In this solo episode of the No Days Off podcast, host Brian Gubernick introduces listeners to Zone 2 training—a heart‑rate‑based aerobic approach he credits with dramatically improving his own performance, body composition, energy, and recovery. He explains the concept’s scientific basis (optimal for fat oxidation, mitochondrial health, cardio fitness, blood‑sugar regulation, and cortisol control), contrasts it with high‑intensity training, and shares personal outcomes after adopting the method. Gubernick provides a practical how‑to: selecting enjoyable activities, calculating an individual Zone 2 heart‑rate range using the 220‑age formula multiplied by 60‑75 %, using a “talk test” to confirm intensity, and structuring weekly sessions (e.g., 45‑60 min walks 3‑4 times/week plus occasional bike rides). He recommends heart‑rate monitors (e.g., Garmin) for accuracy, suggests pairing Zone 2 with strength work and occasional sprints, and challenges listeners to try the protocol for four weeks while tracking energy, endurance, and recovery. Throughout, he emphasizes sustainability, smarter training over harder effort, and invites audience feedback.
Chapters
Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Just a couple of weeks ago, episode 470, we talked about Peter Diamandis's 4 key areas of focus to live a healthier and better life. Peter talked about mindset, exercise, nutrition, and recovery. And in episode 470, we talked about those 4 key areas and we spent a little bit of time on mindset. Today, I wanna talk a little bit about exercise. I wanna talk about health, but I wanna talk specifically about exercise and I wanna share something with, the No Days Off Nation that really, really changed my approach to my physical training a couple years ago. And it really changed the game for me. And that's Zone 2 training. It's the concept of Zone 2 training. Now, I'm not a health professional, it goes without saying. I am just sharing with you what worked incredibly well for me. And it's worth you investigating further, but make sure you check with whoever your health professional may be and just get that, get that guidance before you undertake anything that I'm sharing with you. But I want to talk about this zone 2 training. So a couple years ago, I start reading the book Primal Endurance. Mark Sisson is, is the author of the book, and he's written a whole bunch of content around training and nutrition. Mark's, Mark's a genius. And, I started reading his book because I started to get more into different types of endurance-related activity. I had run some marathons and half marathons before, and I had just strictly run off of, you know, my time. So, I knew I wanted to run faster, so I set a goal at a certain target pace, and that was really what I did. I didn't think about anything more than the time. That I was completing a specific activity. However, when I started studying all that Mark had to share, I learned the importance of training off of your heart rate and specifically training in zone 2, which we're gonna talk about here in a moment. And when I did it, my performance changed dramatically, but so did my body composition, so did my energy and my recovery. Zone 2 training changed the game for me. So we're going to talk about Zone 2 training. What is it? Why does it matter? How to implement it? And maybe some of the benefits that hopefully you'll experience in much the same way I did. Now, what is Zone 2 training? Zone 2 is the optimal heart rate zone for maximizing fat burning, endurance, and metabolic health. That is the science behind it. I don't think many will dispute that, that zone 2 is the optimal heart rate zone for fat burning and endurance and metabolic health. Now, it may feel weird or different. We're gonna get to that here in a moment. You might wonder, is it really working me as hard as I hear it is? But when you try it out, you'll soon see. Now, why might you have some strange feelings around this, or why do you think it may not be working as well as it actually is? Well, that's because first and foremost, key characteristic of zone 2 training is it feels easy to moderate. In other words, it's not exhausting. When I was training previously, I was kind of— I was pushing myself as hard as I could, and therefore I was making some strides, but it wasn't sustainable and I was burning out a little bit. But when you're training in zone 2, it actually feels rather easy to moderate. It's also very sustainable for long durations. When I go out and train in zone 2, it feels like a forever sort of pace or rate. In other words, I can keep doing the activity, dare I say, indefinitely. Of course, I'm going to run out of out of juice at some point, but you feel like you can go for a much longer period of time. That's because in zone 2, you're actually operating at 60 to call it 75% of your max heart rate. And when you're truly in zone 2, you could actually talk to somebody walking or running next to you. You could talk to them comfortably without gasping for air, which again, when I was running previously, I couldn't carry a conversation. I could get a few words out, but I had to gasp for air. See, the problem that zone 2 solves, lots of problems it solves, but one of the biggest problems it solves was that most people train too hard, believe it or not. And when they train too hard, they miss the long-term benefits of aerobic efficiency. Now, zone 2 training, without getting too deep into the science because you can go do your own research, but zone 2 training improves the metabolism of fat. It trains your body to burn fat more efficiently. It boosts mitochondrial health because it increases endurance and it reduces fatigue. It enhances your cardio fitness. That was exactly what I experienced when I first started doing that. And why? Because it strengthens your heart. Without the stress that you typically, at least I was, I was putting myself under, that excessive stress. And as a result, it supports longevity and it supports metabolic health. It helps regulate blood sugar. It helps with overall energy levels. And then lastly, the benefit, maybe one of the biggest benefits I had in going zone 2 was it reduced this chronic stress I was feeling. From high-intensity workouts. See, high-intensity workouts would spike my cortisol and do all sorts of things like that, but Zone 2 actually keeps your cortisol levels in check. So how do you go about implementing this Zone 2 style of training? And then stick with me, because even if you're not working out all that often, I, I'm going to guess it's your intention to start doing more, otherwise you wouldn't be listening to the No Days Off podcast. And so as you start doing more, this is really good information for you. So how do you implement zone 2 training? First, I think you gotta choose an activity or activities that you enjoy. Maybe it's walking or jogging or swimming or cycling or hiking, but choose some activities that you enjoy, okay? Then find your zone 2 heart rate. So here's a quick formula for you, okay? Take your age, right, and subtract your age from, from 220. So 220 minus your age, and then multiply that by 60 to 75%. Okay, so an example, let's, let's run through some quick math. If I'm 40, which I'm not, I'm actually 46, but if you run through the math and you say I'm 40, that means 220 minus 40 is 80. And then you would mul— I'm sorry, 80 is 180. And then you'd multiply 180 times 60, right? 0.6 in this particular case, 60%. And that comes out to, what is that, 108. That would be the bottom line of your zone 2. And then if you took 180 times, uh, 0.75 that is 135. So your zone 2 range, if you're a 40-year-old person, is 108 to 135. That would be the range— your heart rate, uh, heartbeats per minute. That would be your heart rate to target to be in zone 2. As I mentioned, I'm 46, so technically my number's probably a little bit lower than that, right? right? Because 220 minus 46 is gonna be less than 220 minus 40. Now, because I've been building up my cardio for a while, it's actually higher than that. I— my zone 2 is somewhere around 138 to 142. That's the number I try to keep within in terms of heart rate. But I've been building to that and I use all different sorts of tools to have a more accurate measurement. But just, again, baseline, Take 220 minus your age and multiply that by 60% to 75%. You get the range. You want a real simple way to find your zone 2? Use a talk test. You should actually be able to hold a conversation comfortably when you're training in a zone 2 range. Okay? So now you've chosen an activity or activities that work, that you like. You find your zone 2 heart rate. And now you train for a few hours per week. Maybe an example schedule, brisk walk 3 or 4 times per week for 45 to 60 minutes. That brisk walk is in your zone 2 heart rate, heart range. So again, going back to the 40-year-old example, you are walking and getting to 108 to 135 heart rate and you're sustaining it for that 45 to 60 minutes. Maybe you add an easy bike ride one time per week in there for, you know, an hour and a half, you know, on a Saturday. Again, you're going to get back up to that 108 to 135 range. You don't want to go above the 135, which means both with your walk and your ride, maybe you got to slow down from time to time until you get your rate back down. Now, I use a heart rate monitor. I think that once you get the hang of this, and you want more accurate data, using a Garmin watch or any sort of heart rate monitor, there's so many different things out there right now that are pretty cost-effective or cost-efficient as well. I would definitely encourage that because it helps you stay in the correct range. And then train in this time, you know, at zone 2 for a period of time and be patient. But I guarantee you, you will see results. The long-term benefits of doing this, I swear, will be worth it. And if you pair it with some sort of strength training, maybe an occasional, you know, sprint here and there, your training will change, I promise you. So in summary, Zone 2 for me has become the foundation for a much more sustainable fitness and, and plan, and, and I think it's really benefited, benefited me with respect to my long-term health. I want to challenge everybody here to try out zone 2. Try it for the next few weeks, call it the next 4 weeks. Track your energy, track your endurance, track your recovery. If you don't have all the fancy gadgets like I do, just go off of how you feel. How's your energy feel? How's your recovery feel? I would also compare notes with others maybe doing this sort of thing. Heck, if you get into this and you want to text me and, and tell me how you're doing, I would love that. Because I believe that with lots of things, but especially health, we should be training smarter and not always harder. And I think our future selves are going to thank us for doing so. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to to get better. So let's get after it.
