It’s true:

Plodding along at a leisurely pace and concluding a zone 2 cardio workout without breathing heavy doesn’t sound as hardcore as blasting a high intensity Tabata session and finishing in a pool of your own blood, sweat and tears…

But as the old parable goes:

“The wise man built his house upon the rock”.

I’ve mentioned previously that one of my goals since starting HERO Movement has been to slow down and gradually rebuild my body instead of constantly breaking it down.

Alongside mobility training and down-regulation, that’s where long duration, low intensity aerobic work – aka zone 2 training – comes into play.

Let’s me make it clear from the out:

I’m not against high intensity training, and it definitely has a number of benefits.

But in this article, I want to highlight the equally important role of zone 2 cardio.

Not just in promoting health and longevity, but in establishing a strong underlying aerobic base for athletic performance.

I’m by no means a leading expert on cardiovascular training methods, but whether you’re an aspiring triathlete or a weekend warrior, hopefully you’ll find something useful below that you can apply to your own training regime.