How to train your cardiovascular fitness | Peter Attia

The discussion focuses on optimizing cardiorespiratory fitness through a balanced training approach, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an 80/20 ratio of low-intensity zone two to high-intensity VO2 max workouts. This principle applies universally, from elite athletes like cyclist Tadej Pogačar to everyday fitness enthusiasts. The speaker details their personal weekly training regimen, balancing strength, stability, and cardio within time constraints. Effective zone two workouts require consistent, steady-state activities, while VO2 max can be achieved through various high-intensity exercises. The goal is to maximize mitochondrial efficiency and overall cardiovascular health.

• Maximizing the Area of a Triangle: The goal is to maximize the area of a triangle with a base and a peak, representing different zones of training.
  • The base is Zone 2, which focuses on lower intensity.
  • The peak is VO2 max, which focuses on high intensity.

"The triangle has a base and the triangle has a peak, and the goal is how big an area can I get, not how wide, not how tall."

• Training Ratio: The recommended ratio for effective training is 80% low intensity (Zone 2) and 20% high intensity (VO2 max).
  • This ratio applies to both normal individuals and elite athletes.
  • Some elite athletes may train closer to a 90/10 ratio.

"The rule of thumb that is applicable for People Like Us, I.E normal people and the best athletes in the world, is roughly 80/20."

• Example of Elite Athlete: Tadej Pogačar, a top cyclist, follows an 80-90% Zone 2 training regimen.

"Tadej Pogačar, who's the greatest cyclist on this planet, two-time winner of the Tour de France, that guy's doing 80 to 90 percent of his training at Zone 2."

• Time Allocation: Adjust training based on available time. The speaker mentions a personal limitation of 4-5 hours per week for dedicated cardio.
  • Historically trained 14-20 hours per week.
  • Current obligations prevent more extensive training.

"I wish I could be putting 10 hours a week into cardio... historically I've put in 14 to 20 hours a week into cardio up until 10 years ago."

• Balancing Life and Training: The speaker mentions the necessity of balancing various life commitments with training.
  • Not willing to give up activities like archery, driving, or family time.

"I'd have to give up something I'm not willing to give up, like archery or driving or my kids."

• Workout Distribution: For Zone 2 training, the speaker divides the time into four workouts per week.
  • Training days: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

"I divided into four workouts a week, so for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday."

• Training Consistency: The importance of spreading out workouts rather than condensing them into a single day.
  • Consistent, distributed training is more beneficial.

"Is there the same benefit of doing all your Zone 2 in one day versus spreading it out? No, spreading it out is more beneficial."

These notes summarize the key ideas discussed in the transcript, focusing on the principles of cardiorespiratory fitness training, personal adjustments to training schedules, and practical implementation strategies.

• The speaker details a structured weekly workout routine, including various types of training and specific days allocated to each.
• The routine includes strength training, stability training, zone two workouts, and VO2 max sessions.
• The schedule is divided into lower body and upper body strength training on specific days.

"Monday is just strength training so that's about 90 minutes to two hours when you include the stability training that I do as well so movement prep stability training strength training and that's all lower body."

• Monday focuses on lower body strength training combined with stability training, lasting 90 minutes to two hours.

"Tuesday is zone two followed by dedicated hour of stability."

• Tuesday includes zone two cardio training followed by an hour of stability training.

"Wednesday is upper body strength and stability again 90 minutes to two hours."

• Wednesday focuses on upper body strength and stability training, similar in duration to Monday.

"Thursday is a repeat of Tuesday."

• Thursday repeats the Tuesday routine of zone two cardio and stability training.

"Friday is a repeat of Monday."

• Friday repeats the Monday routine of lower body strength and stability training.

"Saturday is zone two in the morning upper body strength repeat of Wednesday in the afternoon."

• Saturday includes zone two cardio in the morning and a repeat of Wednesday's upper body strength routine in the afternoon.

"Sunday is zone two followed by VO2 max."

• Sunday combines zone two cardio followed by a VO2 max session.

• The speaker discusses the importance and structure of zone two and VO2 max training.
• Zone two training involves maintaining a steady state of moderate intensity.
• VO2 max training is more intense and usually follows a substantial amount of zone two work.

"Tuesday Thursday is just zone two and then two long sessions of stability training so it's like called an hour of zone two an hour of stability."

• Zone two training on Tuesday and Thursday is paired with stability training sessions.

"Sunday is zone two followed by VO2 max."

• VO2 max training on Sunday follows a zone two session to ensure adequate warm-up and endurance preparation.

"I generally don't just because I like to have a lot of reps before I go for broke so even when I was like a cyclist and doing two Zone VO2 max workouts a week they were always preceded by a long the metric we would use um on a bike was kilojoules so is how many kilojoules of work would you do before you would do the super hard sets and it had to be at least a thousand kilojoules which would translate to at least a thousand calories of work."

• The speaker prefers to have substantial zone two work before engaging in VO2 max training, using a metric of kilojoules to measure the workload.

• The speaker provides guidance on how to structure and optimize zone two training sessions.
• Emphasizes the importance of at least 30 minutes per session for effective zone two training.
• Suggests breaking up the sessions if necessary but maintaining a minimum duration for each.

"If you can get at least 30 to 45 minutes you should spread them out so again if you're only able to commit an hour to it it might be one hour once or 30 minutes twice."

• Recommends spreading out zone two sessions to ensure a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes per session.

"If someone is like hey you know I can do four days a week of zone two but I can only do 15 minutes a day would you said I'd compress it I would say do two thirties."

• Advises compressing shorter sessions into fewer, longer sessions to meet the minimum effective duration.

"In your zone two sessions you like to do at least 30. at a minimum yeah."

• Confirms that at least 30 minutes is the minimum duration for effective zone two training sessions.

• Various modalities can be used for zone two training, including treadmill, bike, swimming, and running.
• The key is to maintain a steady state of moderate intensity regardless of the modality.

"I do it all mine on a bike um sometimes on a treadmill but what I do is there's a like a little it's a it's it's the the computer is programming to the Wahoo kicker which is the device I'm sitting on so it's it's taking 10 minutes to ramp me up."

• The speaker primarily uses a bike or treadmill for zone two training, with a programmed ramp-up period.

"Swimming is a great way to do it because you can really swim in a pool at a steady state."

• Swimming is highlighted as an effective modality for maintaining a steady state during zone two training.

"Running is a great way to do it because you can pretty much run at a steady state."

• Running is also suitable for zone two training due to its ability to maintain a steady pace.

"Cycling Outdoors is generally hard unless you have specific Fiesta Island was a great place to train I used to train a Fiesta Island because for people who don't know where that is in San Diego it's we're all with the time trial bike races where an."

• Outdoor cycling can be challenging for steady-state training unless specific conditions or locations, like Fiesta Island, are used.

• Terrain and Traffic Issues: The hilly terrain and heavy traffic in Austin make it difficult to maintain a steady Zone 2 training pace.
• Alternative Training Methods: Utilizing a treadmill, rowing machine, or stair climber can be effective alternatives for Zone 2 training.
• Efficiency in Rowing: Rowing can be effective if the individual is efficient and stable enough to row well for extended periods.

"It's just a seven-kilometer loop that you can ride on without lights or any traffic, but for the most part, I wouldn't be able to do Zone 2 outside here in Austin. It's just too hilly and there's too much traffic."

• The hilly terrain and traffic in Austin disrupt the steady pace required for Zone 2 training.

"A treadmill is another great way to do it, just kind of a walking incline typically. Rowing machine if you're really a good rower. You have to be efficient enough. Most people are not efficient enough and they don't have the strength or stability to row really well for 45 minutes."

• Treadmills and rowing machines offer controlled environments for Zone 2 training. Efficiency and stability are crucial for effective rowing.

• Focus on Steady-State Training: Zone 2 training should be continuous to harness mitochondrial efficiency effectively.
• Heart Rate vs. Lactate Measurement: Heart rate is a less accurate measure of Zone 2 compared to lactate levels or Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).
• Physiological Benefits: The goal is to push oxidative phosphorylation to its limit without triggering glycolysis.

"We don't have to get into all the reasons of the benefits of Zone 2 because we have so many podcasts within you go son Milan people can listen to."

• The benefits of Zone 2 training have been extensively covered in other podcasts.

"I went out for a three-hour bike ride today, and when I got back, my computer told me I did 44 minutes of Zone 2. So two issues there: one is that's just a Zone 2 based on heart rate, which is generally the worst approximation of Zone 2."

• Heart rate is not a reliable measure for Zone 2 training; lactate levels or RPE are better indicators.

"You're not getting kind of that constant steady-state churn which you're looking for. We're really kind of looking for is the harnessing of mitochondrial efficiency."

• Continuous Zone 2 training is essential for improving mitochondrial efficiency, which is disrupted by intermittent training.

• Versatile Training Options: VO2 max training can be performed using various modalities that elevate heart rate and induce fatigue.
• Hill Training: Running or cycling on hills is an effective way to achieve VO2 max training.
• Treadmill and Other Equipment: Incline walking on a treadmill and using a rowing machine or stair climber are also viable options.

"I can do my VO2 max here because I go to a hill, and that's my favorite way to do VO2 max, is on a hill that's about a mile long and just do very hard up the hill and then easy down the hill."

• Hill training is an effective method for VO2 max training, providing intense intervals of exertion followed by recovery.

"A treadmill is another great way to do it, just kind of a walking incline typically. Rowing machine if you're really a good rower. Stair climber is another really good one."

• Treadmills, rowing machines, and stair climbers offer controlled environments for effective VO2 max training.

• Exercise Options for VO2 Max Workouts:
  • Various exercises can be used, such as air bike, regular bike, stationary bike, stair climber, treadmill, and running outside.
  • The intensity should be manageable for at least three minutes to hit the VO2 max sweet spot of three to eight-minute intervals.
  • Exercises that are too intense, like burpees or jumping, may not be suitable for maintaining the required duration.

"The sweet spot for VO2 max is kind of three to eight minute intervals so you don't want to be doing things that are so intense that you can't do them for at least three minutes."

• The optimal duration for VO2 max exercises is between three to eight minutes to maintain effectiveness.

• Personal Experience and Adjustments:

  • Personal fitness levels can affect the choice of exercises and their intensity.
  • As fitness levels change, adjustments to the type and intensity of exercises may be necessary.

"When I was young and I was really fit I did a lot of it with jumping but like those I mean I can't jump for three minutes anymore like I don't have it's just that you know I'm not that fit anymore so I have to rely on easier things."

• Fitness levels evolve over time, necessitating changes in exercise routines to match current capabilities.

• Current VO2 Max Workout Routine:

  • Typical workout involves four minutes on and four minutes off, sometimes three minutes on and three minutes off.
  • Utilizes a rowing machine or an industrial-grade strength climber for these intervals.
  • Occasionally, a high-intensity one-minute sprint followed by a two-minute rest is used when time is limited.

"These days um and sometimes by the way I just am in a bit of a rush and I'll just do one minute on two minute off at a much higher intensity on this air climber."

• Time constraints can lead to adjustments in the workout routine, such as higher intensity with shorter intervals.

• Intensity and Duration Management:

  • The workout involves managing wattage on a bike to ensure a balanced effort throughout the interval.
  • The first minute should feel relatively easy, becoming uncomfortable by the third minute, and exhausting by the fourth minute.
  • Positive splitting is used, where more effort is exerted in the first half of the interval, but not exceeding 10% more than the second half.

"I might go out at 105 of that wattage and it feels pretty easy for the first minute if it doesn't I've gone too hard by three minutes I'm very uncomfortable and at a minute I'm I mean with at that in that last minute I.E at four minutes I'm I don't have much left."

• Proper pacing is crucial, with a gradual increase in discomfort, ensuring the final minute is challenging but achievable.

"If you go out all out in that first minute you're not going to get to four minutes you're you're just gonna crash and you're you're sort of not in that zone you wanna so it's not there's no question I positive split the thing meaning I do more work in the first half than the second but I don't want it to be more than about 10 percent."

• Starting too intensely can lead to premature fatigue, making it impossible to complete the interval effectively. Balancing effort with a slight positive split ensures sustained performance.