What is zone 2?

When working out people love to say target zone 2, make this rep a tempo but what does all this mean? It can be easy to read that zone 2 is 60-70% your maximum heart rate (Clinic, C, 2025). However, when you’re at the gym or about to go for a run trying to actually do this can be quite hard. Here, I will attempt to clear it up so next time you’re about to attempt cardio in zone you will feel more confident you know what to actually do.

Firstly, what are the benefits of hitting zone 2?

1.        Improves endurance

2.        Burning fat

3.        Improved aerobic systems

4.        Strengthens the heart

Zone 2 is a common phrase you may hear when doing cardio or endurance exercise that is low intensity. The ultimate goal of working within this zone is enhancing aerobic adaptions and metabolic efficiency (Meixner et al., 2025) – otherwise known as making our heart, lungs and muscles work better so you can exercise with less effort. Zone 2 sits within a 5-zone model. The chart below shows these 5 zones.

However, for me I find it hard to separate 60% from 70% when I am out there doing exercise. Therefore, when I was told to think of zone 2 as

“Comfortably uncomfortable”

 I found it easier to hit the right zones when training. This means in practice

-              Breathing deeper but controlled

-              Able to say 2-3 words but not able to sing

-              If it feels too easy  probably zone 1

-              If it’s starting to burn and feel too hard  zone 3 or higher

Therefore, being able to change your pace until you feel like you are in the right zone is essential to get the most out of your workout. Starting off at the wrong pace doesn’t ruin your workout, you just need to be able to recognise it and adjust back to your targeted zone.

Reference list

1.        Clinic, C. (2025). Easy Does It: Why You Should Target Zone 2 Cardio Workouts. [online] Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/zone-2-cardio.

2.        Meixner, B., Luca Filipas, Holmberg, H.-C. and Sperlich, B. (2025). Zone 2 Intensity: A Critical Comparison of Individual Variability in Different Submaximal Exercise Intensity Boundaries. Translational Sports Medicine. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/tsm2/2008291.