What Zone Do You Do Cardio In?
OldAssDude
Posts: 1,436 Member
I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time, so I asked my cardiologist about it when I went there to go over the results of a stress test I had done recently.
He told me it is absolutely fine to do this and it is probably the reason that my stress test turned out so good, and my heart is so strong.
If I am going to spend time doing cardio, I want to get a good workout because I feel that anything less is pretty much just wasting time.
I do workouts where I only stay in zone 3 or lower, but those are only for recovery in between the intense ones.
So... how do you roll?
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time, so I asked my cardiologist about it when I went there to go over the results of a stress test I had done recently.
He told me it is absolutely fine to do this and it is probably the reason that my stress test turned out so good, and my heart is so strong.
If I am going to spend time doing cardio, I want to get a good workout because I feel that anything less is pretty much just wasting time.
I do workouts where I only stay in zone 3 or lower, but those are only for recovery in between the intense ones.
So... how do you roll?
2
Replies
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I'm half marathon training (once I shake off an injury) so it's mainly lots of slow miles for me.2
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I run mainly in Zone 4. When I do Orange Theory or spinning, I go back and forth between 3, 4 and 5 depending on what I'm doing.0
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All of them.3
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It depends on the desired training stimulus. One isn't inherently better than another.6
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Pretty much as hard as I can go. My heart is over 170 bpm for any run0
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richardpkennedy1 wrote: »Pretty much as hard as I can go. My heart is over 170 bpm for any run
Aren't you training for a marathon?1 -
I mainly do cardio in the British Time Zone. I don't have a HRM so I just go and get sweaty. I'm sort of a low tech Luddite.12
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All of them.1
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For me, I don't target HR though I track it. I target perceived exertion. I end up roughly in zone 1-2 for long runs, zone 3-4 for regular runs and zone 4 for tempo runs.
The few times I've done sprint intervals or a max HR test, those get me up to zone 5. Sprint intervals aren't much use for my goals at the moment.0 -
I mainly do cardio in the British Time Zone. I don't have a HRM so I just go and get sweaty. I'm sort of a low tech Luddite.
LOL! Me too, well... in a different time zone but the same idea! Honestly, I use up all my love for numbers on my food log. If I started trying to hit specific HRs while exercising I would probably get overwhelmed and just sit on the couch. I just try to mix it up - usually slow or moderate paced, and every once and awhile I try to throw in something that seriously kicks my *kitten*. I've read so many different things about which is optimal for what. The only thing I'm sure of is doing something is better than nothing
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I mainly do cardio in the British Time Zone. I don't have a HRM so I just go and get sweaty. I'm sort of a low tech Luddite.
LOL! Me too, well... in a different time zone but the same idea! Honestly, I use up all my love for numbers on my food log. If I started trying to hit specific HRs while exercising I would probably get overwhelmed and just sit on the couch. I just try to mix it up - usually slow or moderate paced, and every once and awhile I try to throw in something that seriously kicks my *kitten*. I've read so many different things about which is optimal for what. The only thing I'm sure of is doing something is better than nothing
Nice to know I'm not the only one.
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Whatever I need to do to support the objectives of my session.
Aerobic capacity Vs threshold training Vs VO2MAX improvement all have different approaches.4 -
bcalvanese wrote: »I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time
Its not a recommendation, it's a fact that you can't stay there for more than a few minutes at a time. Z5 is RPE 9.5 - 10. A mile flat out, 5 to 6 minutes is all you can hold z5 for. If you can stay there longer, your zones aren't right. Its anerobic.
Last week, I spent about 50% of the time in z3, 30% z4, 20% z212 -
my cardio is walking. I do huff and puff cigarettes on occasion, does that count?3
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scorpio516 wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time
Its not a recommendation, it's a fact that you can't stay there for more than a few minutes at a time. Z5 is RPE 9.5 - 10. A mile flat out, 5 to 6 minutes is all you can hold z5 for. If you can stay there longer, your zones aren't right. Its anerobic.
Last week, I spent about 50% of the time in z3, 30% z4, 20% z2
I think it's fair to say that if you're in zone 5 for an hour, you're not in zone 5.28 -
I don't huff and puff and sweat on my runs...jeez that doesn't sound like fun at all...and as far as I can tell I am doing them correctly.
I do a 5k in under 30mins so it's all good.3 -
scorpio516 wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time
Its not a recommendation, it's a fact that you can't stay there for more than a few minutes at a time. Z5 is RPE 9.5 - 10. A mile flat out, 5 to 6 minutes is all you can hold z5 for. If you can stay there longer, your zones aren't right. Its anerobic.
Last week, I spent about 50% of the time in z3, 30% z4, 20% z2
The OPs profile pic suggests that he's of an age where the traditional HR based zones begin to become invalid for healthy active people.
BUT!!! I agree he's not actually in Z5.2 -
I don't know what the zones are, but I would imagine 'all of them' applies for me.0
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stanmann571 wrote: »The OPs profile pic suggests that he's of an age where the traditional HR based zones begin to become invalid for healthy active people.
No matter what age you are, 9 or 90, you can set your zones up however you like. At any age, basing your zones on your lactate threshold heart rate makes a lot more sense than basing them on a guess (no matter how it was derived) at what your max heart rate might be.1 -
All of them of course at different times - because it depends on my training objective for that workout.
One zone isn't better than any other, they all have their uses.4 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »Whatever I need to do to support the objectives of my session.
Aerobic capacity Vs threshold training Vs VO2MAX improvement all have different approaches.
^^ This.
OP - Since my focus is on endurance events, I spend a lot of time training in Z2. My coach will test my HR zones for both run and bike and occasionally tweak my HR zones to be sure I'm dialed in to the proper HR for each training session. Z4 work usually only happens for me during speed workouts on the track.
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bcalvanese wrote: »I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time, so I asked my cardiologist about it when I went there to go over the results of a stress test I had done recently.
He told me it is absolutely fine to do this and it is probably the reason that my stress test turned out so good, and my heart is so strong.
If I am going to spend time doing cardio, I want to get a good workout because I feel that anything less is pretty much just wasting time.
I do workouts where I only stay in zone 3 or lower, but those are only for recovery in between the intense ones.
So... how do you roll?
Wow you're incredible.
No way could I run flat out to stay in zone 5 for an hour straight. Not sure I'd want to either.0 -
scorpio516 wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time
Its not a recommendation, it's a fact that you can't stay there for more than a few minutes at a time. Z5 is RPE 9.5 - 10. A mile flat out, 5 to 6 minutes is all you can hold z5 for. If you can stay there longer, your zones aren't right. Its anerobic.
Last week, I spent about 50% of the time in z3, 30% z4, 20% z2
I was hoping someone was going to point this out. Zone 5 for an hour isn't zone 5.4 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time, so I asked my cardiologist about it when I went there to go over the results of a stress test I had done recently.
He told me it is absolutely fine to do this and it is probably the reason that my stress test turned out so good, and my heart is so strong.
If I am going to spend time doing cardio, I want to get a good workout because I feel that anything less is pretty much just wasting time.
I do workouts where I only stay in zone 3 or lower, but those are only for recovery in between the intense ones.
So... how do you roll?
Wow you're incredible.
No way could I run flat out to stay in zone 5 for an hour straight. Not sure I'd want to either.
I agree! I could probably hold for a minute or so but that would be it. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.1 -
Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »I have a motto...
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.
I like to stay in zone 4 (80 - 90 % of MHR) and zone 5 (90 - 100 % of MHR) on my intense workouts, and have been known to be in zone 5 for up to an hour total during these workouts.
I have read that it is not recommended to stay in zone 5 for long periods of time, so I asked my cardiologist about it when I went there to go over the results of a stress test I had done recently.
He told me it is absolutely fine to do this and it is probably the reason that my stress test turned out so good, and my heart is so strong.
If I am going to spend time doing cardio, I want to get a good workout because I feel that anything less is pretty much just wasting time.
I do workouts where I only stay in zone 3 or lower, but those are only for recovery in between the intense ones.
So... how do you roll?
Wow you're incredible.
No way could I run flat out to stay in zone 5 for an hour straight. Not sure I'd want to either.
I agree! I could probably hold for a minute or so but that would be it. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
I must be also
Just checked my data for today and yesterdays runs and it was all zone 2-3 in the main.0 -
I try never to really go over a point where I can't hold a conversation.
The whole entire point of long steady cardio isn't to get your heart rate up- it's to do extended cardio sessions- which means you're heart rate will go up- but not so much so you cannot continue doing cardio for a long time.
That is the entire point.If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.....
If I am going to spend time doing cardio, I want to get a good workout because I feel that anything less is pretty much just wasting time.
really that's kind of absurd- it just depends on what your goal is. And huffing and puffing isn't a good indicator of strength building- so for me that's a waste.
Does that mean my lifting is a waste of time?
no.
nothing is a waste of time if you did it with intent.
just because that's your priority- doesn't mean it's someone else's.4 -
If you ain't huffing and puffing and sweating... you ain't doing it right.....
If I am going to spend time doing cardio, I want to get a good workout because I feel that anything less is pretty much just wasting time.
really that's kind of absurd- it just depends on what your goal is. And huffing and puffing isn't a good indicator of strength building- so for me that's a waste.
The originator has referred a few times to being trained as a fitness leader in the military in the 70s. So the thinking dates back to then.3 -
I don't monitor zones while running/biking/swimming, but I do monitor after my workouts or flag points that I want to review. Most of this figuring out intake timing, but my goal is increased performance for multisport. Most of my time is in zone 3, pushing 4 on sprints/hills, and enough time in 5 to push, but not enough to do any damage.0
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first of all zone 5 is not max heart rate. zone 5 starts at 90 % of MHR. sure max heart rate cannot be maintained for more than a few minutes, but the low end of zone 5 can be.
Also i never said i stayed in zone 5 for an hour straight. I said an hour total.
and yes, I was a fitness instructor in the Army back in the 80's (not the 70's), and I think the basic rules of fitness still apply here.
my my true max heart rate is within a few BPM of the 220 - age formula so not sure what all this talk is that I'm not really in zone 5, or I don't have my zones set up properly.
My cardiologist says I am doing it the right way, but I guess some of the experts here are better than doctors.
but that's fine with me. I'm getting results, and I only posted what I do and asked how other people roll, and its to be expected to get some folks who don't agree with older ways of doing things.
but who knows?
in another 20 or 30 years they may discover that the old ways where right the whole time...:)1
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