How to train your cardiovascular fitness | Peter Attia
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This clip is from episode #261 of The Drive - Training for The Centenarian Decathlon: zone 2, VO2 max, stability, and strength
In this special episode filmed live in front of readers of Outlive, Peter answers questions revolving around his concept of the centenarian decathlon.
In this clip, we discuss:
- The pyramid of cardiorespiratory training
- Peter’s zone 2 training and recommendations
- Peter’s VO2 max training and recommendations
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About:
The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 60 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.
Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan.
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Listening to Attia talking about VO2 max is a joy
If the speaker is Peter Attia and the subject is Zone 2 you can bet I'll be watching.
it’s mental masturbation
it takes too long for him to say what he needs to say try to stay between 65 and 75% of your max heart rate for around 45 to 1 hour…🔁😅
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🏃♂️ Cardiovascular fitness training aims to maximize the area between Zone 2 (base) and VO2 max (peak) to achieve the best results. 00:38 🚴 The 80/20 rule suggests that around 80% of training volume should focus on Zone 2, and 20% on VO2 max for most athletes, including elite ones like Tadej Pogacar. 01:47 🕰️ Time commitment plays a crucial role in designing a cardio workout routine, and it varies for individuals based on their schedules. 02:59 🔄 It's generally recommended to spread out Zone 2 workouts rather than doing them all at once, even if you can handle a longer session. 03:52 💪 The weekly training schedule typically involves strength training, Zone 2 workouts, stability training, and VO2 max sessions, with different days dedicated to each. 05:29 🏃♀️ Zone 2 workouts should ideally last at least 30 minutes per session to be effective. 08:53 🏋️♂️ VO2 max training modalities can include cycling (outdoors or on a stationary bike), stair climber, treadmill running, swimming, and rowing. 11:34 ⏱️ VO2 max workouts often involve intervals of 3-8 minutes, such as four minutes on and four minutes off, with the goal of maintaining a high intensity. Made with HARPA AI
What a waste. The whole thing is a take away.
I appreciate you going above and beyond for this, yo!💯
@@esc1614 just an AI generated summary, they didn't even paste the entire thing
Thank you
8:53 should say Zone 2 training instead of vo2max FYI
Y’all are lucky to have normal hearts, I have half a heart, my vo2 is 27(very poor) Spo2 90% and I still manage to hike regularly and rock climb. I just did a 900 rock face called Tahquitz twice in 2 weeks. Take care of yourselves and be thankful for being normal if you are.
What's the name of your condition?
mine is 22 for vo2 and I have a normal heart :(
you are a legend man!
@creektopfarms5217, What do you mean, "half a heart"? What exactly is your condition? Just be happy you don't have, "half a brain." Hopefully 😁👌
@@DeafSeattleGuy36 sad😭
I hated moving for 31 years p, my whole life. 7 months ago I saw dr Attia at Rogan’s and Huberman’s and I was hooked. Noone can talk about this and make you want to excercise just for the sake of it, for your health and joy. And believe me, I tried to start training since I was a kid. This man is like a missionary making people believe just by preaching.
😊
😊
😊😊😊
O
@@GuacamoleyNacho Hi, sure. here they are: kzhead.info/sun/nbJpoLZ5qJuLfY0/bejne.html kzhead.info/sun/bJakiaiOoYpmemg/bejne.html&pp=ygUbZHIgYXR0aWEgZXhlcmNpc2Ugam9lIHJvZ2Fu
I really liked the way thr interviwer asked the question. Asked every detail.
agreed… the nitty-gritty is where it's at
Great video , thanks for sharing You're an inspirational speaker and now I not only watch your videos , I also share them with my wife who has also found your videos a great encouragement. Thanks again, keep us the good work.
“What we’re looking for is the harnessing of mitochondrial efficiency, and to do that you have to be able to push oxidative phosphorylation right to its limit before you trip into glycolysis.” _-Dr. Peter Attia_ I’m going to have this mounted on my wall.
Why? Because you're gay?
Don't underestimate the power of walking. Just by hopping of the buss two stops earlier every day, to and from work, I get 30-40 minutes of walking every day and it isn't even noticeable.
Love it, good job
Thank you for the weekly schedule breakdown. Hugely helpful
I compete in Ironman's at age 56 so do a lot of research on how to maximize my fitness. Dr. Attia's information is very consistent with the best information I have found. I like his explanations as they're very clear and succinct. Some sources of information can get quite technical and difficult to turn into real world action items.
Huge fan of Dr. Attia!
7:58 best description of how I messed up training in past. I’ve been focused on steady state Z2 like you’re describing the correct way recently, and have noticed so much change in my RHR, my workout HRs, and my ability to recovery from hard efforts.
kzhead.infoA1KlGqTIMbQ?si=t-2eG3HOxjiOBMw9
Can you explain how I would know that I am in zone 2? He said it's not your heart rate? It's your lactic acid???? What??
@@tg2003 lactic acid is created a by product of muscle contractions. There is a point of lactic acid concentration where type I muscle fibers can use lactic acid as a form of energy somewhat and shuttle excess lactic acid away so an excess build up is not felt as “burning sensation” in the muscles. Your HR responds to these demands by increasingly pumping my oxygenated blood to your muscles to help keep them working effectively at higher levels of energy use which produce more lactic acid. But your HR responds secondarily to the lactic acid production in your muscles and as a separate albeit necessary system. When you cross certain thresholds of lactic acid concentration, your body metabolically needs to find a quicker source of fuel and energy (carbohydrates and sugars) as you go higher up the energy spectrum. You also accumulate more lactic acid build up as you are now unable to clear that lactic acid from your muscles as effectively anymore causing it to leak into the blood stream. So it is your HR, but your HR can also be affected by so many other things. Sleep, food, stress, temperature, etc. and lactic acid testing is really the BEST way of knowing where your real training zones are. Simply bc your HR can change too slowly especially for the highest training zones, and bc your metabolic Z2 HR might be different each day based on your body’s ability to perform on that day This is how I understand it.
@@tg2003I believe it’s working out you’re lactate threshold (Joe Friel test) then zone 2 would be 80-85% of this number
I loved this guys questions... he gave clarity on all the subtle aspects of it that the average dude(me) did not understand. I gained more clarity from this video than watching 10 other similar videos.
Love Dr Attia I do my VO2 Max on rower. 4 minutes on 4 minutes rest.
So good to hear a man younger than me by close to a decade say he can’t do some things anymore. I get frustrated because of what I used to do. I simply don’t have the time to do it all and some body parts just don’t handle quite the intensity
What we lose in ability we gain in technique.
Love you guys took the time to explain Zone 2 and VO2 max before going into the nitty gritty. Really appreciate that 🙏
Thanks I totally forgot about vo2 Max training. I was so focused on zone 2.
I'm 32 years old and training for the hardest 1-day mountain bike race in America. I came to the conclusion recently that my training was not focused nearly enough on zone 2. As my muscular endurance is currently much higher than my cardio endurance. Thank you for the valuable insight to improve my training and race experience
What race is that? sounds cool
@JAREDGRAF8181 The race is called the marji gesick it's 100 miles in marquette michigan
That’s a good problem to have as it’s a pretty easy thing to improve
When Peter mentioned archery, thats a strange one but since 💡I am half way thought his book Outlive. Love reading your book, so very well written and keeps the reader engaged.
i like how Peter doesnt even wait for the quetion to finish. he just knows and answers. cool.
Dr Attia, you mentioned in another video that MaxVO2 is the most important marker for fitness. Some individuals with a high percentage of type II x (where x > a) muscles won't be able to recruit a large enough mass of mitochondria to maximally tax their cardiovascular system - even if they use an Assault Bike. Such people might have the cardiovascular capacity to perform at a high level if only they could replace some of their white meat with more red meat. Also, in some cases, some bodies show a very strong adherence to specificity. At a rehab facility, they tested me on a steep uphill walk (i.e., a modified Bruce Protocol) and I only made it to eleven minutes. Yet, I can comfortably run 9 mi/hr. (> 14 km/hr.) on long runs, and on Zwift, I've pushed over 400 watts for half an hour (although I weigh almost 200 pounds). An exercise physiology grad student said that he sometimes tests distance runners on the Bruce Test who occasionally even flunk. But, after a few months of using their treadmill, I made it to level 16 without measurable improvement in my running and cycling. After rehab, I went out and purchased a treadmill and an Assault Bike to fill in some holes in my training.
Great info, lots to ponder. Thanks!
I've been looking for more info on Peter's perspective of Zone 2 and VO2 Max, particularly given how his "zone 2" is different from the traditional use of that term. This clip was very helpful!
Sd
Love the chemistry!
Rowing on the erg is the best! You can do both zone2 and vo2 max
Very Insightful!❤ 09:30 a Future Research topic passed through the Mind of Dr. Attia!😊
If Heart rate monitor (Garmin/Apple Watch) is not a good indicator of Zone 2 for a given modality then how do I measure/know I'm in Zone 2?
there's a few videos on GCN and other channels on Zone to and how to find it, apparently a good indicator is, that you should b able to have pretty normal conversation (full sentences but not needing breaks to catch your breath) but if your let's say on a phone call and the other party doesn't know that you are exercising they should be able to tell from how you speak, that you are exercising, that's how Iñigo San Millán put it.
Peter provides us, in my opinion, with the best content (and in the best format) on longevity I have ever come across. It is truly a joy and a privilege to have access to all of that. Personally, as a fellow Engineer myself, I profoundly relate to his work. Here is a humble suggestion on the "triangle" metaphor for cardiorespiratory health: why not add another dimension and make it a pyramid? x axis is the result of Zone 2 work (efficiency), y axis is the result of VOmax work (peak). The z axis would be plotted as a combination of both strength and stability. The base of the pyramid would be the area produced by this rectangle (cardiorespiratory efficiency and strength + stability) and the height would be the cardiorespiratory peak. If someone is insanely fit from a cardio perspective (large 2D triangle area) but does not work on the 3rd dimension (strength and stability), the pyramid could potentially fall (e.g. stress injuries on runners, etc...) Function to me maximized here would not just be the area of the triangle, but rather the volume of the pyramid.
Values of x, y and z would be plotted depending on the patient's goals. If the patient wants to be able to do a lot of cardio work at 90 (e.g. long hilly walks), scoring high on x and y axis would should be harder. If the patient wants to be able to play with grandkids and not panic when a 15 kg child runs towards him/her asking for a hug, scoring high on the z axis should be harder. (x,y,z) should be normalized by the patient's goals.
Yes, his way of packaging the information really sticks in the brain. Especially that cardio pyramid of zone 2 and VO2 max was incredibly useful.
@@msschiaffinoas another engineer, this is a great analogy! In fact, it could become a more accurate 3D “biomarker” of health/longevity than any one number. How to compute/standardize the x and z axis units will be tricky though (since for y axis we have vO2 max, a single computable score). Potentially x could be hours of zone 2 per week performed, and z could be powerlifting total and some composite plyometrics/yoga score lol
It would make more sense for a z axis to represent some combined score for HRV and resting HR. Even dismissing that, one could argue lactate threshold serves as a better z axis. If we are talking about the sport of running, then running economy definitely has a place there, since you can have a super high VO2Max and lose to a competitor with a much lower VO2Max than you but much better running economy. That would integrate threshold by itself, since running around threshold and just above it is how you can best improve economy. I would keep the pyramid apropos to cardio-respiratory health and energy systems.
I like the engineer perspective. Structural engineer here hehe
This is very useful. So then in my case, in addition to weight training, I can do 3 times per week Zone 2 and 1 time per week HIIT to achieve my Vo2 Max
Thank you! I've been trying to figure out whether the Zone 2 80/20 should be by time, training load, or what for a while, even after watching every GCN and similar video. It seems obvious, but you never know. The section about keeping it steady state is also helpful to know, although probably far less enjoyable to put into practice.
Inigo interviewed by Peter says the 80/20 split should be by time (I asked myself the same question and dug for this specific answer recently)
Brilliant!!!!!!!!
Great questions. Very specific and things us mortals wanted to really know.
Could you please show the day by day listing of your workouts showing example to all thank you
Been attempting to increase vo2 on ebike commutes . I think the weight of ebikes, gears and power assists can make it somewhat ideal compared to a normal ebike imho ,yet keep from being late to work
He mentioned Tadej Pogačar as example and he is from a small country of Slovenia, that is where I come from. Really surprised. Nice for Tadej.
I do my zone 2 and finish with a VO2 max on the punchbag using hands and feet.
Excellent video
Absolutely the 3 minute thing. First feels good but not slow, second minute starts feeling hard and the third begins suffering with the last 30 sec is barely there. I like 3"10 hard with 2:50 recovery letting countdown rollover, last 10 seconds with alarm going off.
Peter, can one do gasser rounds of 5 minutes of Jiu Jitsu for V02 max training and is it possible to do light BJJ for 45 minutes if I stay at in my Zone 2 heart rate? No one talks about this modality. Thanks
Have you guys never heard of using the rebounder I've used the one that I have for the last 40 years and it has kept me in shape greatly improving timing balance and coordination greatly improving endurance as well as dropping my resting pulse rate more than 20 beats per minute it has been the best cardio exercise equipment that I have ever used
Is that one of those small trampolines? Can you explain more about what you do on it?
Please tell me more about it :)
Currently watching as I do Z2 on my Echo bike.
Is zone 2 sports specific or does it have effect cross modality? does zone 2 running help cycling or vice versa
I wish there was a way of accurately measuring a zone 2 effort for those of us without much tech
thanks for the great content and insight. Just getting into the 80/20 after years of continuous hard training rides. When you're doing your zone 2 days, do you avoid hills completely. I'm in a hilly area and can only avoid them following one route. I'm getting tired of this one route, but other directions put me on hills that are going to put me well into Z3-4 for several min. several times a ride.
I would think generally avoiding hills is the way to go because they change your lactate level then you won’t necessarily be in zone 2
@@cantflipforship duh
If you are on a watt bike in ERG, it's erelevant flat or uphill, it will be the same 😂👍
Dr Attia, what about elliptical machines ? I use them for cardio to reduce impact on knee joints and my back but haven't see you cite them as a possibility. Anything i'm missing ? Currently my Z2 workout is based on HR only and the concept of "i could talk but prefer not to" kind of exaustion
Interesting topic especially because many patients who first come to our practice spend the majority of their time in zone 3-5 and little in zone 2. Their first few sessions with a personal trainer is intense enough to cause a sense of nausea due to high intensity. This not only has caused blood pressure aberrancy and blood sugar problems but it leads to injury and the sense of wanting to give up due to the difficulty level. Thank you for highlighting the differences here.
They spend most time in zone 3-5 and get nauseated during zone 2? Zone 5 is 100% max heart rate. They spend most of their time in higher zones? Are your patients Olympians?
@@jakegjorloff421 🤣 I know, makes no sense..how do you get "nauseated" from zone 2 when you're highly trained in zones 3-5? 😁
For once I am glad I live in the flat country of The Netherlands, where cycling in zone 2 is pretty convenient to do!
I hit and stick the zone 2 with power walking wearing a 25 lb vest 4 days a week every other day.
how can you include strenght training into this split.? let's say I do resistance training 4 days a week Do any of these workouts counts as zone 2 or I need to include 5 more sessions or cardio oon top of my gym routine?
This was helpful!
Thank you Attia for mentioning the heart rate for zone 2. I was recently hiking with a friend (very steep), still holding a conversation but my hr was close to max (188). Seems like zone 2 but not. Still a bit confusing but will ignore Garmin zones for now.
Yeah I’m not really impressed with Garmin’s stuff
nose breathing works better for me as far as staying in zone 2
You don't have to ignore garmin zones but set them to the correct values.
the MAF 180 formula is not too bad for finding Zone 2. 180 minus your age. lactate meter is better but despite ALL the measurement tools, Attia said with the EXACT wattage on his bike, one day he was in Zone 2, another day he was not ( probably tired etc) it's very hard to track. it's basically the high form of exercice BEFORE you produce lactate. SO for me ( and Attia said it a lot) you have to rely on how it feels. my 180- my age formula is a good average, I can feel when I'm in Zone 2, you sort of get a sense of it.
My thing is that my heart rate is always on the higher end
One thing I didn't quite catch was whether the resting part of the v02 interval training gets counted as training when calculating the 80/20 split between zone 2 and v02.
No, it is based on training sessions. 2 days would be VO2 and 8 days would be Zone 2 and rest days. Time at VO2 is important for adaptation so keep track of that.
Thank you for the video! I still have this question: How can I effectively measure if I’m in “zone 2”? HR is out, I don’t have the means for the proper measuring equipment, so what’s the best way to get into and stay in Zone 2?
He eluded to it, which is to utilize an indoor trainer (e.g., Wahoo) or treadmill at an incline of choice with the very rudimentary Zone 2 measurement guide of “can I hold a causal conversation.” Poor man’s way to go about it, but it gets you started. Couple that with a HR monitor and you’ll have a rough estimate.
We used to measure our heart rate by putting our two fingers on an artery and counting the beats for a minute (or half a minute; multiply by 2).
In the beginning you should aim for not going over zone 2, ie you should rather go too low than too high. The training should be so easy you can easily talk and maybe don't even brake a sweat. If you go for a brisk walk for an hour or two and wake up the next morning and have the feeling you could easily do the same thing all over again, you are in the right place. Zone 2 is hard to get because most people think training have to be hard. Zone 2 isn't hard, its very easy. Something you can do almost every day and feel fresh the morning after. But, it takes months to get results, so be patient.
Because of my heart having an aortic valve replacement the heart rate monitor is not very effective, but using the old “talk test” from the 1970’s gives me a very good standard based on respiration.
You also need a good threshold. It all depends on how good your vo2 is V your zone.
I used to do structured training in sweet spot and over trained. Then I changed to polarized training, did less effort but ended up just as fast and better endurance. Zone 2, RPE, VO2 Max and body weight functional training.
How sad.
Me too, I used to be faster in June than I was in October because I wore myself out from chronic over training all summer. It is really hard for me to go slow though.
is zone 2 rowing worse than zone 2 on a bike trainer? if I'm primarily looking to improve my cycling capacities how much would it hurt to do one zone 2 session a week on something else.
It would be very helpful if Peter could talk about a perceived exertion scale we use in the fitness world. Zone 2 & V02 max is a tad vague. PE can be used up & down the fitness ladder. From 1-10. 1 being on sofa. 10 all out. I think it would be easier to grasp how hard (or not) we need to go based on PE. Just an idea.
He says often on other stuff that zone 2 should be barely conversational - you can talk, but slowly and with lots of pauses
I get what you are saying and asking for, but it's a bit hilarious. Since Zone 2 and VO2 max have exact real biological and measurable definitions. And PE is completely subjective and varies from person to person, but you are literally asking for something vague to help you understand something precise and claiming the complete opposite.
kzhead.info/sun/dNN7YqWFjKNuip8/bejne.htmlsi=GuJWBoktgjie99vf&t=22
He talks about this in the huberman podcast, in summary Z2 would be something you could do for a really long time and able to talk but really prefering not to. In my personal experience is a state where you feel tired, but able to proceed
@@jaderanderson Thanks. So, if you're a runner, maybe he is saying it's like LSD training- long, slow distance. I think a tempo pace would be much harder to talk.
So is the 10min ramp-up part of the 45min overall?
Hey guys just have a few questions on V02 max. 1) What machines are you doing them on? One of the only machines I can sustain 4 minutes of V02 max (4x4 protocol is rower) but wondering any other ideas 2) I am having issues hitting my V02 max and sustaining for minutes. Because it’s max training, I go as hard as I can but burn out at around 2 minutes. Am I going too hard too early, being too soft, or is that just normal and I need to work slower towards building a 4 min base (i.e. - progressive overload until I hit 4 mins)
Just go slightly less hard the first 30 seconds and up the effort as you go
As mentioned in the video, and as someone who has used vo2 max workouts regularly, it really does take time to know how hard to push yourself, and this is with instantaneous feedback, like watts on a bike. But if you’re gassed at minute two, that’s way too hard. Dial it down and get to 3 minutes, then hold on for life the last minute. Good luck.
As someone who has coached many cyclists, and missing many puzzle pieces in regard to you, in my experience categorizing people who do what you did, I am going to guess you are a highly glycolytic athlete (type 2 muscle fiber dominant). My guess if I were to describe you would be slightly to largely muscular, you have always been strong, short repeated hard efforts are preferred over long sustained less hard efforts? These athletes will typically have good/great sprint power, good 1 minute power, able to do hard repeats but also nearly always have relatively poor 5 minute VO2 power. BUT, they can usually work at a high percentage of that max VO2 power so their threshold power is still decent. This also means they are burning lots of carbohydrates compared to someone working at a lower percentage. Training techniques and diet manipulation can help, but this athlete will always require more carbohydrate compared to a type 1 dominant person as the excessive type 2 fibers are always activated and contributing to the aerobic output of the type 1s. Ramble over lol
@@the_fast_lifeProbably true but he'll still likely get to completing 4min max test without much trouble with basic guidance.
The best one for me personally is the airbike. It is actually also great for Zone 2 Cardio. But for Vo2 Max Training it is the best!
Just wondering how many intervals to do? I am starting out. 3 mi nutes on 3 off how many times?
How do you train if you have heart defects? If I do normal things i go well above zone2.... 1.8mph treadmill walks are 135-140bpm
How would you determine ZII/Threshold for an afib patient? 6'3", 181lbs, 70 yo male. very active
i have been doing a number of zone 2 workouts each week @2w/kg with an average of 115-120hr. recently i have done the same work outs first thing in the morning, same power, same duration, however my heart rate has been 105-110. the early morning workouts are less enjoyable, i dont know if this is due to the early start, or if the lower heart rate is significant contribution to this. any thoughts would be appreciated.
Could be a few things. Likely a combination. Most of it probably because you're getting fitter. Could be that by doing early morning your heart has had no strain/fatigue yet from the day and is fresher. Do you drink coffee before you start, that can affect your HR both up and down.
@@nobalt thanks for the reply. no coffee before or gels etc. still seeing hr 10 beats higher for same output later in the day, . i was wondering about being dehydrated but i thought that would result in a higher hr. you may be right about the lack of strain/fatigue. thanks again for the reply, something to think about.
@@percyveer2355 for sure my heart rate drifts over course of longer rides but i don't think it's higher at end of day. Although i do almost all my rides in morning so perhaps it is.
Is there a site where you can get a copy of Dr. Attia's workout sessions/per exercise? or if there is a book anyone recommends I would appreciate it.
is calculating the zones through dividing the range between maximum and minimum heart rate into 5 equal zones? like for example: minimum 80 (couch potato) .... to maximum 180. ==> (180-80)/5 = 20. ==> zone 2 from 100...120 is that the right calculation? for me as a 118kg couch potato, it would then be walking for zone 2.
Where does aerobic/anaerobic threshold fall into the mix? Most high level runners and triathletes I know have 1-2 days a week with substantial aerobic threshold work. Lots of cyclists do a 2x20 minute routine 1-2 times per week; and lots of runners do a similar amount but more broken up (say 6x6 minutes) or added into a long run.
As a former triathlete, I'm comfortable spending a lot of time in zone 3 and even zone 4. It is highly counterintuitive to me that spending an equivalent amount of time in zone 2 (downgrading my workout from Z3 or Z4) would be a better workout. Why is that? I also find that my power zones don't map well to my heartrate zones. I have a lower maximum heartrate than 220-age, but I'm able to push a long time in zone 3 power (relative to FTP) while staying in Z2 heartrate. What is going on here, and should I be using HR or power for my zone 2 efforts?
I'm also a triathlete and an indoor rower. I use watts and perceived effort to guide my workouts. Start with maximum watts for 60 minutes and construct all your workouts from that baseline. I used to do a lot of tempo rides but I've had better success sticking to the 80/20. I use Training Peaks to collect all my data.
Is there a plateau for how much training you can do to increase lactate clearance capacity or will it keep getting better with more time in zone 2 If u notice, sorry for asking this question often . But I really wanna know
Having a Burnout for 6 years (not a major but slight one) how can I workput again? I began a month ago but energy is sooo low now,....
Would love to get people's insights! - What about all the other zones, so it's hard to stay in Z2 all the time, especially with varying terrain? As an amateur, I can only really do my heart rate zones, so that's what I track on Zwift. Strava also has Power zones, based on a recent FTP test, my spin last night said I spent 15% of the ride in the VO2 Max zone, but this wasn't planned and was dictated by the terrain. Although a relative beginner, I really enjoy pushing myself hard but looking at advice this isn't necessarily the best approach, but still good and valuable. - Is an FTP a good way to assess your VO2 max? Mine is hovering around 160-165 but want to be over 200 - Can i do intense sessions through the week when i have less time and then do longer (boring) slower sessions at the weekend, in other words will my body care! - Glad he, builds in strength training as I want to do both to improve everything, I've just started a similar approach of alternating days,j ust need to work out how to build the volume (as I get fitter)
You don't need strength training for cycling, I would choose what you prefer to do. Regarding terrain this is why gears are on your bike use them wisely, look at getting your own power metre. Your ftp is very low. Zone 2 sessions are boring but try to keep yourself fresh for the intervals.
@adamsmith8283 thank you for the encouraging, insightful and valuable words 🙏
@@acousticreate It all comes down to how much time you have to train. Just have fun you will still improve, after a few months then decide how seriously you want to train.
@adamsmith8283 thanks, the zone two is boring! Check in on me in 3 months hopefully I've improved 🤣
@@adamsmith8283you definitely need strength training in cycling if you want to see significant improvement.
Can jump rope be used for both zone 2 and vo2 max training ? s Slow alternative skips for zone 2 and maybe fast skipping and double unders for vo2 max.
Depends on your fitness level and jump roping skills.
What's a good Zone 2 plan and how do I know I'm in the zone? 30 min of running?
how many cycles should you do for the 4 minutes on 4 minutes off VO2 max training?
In a different clip, I heard him say 4 or 5 so that with warmup and cooldown, this workout would be a bit longer than an hour.
Is 30 min hiit with heart rate 150 good?
I have a question about the measures you talk about, namely Zone 2 and Vo2Max. As a runner I wear a Garmin watch and assume(d) it was accurate to the best of it's ability measuring my Zone 2 (based on my age of 56 and my max heart assumingely is 164~ish). It seems you are saying that this is not the best way to measure this? And as an average person that runs and runs marathons the best way to measure my VO2Max is by running a mile as fast as I can to establish this? My Garmin tells me I am at the Fitness level of someone who is 48 which made me feel good in the past but now I feel like perhaps none of the measures are correct?
You would need a way to measure lactate like a lactate meter (blood test)
@@QazJer A test administered by a doctor?
@@stephaniecleere3277 you can do it yourself, its a device just like diabetics use to check their insulin levels
I like this but it’s very specific to cycling. Would an 80 / 20 approach work for crossfit ?
Sorry for noob question but if you want to do VO2 Max for 20minutes and you chose the 4min ON/4min OFF workout. Does it mean you should be doing that for 20 minutes including those 4minutes OFF? Or is it that you have to do 5 sessions of 4 minutes ON (VO2Max) with 4min OFF breaks workout? So altogether it will take up to 40 minutes?
4 x 4, 4-minutes for 4 intervals. Take a 2-4 minute rest
Thank you for your excellent videos and your book, Outlive, Dr. Attia. I'm enjoying training in Z2 a about 90% of the time and Z6 about 10% of the time. Like most people, I don't have access to a lab to determine my max HR nor an expensive lactate meter to determine that I've been in Z2 during my training in order to get optimum mitochondria development and fat burn. Thus, I'm gauging Z2 training by going at a pace where I don't get out of breath, can carry on a conversation without much difficulty, and have a perceived exertion level whereby I can go 45 minutes or longer on the stationary bike or treadmill without getting tired or sore legs afterwards. Interestingly, my Z2 seems to correlate with being in the 60-70% of max HR range using 220 minus my age or the MAF calculator. But am I really in Z2? Am I developing my mitrochondria? Do I need to purchase a lactate meter as you and Dr Iñigo San Millán have suggested? Or does it even matter? I'm not an elite athlete, just an older guy trying to stay in shape and live a long, vibrant life. As I watch videos and read about Z2 training, I feel pressure to be nearly perfect to get the long-term benefits of Z2.
Talk test. And max HR varies wildly with people the same age.
You're right. I did one 3 years ago, and my my max HR was 174. I was 67. Of course, each year, I'm going to loose...
MAF and 220-age are bullshit. You can do HRmax and LT2 tests somewhat accurately, and base your zones off of that. Ultimately you want to learn the feeling of that intensity and go from there, which those test help you accomplish. I wouldn't really worry that much about not going above Z2 if you're doing it for longevity purposes, you're not trying to cram as much training as possible after all. There's no need to do any lab tests or to measure your lactate unless you're elite or sub-elite at your sport and trying to optimize your training (like with double-threshold days).
You should be able to barely talk a full sentence at once, but not more. Assume a conversation where both speak one sentence alternating. If you can speak 2 or more it's too easy. HRmax as 220-age is a statistical average that has no meaning to the individual. Get yourself a HR strap and step up power or speed over 4-6min until final sprint. Try it several times on different days. You'll get better at it. The peak is your HRmax. *Upper Z2 HR* is (HRmax-HRrest)*0.65 + HRrest. Example (165-65)*0.65 + 65 = 130. So stay between 115 - 130. Start low, e.g. 115, so it stays below 130 even when drifting up with time.
I came to the comments to note the same stuff. I like Dr attias message and his efforts to spread knowledge regarding longevity and exercise. My biggest knock with him is he makes everything WAYYYY too complicated. He gets so stuck in the weeds with the specifics of data that he comes out with protocols that are nearly impossible without specialized testing, equipment, etc. I wish he could boil things down into protocols that people who go a job all day, have children they are caregivers for, etc where they don’t have 2 hours in the morning and afternoon to exercise with specialized equipment. What also bothers me with dr Attia is let’s actually look at human outcomes. There are a lot of people who live over 100 and 110 years old, and I guarantee they never get close to Attias RDA protein, they don’t exercise for zone 2, vo2 max, or grip strength, yet they have high quality lives over 100 years. I realize these people stay active with meaningful activities that keep up their strength and cardiovascular, and maybe that’s the answer. Meaningful, long duration and low impact physical activities across the lifespan
Can the deep breathing techniques taught by Wim Hof increase VO2 max
Hey Peter, maybe you mentioned this in the full length version but, what exactly are the benefits of "making that triangle" as broad or as much surface area as possible?
He’s saying the Zone 2 training is the base of the triangle i.e. the majority of your training and V02 max is the height aka your peak effort - 80/20 paradigm
The benefit is longevity, via cardiovascular fitness (health)
Ok, so he says at the 4 minute mark of his v02 max session, hes feeling very uncomfortable. So after i do my 4 mins, how much of a recovery should i take before i go for another 4 mins??
Could you do mile repeats for VO2 max training?
What is zone 2 training ? What app can I use on my iPhone to communicate to my Apple Watch to monitor my VO2 and zone 2? Can somebody help
Z2 is not the limit of oxidative phosphorylation. It will continue and ramp up until vo2max is reached and even then it will not shut down
I recently listened to Huberman and Galpin podcast, who recommend 20 mins of spinning for example, in between conversation pace and all out pace for Vo2max training. I implemented that, but this seems to quite different. Anyone knows if both are ok? Little lost at the moment :)
There is no way you are holding VO2max well over 20 minutes. That is more of a threshold/FTP type workout. At VO2max, it's more like a 6x 4 minute or 4x 8 minute (4-5 minute recover between) end of a 4 or 8-minute interval, you'd expect heartrate to be 90% of max (more likely 93% once you have some training under your belt to support that intentisty.) This is assuming you can't lactate test, which most people can't. Of course, HR can be fickle, but that is a good general guideline. I tell athletes, it won't feel all out at first, but by the end of the interval you should feel spent.
@@meatmotorendurance Thanks for the reply, appreciate it! I will delve into it some more :)
Likely you have explained stability exercises so can you point me to your talk on stability training, so I can better understand what that entails? Thanks
How do you use lactate to know if you're not in zone 2? and how do you use RPE?
Does it matter if you do your VO two max consecutively or can you break it up during your 30 minute cardio session or do you do it for the six minutes straight?
I'd like to understand the following When i am doing my intervals for vo2 max 4 minutes on 4 minutes off A- how long should it take during the 4 minutes, for my heart rate to get to within 98-99 percent of my max? In other words, what should be the intensity? Am i supposed to go all out and try to survive 4 minutes and adjsut the intensity henceforth? B - the 4 minutes of recovery, how low should my heart rate go? Should i wait for it to reach a certain heart rate before i start the nect interval or let it fall to whenever it goes in the 4 minutes regardless? So if i max is 190 and wait for 3 minutes and it gets down to 120, with one more minute to go, should i wait or start another interval?
On recovery, you can do it by HR but in several randomized studies, athletes were asked to start up when they were ready again for the next VO2max interval. Most of them randomly selected between 3-4 minutes. As to HR climbing, it will ease towards highest. In a 4 minute interval you'll probably hit 93% of heartrate at about 3 minutes and be hanging on the last minute where it will continue to drift up slightly more.
Is this true no matter the training volume? For example, it seems unlikely to me to me that if you train 2 hours a week, 90 mins should be zone 2? What about 1 hour a week? From my expierience the intensity is better when really cramped for time.
I have a question and would be interested in other peoples' thoughts... As I understand it, one of the main purposes of zone 2 training is to increase the mitocondria in the muscles. I also heard (from watching a cycling video) that the mitochondria only increase in the muscles you're using for your zone 2 exercise. So, for example, when cycling you increase the mitochondria in your legs. So shouldn't you be trying to incorporate as much of your muscle as possible into your zone 2 training? So mixing swimming, cycling and running? I must be wrong about this because I've never heard Dr Attia mention it.
is there a real scientific proven benefit to do a HIIT with 4 minute intervals over getting maxed out in 1 minute? i thought that in both cases you run out of oxygen which results AMPK to get triggered, that leads to the production of PGC-1alpha. or is there the idea of triggering the muscle fiber growth factor p70s6k that might need more time to make and thus delaying the AMPK trigger for the sake of production of other growth factors like p70s6k and maybe others that need more time? or maybe other growth factors for blood vessels? is there good/sufficient science available right now that describe all growth factors that are involved?
very curious about his stability routine now 😀
Oh, great. Thank you. I do 45 min. vo2 in the stationary bike, so now I will do 4 min. vo2max twice. I have no idea how many. Maybe somebody can tell me.
Taking Zone 2 and Vo2 Max training is the formula to get your sweetest spot.
How do i know the effort im running at is definatly V02 max?? Is it based on the amount of minutes i can hold that pace at??
What’s the best way to track your Vo2max?
I was gonna go back a minute on the video to see again the weekly training day by day, and then the timeline shows me "most replayed" tag lol. can't imagine why :)
I am 70 years old and recently told by an orthopedic dr I saw for a fractured T3 from a fall in February, that I am rapidly advancing towards old age and not to be stupid with my workouts. I am in the best physical condition of my life. A BMI of 19-20. He said I cannot workout like I am 40 but I feel like 40. I cannot find any info on what is best for someone my age should be doing. I do Zone 2, eat well, strength training as well as floor exercises. Any advice?
I’m right where you are - best physical condition of my life, with the addition in my case of Parkinson’s Disease. All this means to me is that it’s imperative that I exercise 7 days a week to ward-off the motor symptoms of the disease. There is little conversation, by Dr, Attia or anyone else, on the subject of exercise at our age and exercise for those dealing with disease. I Ruck 3 days a week wearing 20 pounds. To the gym 3 days a week and two of those days is VO2 Max on Peleton. 4 min on, 4 min rest. My max HR is 160. I am just now working on finding an exercise to put my steady-state in zone 2. I live at 4,500 ft elevation and hilly terrain so walking gets me into too many zones. I applaud you for bucking the standard medical advice given our age. Doctors are afraid we will fall or whatever. To hell with them. I take very little medication for my Parkinson’s and plan on keeping it that way as long as I am able to exercise. Thanks for your comment.
But while doing 90min run if you are able stay in Z1 & Z2 for 30-60min from the start before going into Z3. Is that okay?