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Slow Is The New Fast
Find the magic for lasting performance and health. ✨
👋 Hi, legend!
Happy New Year!
It’s been a record week for new subscriptions, and I’d like to offer a special welcome to all our new readers! This goes hand-in-hand with a HUGE thanks to everyone who has referred a friend, colleague, or family member.
January is always such an interesting time in the self-improvement space, as many of us look towards our goals and ambitions for the year ahead; it’s also a great time to reflect on our achievements and setbacks from the last 12 months.
In 2025, I’m hoping to win your trust and build The High Performance Brief into something that you can rely on for innovative strategies and helpful reminders for personal growth. I’d like to expand its reach and improve the connection of readers, but most importantly, I want to ensure that I’m delivering useful content to your inbox.
When it comes to building a fitness routine, many people focus on pushing their limits—faster runs, heavier lifts, and harder workouts. This mindset might stem from the widely held belief that 'hard work pays off', a sentiment echoed in countless motivational messages and cultural narratives. Instead, the key to better endurance, health, and performance could lie in slowing things down. Zone 2 training cuts through this rudimentary approach to fitness. It’s a method that’s grounded in science, is deceptively simple, and can be incredibly effective. Whether you’re chasing a new personal best or just looking to stay healthy for the long haul, Zone 2 deserves your attention.
Today, we’re diving into what Zone 2 exercise is, why it matters, and how you can make it part of your routine. By the end, you’ll understand why this slow-and-steady method deserves a permanent place in your high performance toolkit.
Understanding heart rate zones and the value of Zone 2:
Heart rate zones are a way of categorising exercise intensity based on how hard your heart is working. They typically range from Zone 1 (very light activity) to Zone 5 (maximum effort). Each zone corresponds to a percentage of your maximum heart rate and serves a different purpose in your training routine. Zone 2, sitting at roughly 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, is often called the “aerobic zone” because it optimises your body’s use of oxygen and fat as fuel.
In Zone 2, your body primarily burns fat for energy, making it a metabolic sweet spot for endurance, recovery, and long-term health. Common Zone 2 activities include brisk walking, cycling, and easy jogging.
Beyond the performance benefits, Zone 2 training stands out as an accessible and practical option for most people. It doesn’t require advanced fitness levels, specialised equipment, or lengthy recovery periods, so it’s easy to incorporate into your routine. With its low impact and sustainable nature, Zone 2 is a core part of most endurance fitness plans.
Heart Rate Zones Table
Zone | Percentage of Maximum Heart Rate | Description | Primary Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 50-60% | Very light activity, recovery effort | Improves general health and recovery |
2 | 60-70% | Moderate, conversational intensity | Enhances fat metabolism and endurance |
3 | 70-80% | Moderate to high intensity | Improves aerobic capacity |
4 | 80-90% | High intensity, near maximum effort | Builds speed and performance |
5 | 90-100% | Maximum effort | Increases maximum power and capacity |
How it works:
The physiological benefits of Zone 2 training make it a cornerstone of fitness and overall health. Here’s a quick breakdown:
🫁 Enhances oxygen utilisation: Significantly improving your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to working muscles and utilise it efficiently. This adaptation increases capillary density, strengthens your cardiovascular system, and ensures sustained energy output during exercise.
🏭 Stimulates mitochondrial growth: the ‘power plant’ of your cells. This leads to better energy production and improved endurance, as your body becomes more adept at meeting the demands of prolonged physical activity.
🔥 Optimises fat metabolism: In Zone 2, your body relies primarily on fat for fuel. This shift improves metabolic flexibility, helping you sustain effort for longer periods and enhancing your overall energy efficiency. Additionally, this process supports better weight management and reduces the risk of metabolic disorders.
💆 Improves recovery and adaptation: Allowing your body to repair and rebuild without adding excessive strain, and complementing higher-intensity training sessions while decreasing the likelihood of overtraining or injury.
🫀 Supports cardiovascular and cellular health: Strengthening the heart, reducing molecular imbalances (oxidative stress), and enhancing insulin sensitivity. These changes contribute to lower risks of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, while promoting longevity.
Zone 2 training’s physiological benefits are profound, making it an essential part of any well-rounded fitness program. Whether you’re an elite athlete or just beginning your fitness journey, this approach helps build a strong foundation for sustainable performance and health.
Finding Zone 2:
Determining your Zone 2 heart rate is essential for effective training, and it’s simpler than you might think.
Zone 2 is typically 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. To estimate this, subtract your age from 220 to find your maximum heart rate, then multiply that number by 0.6 and 0.7 to calculate your Zone 2 range. For example, if you’re 30 years old, your maximum heart rate is approximately 190 beats per minute (bpm), and your Zone 2 range would be 114-133 bpm.
(220 - age) x 0.6 = Zone 2 lower limit
(220 - age) x 0.7 = Zone 2 upper limit
For more precision, you can undergo lab testing or use fitness devices that estimate your thresholds. However, these aren’t strictly necessary for most people. Activities like brisk walking, cycling, or light jogging often align with Zone 2 efforts.
A heart rate monitor can help you stay within this range during exercise, but you can also rely on perceived effort. In Zone 2, you should be able to carry on a conversation but would struggle to sing. It’s a moderate intensity where your breathing quickens slightly, but you remain comfortable.
I discovered the power of Zone 2 training when I began to intentionally train for running during the Covid lockdowns. Prior to this, I’d regularly engaged in cardio workouts, including running, cycling, and swimming, but I’d always been an all-out-effort sort of athlete. If I went for a run, I’d go hard and fast. It might only be 3-5km, but I’d be red-lining it the whole way, and I’d be spent afterwards. It sucked to do, but I always felt like I’d accomplished something when it was done. The nature of these workouts made it hard to back-up over consecutive days, and in hindsight I was probably lucky to avoid injury.
After learning about the Zone 2 philosophy, I taught myself to run slower than my normal/comfortable pace (far harder than it seems, for anyone who has never tried it). Within a week, I was running further and for longer than I ever could have imagined, and I was loving it! Instead of it being a necessary evil/box-ticking exercise, I was actually looking forward to going for a run. The area I was in had lots of hills, so at the start I’d occasionally have to drop back to a walk to keep my heart rate in the correct zone, but my body quickly adapted to a point where I could just head out and run for an hour or two. The thing that I found most incredible was the feeling that I could just keep going. I’d often pull up at home after an hour plus run and have to stop myself from heading out and doing the whole thing again—that’s how fresh I felt!
Conclusion & call to action:
Zone 2 training may not be as alluring or glamorous as other methodologies, but its impact on your fitness, health, and longevity is undeniable. By focusing on this modest but effective principle, you:
Build a strong aerobic foundation
Improve your body’s ability to utilise fat for energy
Set the stage for sustainable, long-term progress
It’s a strategy used by elite athletes and backed by science, while remaining accessible to anyone who is willing to slow down and commit.
Thanks for reading another edition of The High Performance Brief. If you’ve got any training/fitness-based resolutions for the year ahead, I hope you can find some value in Zone 2.
Speak soon,
Zac
P.S. Got a NY resolution? I’d love to hear about it - shoot me an email with all the details!
Disclaimer: The High Performance Brief is for general education purposes only. The content is not a substitute for professional healthcare, exercise, or psychological services. You should not commence physical training without consulting a qualified professional.