How & Why to Get Weekly "Zone 2" Cardio Workouts | Dr. Andrew Huberman
00:00:00.000 | The scientific data tell us that we should all be getting
00:00:05.000 | anywhere from 150 minutes to 200 minutes per week,
00:00:09.120 | minimum, of zone two cardio,
00:00:11.640 | for sake of cardiovascular health, cerebrovascular health,
00:00:14.720 | and a number of other aspects of health
00:00:17.100 | that are important essentially to everybody
00:00:18.980 | for health span and lifespan.
00:00:21.460 | Now, many people, including myself,
00:00:23.520 | schedule zone two cardio into their weekly fitness regimen.
00:00:27.720 | So for me, I have one day a week.
00:00:29.720 | For me, it falls on a Sunday where I go out for a jog
00:00:33.140 | that lasts anywhere from 60 minutes to 90 minutes.
00:00:35.880 | It's a slow jog.
00:00:37.240 | I can maintain nasal breathing the entire time
00:00:39.360 | or have a conversation with somebody else or myself
00:00:42.000 | the entire time if I like.
00:00:44.520 | Or sometimes it consists of a hike by myself
00:00:48.240 | or with other people.
00:00:49.760 | And sometimes those hikes extend anywhere from an hour
00:00:52.600 | to four hours, depending on the circumstances, et cetera.
00:00:56.040 | I will mention that whenever possible,
00:00:57.560 | I try and do that once a week zone two cardio session
00:01:00.440 | out of doors because I like being in nature
00:01:02.320 | and I like getting sunlight and I like getting fresh air.
00:01:05.560 | Now, during the discussion with Dr. Andy Galpin,
00:01:08.200 | I explained how I get my zone two cardio.
00:01:10.720 | And I acknowledged that that once a week session
00:01:13.620 | doesn't always allow me to reach that 150 minute
00:01:16.640 | to 200 minute minimum threshold of zone two cardio per week.
00:01:20.920 | Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.
00:01:23.360 | And his response to that was very reassuring.
00:01:25.580 | What he said was, look, if you want to schedule
00:01:28.600 | zone two cardio and head out for a long Sunday jog
00:01:32.040 | or hike, terrific.
00:01:33.760 | If you want to schedule zone two cardio as two
00:01:36.840 | or more sessions on the treadmill or on the bike, great.
00:01:41.040 | But that he doesn't actually think of zone two cardio
00:01:43.920 | as exercise at all.
00:01:46.080 | And to that, I gasped.
00:01:47.440 | And then I was a little bit deflated.
00:01:48.800 | I thought, oh, great, I'm doing all this zone two cardio
00:01:51.880 | and you don't even consider that exercise.
00:01:54.120 | And then when he said it was very reassuring,
00:01:56.140 | and I think it's going to be very reassuring to all of you,
00:01:58.420 | he said, first of all, zone two cardio
00:02:01.840 | is absolutely critical to our health
00:02:03.660 | for a number of reasons that I already mentioned.
00:02:06.340 | But in addition to that, zone two cardio does not impede
00:02:10.540 | and in fact can enhance our other aspects of fitness.
00:02:14.180 | So for example, our strength training,
00:02:15.700 | our hypertrophy training, or any type of speed work
00:02:18.260 | or other types of cardiovascular training one might do.
00:02:20.900 | And that the best way to get zone two cardio is,
00:02:25.040 | okay, if you want to schedule it, schedule it as a session,
00:02:28.400 | but that to simply increase the amount of walking
00:02:31.880 | and in particular walking at a rapid pace that one does,
00:02:35.480 | and to increase the total amount of movement
00:02:37.360 | that one's getting throughout the week.
00:02:38.600 | So taking groceries in and out of the grocery store,
00:02:41.960 | running around with the kids,
00:02:43.500 | taking a walk with a coworker
00:02:44.920 | while having a work discussion,
00:02:46.600 | taking your calls for work while pacing in the office
00:02:48.920 | or going outside, what he impressed on me
00:02:52.000 | is that zone two cardio can be meshed
00:02:54.200 | throughout the daily activities
00:02:55.520 | that I and everybody else generally have to do.
00:02:58.240 | And this was of great relief to me
00:03:00.020 | because I, as many of you are, am extremely busy.
00:03:04.120 | I don't have time to schedule in more cardio per week,
00:03:07.320 | or at least I don't see the way I could do that
00:03:09.000 | without reducing the amount of sleep that I'm getting
00:03:11.800 | or without reducing the amount of social connection
00:03:14.600 | that I'm getting with family and friends,
00:03:15.920 | both of which are extremely important
00:03:17.580 | to our mental health and physical health.
00:03:19.620 | So the basic tool here is, yes,
00:03:21.920 | get 200 minutes per week minimum of zone two cardio.
00:03:25.640 | And notice I said 200 minutes,
00:03:26.880 | not 150 minutes to 200 minutes.
00:03:28.840 | I'm going to set the higher threshold
00:03:30.480 | of 200 minutes per week minimum of zone two cardio,
00:03:34.320 | but that you don't need to schedule that
00:03:36.560 | as time on the treadmill.
00:03:37.600 | If you want to, great.
00:03:39.200 | But what was communicated to me from Dr. Andy Galpin
00:03:42.040 | is that zone two cardio is immensely beneficial.
00:03:44.440 | It's not going to impede,
00:03:45.600 | and in fact, it's going to improve other aspects of fitness,
00:03:48.880 | and that it does not have to impede,
00:03:51.120 | and it in fact can improve other aspects of our daily life,
00:03:54.600 | like our ability to engage socially,
00:03:56.680 | our ability to have a great output at work
00:03:59.600 | in whatever type of work you do.
00:04:01.500 | So the message is very simple.
00:04:03.080 | Get 200 minutes or more of zone two cardio per week.
00:04:06.200 | And the message is also a very reassuring one,
00:04:08.640 | which is that that zone two cardio
00:04:10.480 | can be spread throughout your daily activities,
00:04:12.840 | and that if you're doing enough of it,
00:04:15.000 | you probably don't even have to count
00:04:16.680 | the total amount of zone two cardio that you're getting.
00:04:19.000 | If you simply make the effort to move around a lot more
00:04:21.960 | during your daily activities,
00:04:23.920 | and to mesh that zone two cardio with your daily activities,
00:04:27.180 | you're going to hit that threshold
00:04:28.360 | of 200 minutes per week minimum.
00:04:30.520 | Now, that's a great message for me,
00:04:32.460 | because I'm already doing
00:04:34.080 | the three resistance training workouts per week.
00:04:36.000 | I'm doing what now I can just call
00:04:37.840 | the two other cardiovascular training workouts per week,
00:04:40.720 | because now I don't even count that long Sunday jog
00:04:43.400 | or Sunday hike as exercise.
00:04:45.040 | I just consider that movement out of doors on the weekend.
00:04:48.740 | And in doing so,
00:04:49.680 | it's also allowed me to really enjoy that a lot more.
00:04:52.320 | There's something about considering something,
00:04:54.200 | a fitness training program,
00:04:56.040 | that shifts it from just recreation and enjoying life
00:04:59.280 | to training.
00:05:00.360 | And I, of course, love training.
00:05:02.000 | I love training in the gym,
00:05:02.960 | and I love training out of doors.
00:05:04.140 | I love running.
00:05:04.980 | I love lifting weights.
00:05:05.800 | I love all sorts of physical training.
00:05:07.840 | I know many people do.
00:05:08.840 | I know many people don't.
00:05:10.360 | But if one looks at Zone 2 Cardio
00:05:13.080 | as just part of their daily life,
00:05:15.160 | you're far more likely to get that Zone 2 Cardio in
00:05:18.800 | and all the benefits that come with it.
00:05:20.400 | And you're also opening up time for work,
00:05:23.560 | for social engagements,
00:05:25.340 | and to do and pay attention to other aspects of fitness.
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