The Science Behind Exercise intensities, sets, reps, and rest all make a difference.
The manipulation of these variables is what creates our training adaptations. Zone 2 training, although straightforward, boring and often mundane, has a very different physiological response than Zone 4 (threshold training).
Zone 4 is a higher intensity and allows the body to utilise lactate and oxygen, but it comes at a cost—a highly neurologically fatiguing one. Zone 2 improves our bodies’ ability to uptake, transport and utilise oxygen within our muscles without the same detrimental fatigue.
We need both for health and fitness; however, the amount of threshold work needs monitoring as high volumes of that, combined with highly neurological strength training sets and day-to-day stresses managing work, family, and personal lives, puts severe pressure on the system.
Therefore, zone 2 is a vital component of any training programme, as getting oxygen to the cells allows the cells to recover and allows us to train again. The intricacy of programme design and the compounding effect of neurological fatigue, hormonal balance and tissue recovery is pivotal to improving your performance healthily.
Movement quality is a key foundation of our programmes. The more efficient or economical you are, the less energy you expend for the same amount of work, reducing overall training stress and enabling you to perform more work. Refraining from neglecting this work or choosing to work at a higher intensity than prescribed will catch up with you at some point. Be it during the workouts reducing your capacity to recover in transition or between sets, or recovering day to day between workouts.
More effort does not equal more productivity at the end of a week, with athletes guilty of training harder than they should on the days that should be easy, meaning they cannot reach the correct intensities on the days that should be hard. Stick to the plan!
Ultimately, think of your energy like currency; you can only spend so much before you end up in debt. When you are in energy debt, your performance and health will soon hit the “red” wave of burnout.
If you want to manage your training and improve your performance, join me and the rest of JJ Perform HERE – We’d love to work with you.