Dr. Andy Galpin

Do some running uphill.

Jump in the pool.

Really up to you.

The intensity at which you do that is more like what I just explained.

As I apologized at the beginning of the program, I earlier in my life grossly underappreciated the cardiovascular system as a whole.

And I certainly underappreciated the importance of low intensity exercise.

I'll also be candid with you here.

I am not as fond of zone two exercise as some other folks are.

I certainly don't think it's bad.

It is good for you.

I just don't think you need to be that worried about what exact zone you're in.

You want to be something probably in that lower intensity, 60 to 80-ish percent of your heart rate.

I don't really care where your millimolars are.

In any of those low intensities, you're going to be challenging the ability to bring in and utilize oxygen over a long period of time.

Look at any amount of research on that.

It is very clear, steady state, lower intensity exercise, especially over time, six months to a year is generally going to improve VO2 max, probably upwards of five to 10%, depending on the person, the training history and other contexts like that.

So it's very, very effective and something I have absolutely incorporated more and more into both my life personally, as well as my coaching practice.

So really important to do that stuff.

On the other end of the equation, you can do things at an extremely high intensity for a short bout.

Depending on the study you want to pull here, you can see things like high intensity intervals.