Zone Fun Training

There’s lots of talk about Zone 1, 2, 3, and 4 cardio, with each “zone” based on the level of aerobic or anaerobic energy you’re utilizing. The lower the zone, the more aerobic you are and the more fat you’re burning as percentage of total energy. The higher the zone, the more anaerobic you are the more glucose and glycogen you’re burning. Lower zones are easier and slower. Higher zones are harder and faster. This is a sound way to think about “cardio,” but it doesn’t cover every zone. There’s one big training zone missing from the conversation: Zone Fun.In Zone Fun, intensity doesn’t matter. It can be high or low. You can go fast or slow. Intense or easy. Zone Fun oscillates across all the heart rate zones. Because the prime concern and determinant is whether or not you’re having fun, the other stuff melts away. Not in importance—all the aerobic zones still matter, intensity still matters—but in what you have to consciously pay attention to.You can just keep going as long as you’re having fun and moving your body.I’d go so far as to say that hitting Zone Fun is the most important metric for your cardiovascular training. If you reach Zone Fun, if you’re moving fast and slow and med...