zone 2Incline treadmill walking: 8% at 3 mph is zone 2
An 8 percent grade at 3 mph costs about twice the oxygen of flat walking, so you reach a jog-level effort with no landing impact. The settings and the caveats.
THE BLOG · PAGE 3 OF 6
Notes from the coaching floor
What we see watching thousands of live reps, and what it means for your training.
zone 2
zone 2How many hours of zone 2 a week actually move the needle
The mortality data has a clear shape: big gains in the first hours, a plateau near 300 minutes a week. Here's how much zone 2 you actually need.
strengthYour first strength gains are neural, not muscle
Beginners get stronger fast before they get bigger. Here's the nervous-system wiring behind those early gains, and why it means you should practice the lift.
strengthWhy the lowering phase builds the most muscle
The eccentric half of every rep produces the most force, yet most people rush it. Here's what lowering under control does for muscle and tendons.
strengthStuck on the same weight and reps? How to break out
Most plateaus are under-recovery in disguise and clear in a week or two. How to tell a real stall from a tired one, and the levers that get the bar moving.
strengthSore is not the signal: what DOMS does and doesn't mean
Soreness feels like proof a workout worked, but it's a poor gauge of muscle growth. Here's what DOMS really is and what to track instead.
strengthRest between sets: why three minutes beats one
How long to rest between sets, and why cutting it short quietly costs you strength and size. The physiology, the studies, and when quick rest still wins.
strengthHow muscle actually grows: tension, signaling, repair
Muscle grows from mechanical tension, not the burn or the soreness. Here is the mechanism, from costameres to mTOR to the days of repair that follow.
strengthHow long until you lose strength? 2 to 4 weeks
Strength holds 2 to 4 weeks before a test shows anything, and cardio slips inside 2. The week-by-week detraining timeline, and why it comes back fast.
strengthDeload weeks: why backing off makes you stronger
A deload week is a planned easy week that sheds fatigue so your real fitness shows up. Here is the fitness-fatigue model behind it, and how to run one.
ageTraining in your 40s: what changes and what doesn't
What actually shifts in your 40s: recovery, hormones and VO2 max drift slowly, but muscle and strength are still very much yours to build.
strengthHypertrophy or strength: which matters more for aging
Hypertrophy and strength are different adaptations, and both protect you as you age. Here's what each one does and how to train for both in a week.