitness levels, and what your data says. So go get your V2 max tested. Track it every eight weeks if you can. Let the numbers tell you where to put your energy. And remember, health is a skill and this one comes with a measurable outcome. If you like today's information, go ahead and click like and subscribe. If you want to learn more about Stark, you can find us at stark.health. That's stark.alth. And you can also find me on Instagram, testosterone. That's te s ne testoone.

Nobody tells you this. The longevity research on cardio has shifted. Zone 2 still matters. But if you're time constrained and want to extend your life, there's a more efficient path. Most business leaders are disciplined as hell and still leaving performance on the table. I'm Todd Vanderhigh and this channel is about the physiology than ever taught you and why fixing it changes everything. Zone 5 cardio has dominated the health optimization conversation for the last h it's got to be three to five years. Peter Aia built a following around it. Every Longevity podcast covers it, including this one. And it's genuinely valuable. But a question is emerging. For someone who is time constrained, that'd be you. Is zone 2 the most efficient use of your cardio time? Or is zone 5 true highintensity and miserable intervals? Today, I want to lay out the science, design a mini experiment you can run in yourself, and give you a framework for thinking more about this. But let's start with what zone two actually does. Zone two is steadystate aerobic work at about 60 to 70 70% of your max heart rate. The kind where you can you can hold a conversation while you're working. Typically 45 to as much as 90 minutes as little as 30 sometimes as well. Let me explain what it does on a cellular level. It builds mitochondrial density and more mitochondria per cell you become better at burning fat for fuel. It also improves something called lactate clearance, which is your body's ability to get better at recycling lactate before it actually starts to accumulate. It also trains your aerobic base, which is the foundation on which everything else is built. So clearly, it's important. The research is solid. Zone 2 is genuinely protective for cardiovascular health, metabolic health, and longevity. But here's the problem for us, for you, the the listener, and for me certainly in my life. Four 45 minute zone 2 sessions a week is three hours of cardio. And for most of you, including me, that shit's not happening consistently. Now, zone five is on the it's nearly on the other end of the spectrum. Not completely, but but nearly. Zone five is almost max effort. It's 90 to 100% of max heart rate. It's the kind of work that makes you you feel like you want to stop. It's the kind of work that you avoid. uh true V2 max intervals are physically miserable but you know there's a benefit to doing physically miserable things you as you've heard me talk about you have an appreciation for the things that are not miserable that are pleasurable and joyous those the appreciation for those things increase if you have periods of time in your life where you're doing things that you really don't want to do now the most studied protocol within the zone five category is the Norwegian 4x4 it's four fourminute bouts at 85 to 95% of max heart rate with three minute co recovery sections in between. So the total work time with the recovery inter intervals is 28 minutes. The reason I like it, well the only reason I like it is because it's short. It doesn't take a lot of time. You accomplish a lot in a very short period of time. Well, there's a second thing I love about it as well. When you're doing it, you can't think about anything else. You can't. And in that regard, it is meditative. It pulls you into the present moment. You can't think about what you're going to be doing next. You can't worry about what happened in the past. You are in the moment when you do zone 5 cardio. And for most business leaders, it's really, really hard to get into that state. So, it's a helpful tool psychologically and emotionally because it enables you to get into that state. All the physiological benefits is what we're really focused on today. So, let's talk about what that means. Zone five cardio is the primary driver of V2 max improvement which is one of the things that we measure to determine how long your life is going to be and how what the quality of your life is going to be like. It it stresses cardiac output and oxygen delivery at at the ceiling of your capacity and and can very slowly lift that ceiling and it also produces adaptations that zone 2 alone cannot do. Uh the research on V2 max and longevity is unambiguous. Dr. Peter Aia calls it the most powerful longevity biioarker we have. And moving from the bottom quartile of V2 max to above average is associated with, brace yourself, a 45% reduction in all cause mortality. That's a bigger effect than something like quitting smoking. So keep smoking and do V2 max training. So zone 5 cardio raises V2 max faster than zone 2 does period in a shorter period of time in shorter intervals, no pun intended. And you can do a mini study test yourself. Here's how you can run this test for yourself over an 8week period. You need a V2 max estimate at the start and at the end. You can use your Apple Watch, Garmin, Polar. They give you V2 max test results. It's not perfect, but you know, you'll get a directionally accurate and consistent measurement. Even better is to actually go to a place that does V2 max testing. So, group A, zone 2 focus, do three times a week of zone 2 sessions per week, 45 minutes each. Keep your heart rate at 60 to 70% of max. No high intensity during the eight weeks whatsoever. Reset V2 max at 8 weeks. See how you did. The next group, zone five focus, two time a week, four by4 sessions of Norwegian intervals. It's a total time of 35 to 40 minutes per session, including the warm-up and the cool down. One easy 20-minute walk or light movement session per week, just one. No sustained zone 2 cardio whatsoever. Retest V2 max at 8 weeks. And then the last group, combine them, which is what I would actually recommend and what I actually do myself. Two times a week of zone two cardio, 45 minutes each. One time a week of zone five cardio, Norwegian 4x4s per week. Retest again at eight weeks. This is what happened with me and this is what I believe will happen with you. Group C wins on V2 max improvement. Group B surprises people with how much it moves in less time. And group A improves, but it plateaus faster. You track three things. B2 max estimate, resting heart rate, and and how you feel during your daily activity. This is a really important one. What I think you'll notice if you're a business leader like me is that those long days, at the end of those long days, you're still filled with energy. You can still focus. You can still emote. You can still debate. You can argue with your attorneys or whatever it is that you're doing at 10:00 at night. That last bit of course is subjective, but it does matter within the confines of your motive to do anything like this at all. Anyway, the only issue that I see with doing fully zone five cardio or a blend of zone 2 and zone 5 cardio within your work life is that you cannot do anything other than zone 5 cardio when you're doing zone 5 cardio. When I'm doing zone two cardio, I can conduct Zoom meetings. I can speak with people over the phone. I can continue to be productive. It doesn't have to be a break in my busy schedule. And that makes it easier to be more consistent. All right, let's talk about a framework on how to do this. If you have unlimited time, and I know that that probably is not you. Zone two is your base. Zone five is your ceiling razor. It's a classic 8020 split. 80% easy, 20% hard. But if you're time constrained, which is most of you, two zone five sessions per week will do more longevity work than four zone 2 sessions in less time. Don't skip zone 2 entirely, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good. And if you're starting from scratch, which is probably most of you, zone two is your first step. Build the base before you stress the ceiling. Zone five on a weak aerobic base produces diminishing returns and higher injury risk. Also important detail, my favorite my favorite zone 5 tool is the Aerodine. It's a an exercise bike. You've seen videos of it. You've probably seen one in your gym. It looks like a regular exercise bike, but it's got handles that swing back and forth with the pedals. It's a miserable piece of equipment. There's a fan typically on it, so it's a little bit loud. I absolutely hate using it, but because it's it's full body in nature, not just legs like on an ordinary bike and and some of you have probably seen me using it because it's full body. Uh it's not doesn't have the pounding that you typically get if you're going for a run or running on a treadmill. Uh and and as a result, it's not as aggressive as sprints. You can pull a hamstring, you can injure your knee, your ankle, your feet. So, it minimizes the risk of injury because it is on a bike and it's helpful for old dudes like me, but has the same outcome associated with doing something like a sprint, but obviously much safer. It It also is quite small. It takes up about eight square feet and costs about $1,000. So, if you have the means, drop one into your homes, drop one into your offices, wherever you go for easy access. you can just pop on that thing and in 25 minutes you can get a partial zone 5 cardio workout. Uh you'll be a little bit wrecked, but at least you can you can squeeze it in in between appointments or whatever. And like I said, zone 2 cardio is easy to accomplish on an aerodine because you can use it while you're actually conducting meetings. So to wrap this up, the the answer isn't zone two or zone 5. It's understanding what each one does and and using them intentionally. Zone two builds the engine. Zone 5 raises the ceiling. Or if you want to use 100% car analogies, zone 2 is like creating a Prius, so you get incredible gas mileage. And zone 5 is like turning that Prius into a Ferrari. You have way greater top end. Having both as a human is ideal. The ratio depends on your time, your current fitness levels, and what your data says. So go get your V2 max tested. Track it every eight weeks if you can. Let the numbers tell you where to put your energy. And remember, health is a skill and this one comes with a measurable outcome. If you like today's information, go ahead and click like and subscribe. If you want to learn more about Stark, you can find us at stark.health. That's stark.alth. And you can also find me on Instagram, testosterone. That's te s ne testoone.