Issue #31: Your Zone 2 Exercise Plan
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, September 27th. That's 9/27 - we're number nerds...if you were keeping track, Max got married on 9/10/11 (yes - it was a Saturday). So we tend to see number patterns throughout the day - so today we naturally go with 9 * 3 = 27.
Enough of that - let's get into some topics that actually help us.
Anyone kick off the week with the 5X challenge yesterday??
That's right - check out a healthy frozen yogurt dessert, and anyone ready to hike 2,000 miles?
The world's fastest mile time set by Hicham El Guerrouj at the Roma Golden Gala in 1999. Check out the race (it's less than 4 min 🙂) - not quite the entertainment of an Usain Bolt 100, but pretty exciting. You have to wonder, without Noah Ngeny pushing him, would El Guerrouj have set the record? And just like Bolt, did either man break a sweat?
HOW Exercise Helps Us
So exercise is a miracle drug (Issue #30), but why? What's really happening - why is moving or breaking a sweat so good for us?
We're not settling for the headlines "exercise is good for us" - we're digging into the biology to know what's happening to our body.
Why do we feel more energy, more focused, and increase our odds for better longevity?
Lower Blood Pressure: Our Autonomic Nervous System controls our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, digestion, and sexual arousal. Our sympathetic (fight or flight) system stimulates blood pressure and parasympathetic (rest & digest) system lowers it - all through the vagus nerve.
Exercise boosts our heart rate and how much blood is pumped with each beat. This increases how much oxygen we can take in (VO2max).* The higher the VO2max the better our nervous system can function and is properly balanced - leading to lower resting blood pressure.
If you'll indulge us to geek out a little bit -
All of this goes down to the microscopic level of the 30+ trillion cells in our body.
According to David Sinclair in Lifespan, the stress imposed from exercise raises NAD levels, which activates our survival network (hormesis) - forcing our muscles to grow extra oxygen-carrying capillaries and boosting the activity of the mitochondria (energy generators of our cells).
More Good Cholesterol: Reading our cholesterol test results can be a challenge, plus this science is always changing. But research consistently points to the positive connection between health & high HDL, which absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver.
More than any medication, exercise has been shown to significantly increase our HDL!
Weight Loss: And yes, it is true that exercise fends off diabetes and keeps our weight in check by improving the processing of glucose in our bodies and insulin sensitivity - this is even true for Type 1 Diabetics.
What is Zone 2?
So let's get some more of it! Building off yesterday's plan, let's step it up today.
Daily movement is essential - but not enough to become a high performer when it comes to fitness. We want to keep moving to the right of the curve!
So what does Zone 2 exercise really mean?
There are 4 ways to assess if you’re in Zone 2:
Heart Rate - % of Max (recall from Issue #10; see pyramid below)
You can still talk while engaged in the activity
You feel you can continue for 30-45 minutes (rate of perceived exertion)
METs (building on what we talked about yesterday in Issue #30)
If you want to continue using METs as a measurement for tracking your activity -
Zone 2 exercises will be in the 6-10 range.
Zone 2 Plan
So now we know how to determine if we’re in Zone 2 - ask yourself:
How much time are you working out in Zone 2 (1 hr, 2 hrs, 3 hrs per week)?
What activities can you do that you enjoy and keep you in the Zone?
Everyone has a different starting point - but...
The goal should be to get to 3-4 hrs/week of Zone 2 exercise.
For more analytical athletes, this might be solely running and biking with tracking to measure time, distance, maybe power (watts).
Your Choice: But don’t let that limit your activity of choice - running, swimming, pickleball, basketball, tennis, flag football, soccer, hiking, biking, rollerblading (I still see some blades out there), dancing, skiing - are all great options to get into Zone 2.
What did I miss??
Pro Tip #1: 3-4 hrs/week is a lot of time. You’re not going to stick with it if you don’t want to do it. Find a way to look forward to (even crave) Zone 2 training. Not just the outcome - yes, you’ll have more energy, your mind will be more focused, and you’ll sleep better that night - but enjoy the actual activity.
Pro Tip #2: Don’t worry about tracking every min of every workout - unless that’s your thing. But do keep track of the total minutes each week in Zone 2 until you feel like you’ve got a consistent schedule of 3-4 hrs/week.
Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Midlife Crisis is Real: A new paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows the paradox of middle-aged citizens in Western countries experiencing a crisis while at the same time reaching peak earnings, living in a safe environment, and being relatively free from illness. (NYTimes)
A Culture of Wellbeing: During the pandemic, work and home blurred and we were not better for it. Several studies have shown employers think they're doing a good job with mental health, but employees tell a different story. Forbes shares 3 steps to creating a culture of wellbeing: 1) Get a baseline; 2) Set clear goals and experiment (often overlooked); and 3) Reinforce new cultural norms. So be a leader - promote and celebrate wellbeing!
USA, USA USA!: Over the weekend, Team USA took down the Internationals 17.5-12.5 in the Presidents Cup. The Internationals, sparked by 20-year old breakout star Tom Kim and his pants, almost pulled off the unbelievable Sunday. Missed any of the action? Check the recap pods from No Laying Up and/or The Shotgun Start.
Tuesday QR (Quick Recipe)
Looking for that last taste of summer before the weather turns? Check out this Berry Frozen Yogurt recipe for a little post-dinner snack.
Bucket List
Since moving to California and being absolutely awed by the beauty out west - especially Yosemite, I've always said that I'd like to tackle the Pacific Crest Trail (or at least part of it because I'm not ready to tackle all 2,650 miles).
Anyone taken on part of this trail?
Thanks for joining us today - tomorrow we'll be bringing the energy - going straight to Zone 5, get ready! (pending Hurricane Ian - if you're in Tampa stay safe 🙏).
Check out the latest workout videos on our YouTube channel
Got feedback? Tell us what you think at team@thrive25.com
Want this direct to your inbox? Sign up here
Why Thrive25
We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at team@thrive25.com.
To health!
Sign up for free:
The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs LLC does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.