Cardio & Conditioning
Zone 2, VO2 max, cardio vs. weights for fat loss, how much cardio you can do while building muscle, and why walking beats HIIT for most people. Evidence-based conditioning for lifters.
Chapters
1Zone 2 Training: The Complete Guide
Zone 2 is the easy, conversational cardio that endurance coaches have prescribed for decades and that longevity researchers now recommend for everyone. Here is what it does to your mitochondria and metabolism, how to find your zone without a lab, how much you need, and how to fit it around lifting.
2VO2 Max: Why It Predicts Longevity and How to Improve It
Your watch shows a VO2 max number and most people have no idea what it means. It is the single strongest fitness predictor of how long you will live, it is trainable at any age, and the watch estimate is useful if you know its limits. Here is what VO2 max is, what a good number looks like, and the training that moves it.
3Cardio vs. Weights for Fat Loss
Cardio burns more calories per hour. Weights build the muscle that changes how you look at the end. The evidence says the winning approach for fat loss is not either, it is a specific combination, and the order and proportion matter less than most people think. Here is the honest comparison.
4How Much Cardio While Building Muscle?
Does cardio kill gains? The interference effect is real but much smaller and more specific than gym folklore suggests. Here is what the concurrent-training research shows about how much, which type, and how to schedule cardio so it costs you nothing in muscle.
5Walking for Fat Loss: Why It Beats HIIT for Most People
The least glamorous exercise is the one the evidence keeps favouring. Walking burns real calories, costs nothing in recovery, does not interfere with lifting, and people actually keep doing it. Here is how much you need, how to make it more effective with hills and weighted vests, and why it beats HIIT for most fat-loss goals.
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