March 4, 2026

Rucking with a Heart Rate Monitor: How to Stay In The Zone

Rucking with a Heart Rate Monitor: How to Stay In The Zone
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Rucking with a Heart Rate Monitor: How to Stay In The Zone
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Heart rate zones are talked about everywhere. But do we know how to actually use them?

In this episode of The Rucker’s Edge, we break down heart rate training in a practical, no-nonsense way:

  • What heart rate zones actually mean
  • Why Zone 2 is the foundation for longevity and aerobic capacity
  • How to estimate your zones
  • How dehydration messes up your heart rate data
  • How to interpret heart rate trends over months
  • The best heart rate monitors for ruckers (chest straps, armbands, watches, and smart rings)

You’ll learn how to use heart rate data in real time during your rucks, how to know when to push and when to back off, and how to measure true cardiovascular progress.

If you ruck for long-term health, performance, or longevity, this episode gives you a framework you can apply immediately.

Resources & Links:

Notes:

  • Music Credit: “Play This Game” by Black Rhomb.
  • I'm not a doctor, and this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with your physician before starting any new exercise or physical activity.

00:00 - Welcome to the Rucker's Edge Podcast

03:30 - Too Much Tech?

06:08 - Heart Rate Zones and Why Zone 2 is THE Zone

11:32 - Using Heart Rate Data

14:12 - Dehydration And Cardiovascular Drift

15:25 - Heart Rate Monitor Options

18:34 - The Ruck Sack Strap Problem

WEBVTT

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Have you ever finished a ruck feeling completely

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smoked, looked down at your watch and realized

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you have no idea what those heart rate numbers

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actually mean? Are you building your aerobic

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base or just accumulating fatigue? Are you training

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for longevity or just training hard? Because

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there's a difference. Today we're breaking down

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heart rate zones in a way that actually applies

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to ruckers. Not just definitions, but how to

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use them in real time. When to push, when to

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back off, why zone 2 is the foundation for long

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-term cardiovascular health. how hydration can

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skew your data, and how to tell if you're actually

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getting fitter over time. If you're wearing a

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watch but guessing at what it's telling you,

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this episode will fix that. You're listening

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to the Rucker's Edge podcast, a show all about

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rucking that is designed to help you improve

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your rucking routine, lose weight, and ultimately

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gain your strength and energy back. Each episode

00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:51.439
dives into the science, stories, and strategies

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behind rucking. You'll learn from top ruckers,

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coaches, health experts, and performance specialists

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who break down what it takes to train smarter,

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recover faster, and stay ready for the next challenge.

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So whether you're new to rucking or an experienced

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rucker that has already logged hundreds of miles,

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this is the show for you. I'm your host, Spencer.

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Thanks for listening in. Before we dive into

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the conversation, I just want to ask real quick,

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if this show has helped you in any way, it would

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be amazing if you could drop me a quick review

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on whatever app you're using to listen to this

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podcast right now. It helps me bring new episodes

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every week, and more importantly, more people

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looking to improve their fitness will be able

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to discover the podcast. Thanks so much. Alright,

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let's start with some context, because it's easy

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to take the heart for granted. Us ruckers tend

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to be gearheads. We might be obsessed over our

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footwear, our pack, our socks, and meanwhile,

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the most important piece of equipment we have

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is sitting inside our chest doing about 100 ,000

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beats a day. Here's a stat that is frightening.

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of

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death in the United States, responsible for roughly

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one in every five deaths. One in five. According

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to the CDC, that's over 900 ,000 U .S. citizens

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every year. But as Rutgers, we know how to combat

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that statistic. Aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise

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is one of the most powerful tools we have to

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combat cardiovascular disease. Research published

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in journals like the Journal of American College

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of Cardiology, has consistently shown that the

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recommended amounts of moderate intensity aerobic

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activity, which is about 150 to 300 minutes per

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week, are associated with about 20 to 30 % lower

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risk of cardiovascular mortality, with higher

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amounts of aerobic activity reducing risks by

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28 to 38%. Your heart is a muscle. Train it and

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it gets stronger. Neglect it and it deteriorates

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just like any other muscle. One more number before

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I move on. Physical inactivity is the fourth

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leading risk factor for global mortality, according

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to the World Health Organization. It ranks behind

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high blood pressure, tobacco use, and high blood

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glucose. We're literally designed to move, and

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when we don't, the consequences are measurable

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and serious. This is why I believe rucking is

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genuinely one of the best things a person can

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do for their long -term health. It is low impact.

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weight -bearing, and cardiovascular all at once.

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You don't need a gym membership. You don't need

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a coach. You strap on a pack and you walk. And

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your heart, if you pay attention to it, will

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tell you exactly how much work it's doing. That's

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what today is about, tracking our heart rates

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and adjusting our rucking activity and intensity.

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I want to address something before we go any

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further because it needs to be said. Technology

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is great. I genuinely love it. I love that we

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live in an era where a $300 watch on your wrist

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can greet you every morning with a nice message

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and summarize your current health metrics based

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on your night's sleep and your previous day's

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activity. If you're rocking a Garmin, here's

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just a partial rundown of what those watches

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can track. They track resting and active heart

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rates, HRV, VO2 max, training status, training

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load, aerobic and anaerobic training effect,

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recovery time, body battery, blood oxygen, sleep

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stages, stress score, blah blah blah blah blah.

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The list goes on. It's remarkable. A few decades

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ago, elite athletes paid thousands of dollars

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for data like that. but this amount of data at

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our fingertips can get complicated fast. If you're

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spending more time staring at your watch than

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actually being present on your ruck, something's

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off. If you're anxious because your body battery

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dipped below 30, or you're frustrated because

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your training status says unproductive, even

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though you feel fine, that's the technology working

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against you, not for you. So before you go down

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that rabbit hole of metrics, ask yourself three

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questions. These are three questions that I sort

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of just brainstormed. The first one being, what

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is your goal? If you're rucking for longevity

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to feel good, stay healthy, and be functional

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for the next 30 years, you don't necessarily

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need to be tracking 10 metrics simultaneously.

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Consistency matters more than optimization. If

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your goal is something measurable, like losing

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a specific amount of weight or improving your

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VO2 max, then yeah, data becomes more useful

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because you have a target to compare against.

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And if you're rucking as a form of stress relief,

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then what else matters besides stepping away

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from work and moving your body? The second question

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to ask is, how much brain capacity do you have

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right now? Seriously, a lot of us ruck because

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life is busy and we need to step away from the

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noise. If reviewing training data is going to

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become another chore on your to -do list, you

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might be better served by simplifying. You can

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be incredibly fit and never look at a single

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metric. And the third and last question to ask

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before you use tech, or if you want to use tech,

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is what is your budget? An old Timex does not

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qualify you from training well. Budget accordingly.

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You do not need to spend $1 ,000 to improve your

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fitness. Now, why do I personally track heart

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rate? Well, because I'm a scientist and I love

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data. I love plotting trends on a graph and forming

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narratives from what I see. Heart rate data over

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time might be one of the most honest stories

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your body can tell. about itself. All right,

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let's start talking about heart rate zones and

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why zone two is the zone. Heart rate zones are

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ranges that correspond to different levels of

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cardiovascular effort. There are five defined

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heart rate zones and each zone represents a training

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intensity. In my research for this episode, I

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read Garmin's description for each zone and I

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really like how they break that down. So I'm

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going to share that with you here. Zone one can

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be thought of as a warmup. It's about 50 to 60

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% of your max heart rate. The training in zone

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one feels like a relaxed, easy pace with rhythmic

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breathing. It improves your heart's ability to

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pump blood and your muscles' ability to use oxygen.

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Zone 2 is easy. It's 60 -70 % of your max heart

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rate. Training in Zone 2 is at a comfortable

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pace where you're breathing more deeply but can

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still hold a conversation. It's good for recovery

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and basic cardiovascular training. Zone 3 is

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aerobic with 70 -80 % of your max heart rate.

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Zone 3 training is done at a moderate pace where

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it's more difficult to hold a conversation. Zone

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three strengthens your lungs and heart for more

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endurance. Zone four, which is known as sort

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of like the threshold zone, that's 80 to 90 %

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of your max heart rate. In zone four, you're

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moving at a fast, almost uncomfortable pace with

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forceful breathing. It improves anaerobic capacity

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and lactate threshold. And lastly, zone five,

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that's your max, which is 90 to 100 % of your

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max HR. When you reach zone five, you typically

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are at a sprint pace that is difficult to sustain

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for a long time. And breathing is definitely

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labored. Each zone has its place. But for Rutgers

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who care about longevity and long -term cardiovascular

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health, zone two is the foundation. And before

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I go any further, I just want to remind everyone,

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I'm not a doctor. And the content presented here

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is for educational and informational purposes

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only. Nothing in this episode is medical advice.

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I'm just a guy who rucks, likes to learn new

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things, and enjoys looking at data. If you have

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any heart conditions or concerns at all, definitely

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talk to your doctor before you start adjusting

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your training based on heart rate zones. Now

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back to zone two. So why is zone two ideal for

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ruckers? Well, let's hit up our rucking community's

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favorite literature for some insight on this.

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I'm talking about the books Outlive by Peter

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Attia, The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter,

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and a new one, RuckFit, authored by a previous

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guest of the show, Kayla Gergen. In Outlive,

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Atiyah makes the case that Zone 2 training is

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one of the most underrated tools for longevity.

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When you train in Zone 2, you're building your

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mitochondrial density. Mitochondria, as you may

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remember from your high school or your college

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biology class, they are the powerhouses of the

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cell. And the more you have of them and the more

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efficient they are, the better your body runs

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at everything. More mitochondria means better

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fat metabolism, better glucose regulation, better

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cardiovascular output, and lower resting heart

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rate over time. Atiyah advocates for around 80

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% of weekly training to be in Zone 2 with 20

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% of your weekly training at higher intensities.

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Now, Michael Easter in The Comfort Crisis, and

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I guess in his new book, Walking with Weight,

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I haven't read that book yet, but he talks about

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how humans evolved to cover long distances under

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a load, and that this specific kind of sustained,

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moderate effort movement is what our cardiovascular

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system has adapted for. He makes the case that

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rucking is arguably the exercise we were built

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to do and a pace that keeps us in zone 2 is something

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we should be targeting. Kayla Gergen in RuckFit

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echoes this from a practical standpoint. That

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rucking consistently at moderate intensity is

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more sustainable and more effective for body

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composition and cardiovascular improvement than

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grinding yourself with high intensity work day

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after day. Zone 2 is where your aerobic base

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is built, it's where fat oxidation is highest,

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it's where you can train for long durations without

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excessive recovery, and rucking by its very nature

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is one of the best Zone 2 modalities available.

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So how do you figure out your heart rate zones?

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Well, the traditional formula is subtracting

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your age from 220 to get your estimated maximum

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heart rate. So, for example, if you're 40, your

00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:22.419
estimated max is 180 beats per minute, so 220

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minus 40 is 180. Zone 2 is generally 60 to 70

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% of that max, so for that 40 -year -old, roughly

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108 to 126 beats per minute. Now, this formula

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is not perfect. It's a population average, and

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this varies person to person. Some people's true

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max is 20 beats higher than that formula predicts.

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This is a starting point. The most accurate way

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to find your true max is a graded exercise stress

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test done in a lab with a medical professional

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monitoring your heart while you work up to maximum

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exertion on a treadmill or a bike. That is the

00:10:59.789 --> 00:11:02.149
gold standard, but recreational ruckers don't

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need a stress test. The formula gets you close

00:11:04.590 --> 00:11:06.889
enough to start, and you can refine from there

00:11:06.889 --> 00:11:09.799
as you collect data. There's an even simpler

00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:12.980
feel test for zone 2 that I love, and actually

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the definition of zone 2 through Garmin talks

00:11:15.539 --> 00:11:18.659
about this, and that is the talk test. If you

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can carry on a conversation in full, comfortable

00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:25.019
sentences while rucking, not gasping, not struggling,

00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:27.980
then you're in zone 2. If you're having trouble

00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:30.539
stringing more than a few words together, you've

00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:33.179
drifted into zone 3. Let's talk about how to

00:11:33.179 --> 00:11:36.059
use our heart rate data and know when to push

00:11:36.059 --> 00:11:39.820
and when to pull back. This is pretty obvious

00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:42.500
stuff here, but if your heart rate is consistently

00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:45.500
below the bottom of your target zone, you have

00:11:45.500 --> 00:11:47.940
room to work harder. So here are some ways that

00:11:47.940 --> 00:11:50.299
you can work harder and increase your heart rate.

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You can add weight. You can pick up the pace.

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Add elevation to your rucks. Try a mid -ruck

00:11:57.779 --> 00:12:00.700
workout. So do some squats, lunges, overhead

00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:03.240
presses with your ruck. Or you can mix up the

00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:05.299
variables until you find what really moves the

00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:07.809
needle for you. For someone newer to fitness,

00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:10.710
adding weight might be enough, but someone that

00:12:10.710 --> 00:12:13.690
has a solid aerobic base, picking up the pace

00:12:13.690 --> 00:12:16.649
and adding elevation might be what bumps them

00:12:16.649 --> 00:12:18.950
up to their target heart rate zone. There's no

00:12:18.950 --> 00:12:21.590
universal answer. If your heart rate exceeds

00:12:21.590 --> 00:12:24.570
the top of your target zone, then back off. Slow

00:12:24.570 --> 00:12:27.009
down. Reduce the weight. Let your cardiovascular

00:12:27.009 --> 00:12:30.659
system settle back down. Pro tip. Set an alert

00:12:30.659 --> 00:12:32.919
on your fitness tracker for your zone boundaries.

00:12:33.139 --> 00:12:35.379
Let the device tell you when you drift above

00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:38.379
or below your target. That way you can stay present

00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:41.000
on your ruck and let the technology do the monitoring.

00:12:41.659 --> 00:12:44.740
Okay, but what about after your ruck? What do

00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:47.480
you do with that data? One ruck's worth of heart

00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:50.139
rate data doesn't tell you that much. Three months

00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:53.480
of data, six months of data. Now you're reading

00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.820
a story. How do you know you're making progress?

00:12:56.980 --> 00:12:59.899
Well, the clearest signal. is that your heart

00:12:59.899 --> 00:13:02.700
rate at a given pace and pack weight is getting

00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:06.360
lower over time. So same three -mile route, same

00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:09.279
30 -pound ruck. Three months ago, your average

00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:13.139
heart rate was 140. Today, it's 132. That's cardiovascular

00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:16.559
adaptation. Your heart is becoming more efficient.

00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:19.379
It pumps more blood per beat, so it doesn't need

00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:22.840
to beat as frequently to do the same work. Watch

00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:25.039
for trends, not just single days. A single ruck

00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:27.580
can be influenced by sleep, hydration, stress,

00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:30.980
caffeine, temperature, so many variables. Look

00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:32.919
at the rolling averages. Look at where you were

00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:36.379
eight weeks ago versus today. Here's a misconception

00:13:36.379 --> 00:13:39.740
worth addressing. People newer to exercise often

00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:43.379
expect progress to feel dramatic. That there

00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:45.779
will be a clear moment when the ruck suddenly

00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:48.899
feels easier and they know they've arrived. Sometimes

00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:50.860
that happens, but cardiovascular improvement

00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:53.539
is usually gradual and subtle. You might not

00:13:53.539 --> 00:13:55.460
feel meaningfully different, but your heart rate

00:13:55.460 --> 00:13:58.360
data will show the adaptation. Data shows you

00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:01.139
what perception can miss. Now, on the flip side,

00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:02.779
sometimes people feel like they're grinding and

00:14:02.779 --> 00:14:04.700
going nowhere. The data might actually show their

00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:07.179
heart rate at the same effort is slowly declining.

00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:09.620
They're getting fitter, and they just haven't

00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:12.399
noticed. That's why tracking is very useful.

00:14:12.970 --> 00:14:15.389
Before going over what heart rate monitors are

00:14:15.389 --> 00:14:17.950
best for Rutgers, let's talk about how dehydration

00:14:17.950 --> 00:14:22.210
can impact your heart rate and your data. Dehydration

00:14:22.210 --> 00:14:24.610
reduces your plasma volume, so that's the fluid

00:14:24.610 --> 00:14:27.389
portion of your blood. When plasma volume drops,

00:14:27.549 --> 00:14:29.850
your heart has to beat more frequently to maintain

00:14:29.850 --> 00:14:32.429
the same cardiac output. And your heart rate

00:14:32.429 --> 00:14:34.970
drifts upward even if your pace stays exactly

00:14:34.970 --> 00:14:37.129
the same. That phenomenon has a name. I just

00:14:37.129 --> 00:14:39.090
learned it from doing this research. It's called

00:14:39.090 --> 00:14:42.100
cardiovascular drift. Now here's a scenario.

00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:44.240
You start your ruck. Heart rate is right where

00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:48.259
you want it, say 125 beats per minute. 45 minutes

00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:51.019
in, same pace, same terrain, heart rate is 140.

00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:54.500
You have not sped up. You haven't added load,

00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:57.659
but your heart is working harder. So what changed?

00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:00.600
Probably hydration. If your heart rate is steadily

00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.299
climbing 10 to 15 beats per minute over the course

00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:05.960
of a ruck at the same effort, before you assume

00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:08.120
something is wrong with your fitness, ask yourself

00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:11.000
when was the last time you had water. Staying

00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:13.460
hydrated is the most direct lever you can pull

00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:15.679
to keep your heart rate stable during exercise.

00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.980
As I have mentioned in previous episodes, drink

00:15:18.980 --> 00:15:21.720
before you feel thirsty. By the time thirst registers,

00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:25.120
you're already behind and a little dehydrated.

00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:28.960
Okay, so let's talk hardware. I'm organizing

00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:33.919
this by accuracy hierarchy because not all monitors

00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:37.200
are created equal. So tier one, the most accurate

00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:39.909
are probably going to be chest straps. Chest

00:15:39.909 --> 00:15:42.370
straps use electrodes to detect the electrical

00:15:42.370 --> 00:15:44.470
signal your heart generates with every beat.

00:15:44.590 --> 00:15:47.490
So same principle as an EKG at your doctor's

00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:50.110
office. The strap sits across your chest. The

00:15:50.110 --> 00:15:53.610
electrode makes contact with your skin and it

00:15:53.610 --> 00:15:57.029
reads the electrical activity directly. There's

00:15:57.029 --> 00:15:59.590
no interpretation. It's a direct measurement.

00:16:00.710 --> 00:16:04.870
A solid dependable one is the Polar H10. It has

00:16:04.870 --> 00:16:09.950
Bluetooth and ANT plus connectivity. And it pairs

00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:12.309
with most watches and apps, and it stores data

00:16:12.309 --> 00:16:15.309
internally. It has exceptional accuracy even

00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:17.590
during high -intensity efforts. If you have a

00:16:17.590 --> 00:16:20.009
Garmin, you can pair the H10 directly to it.

00:16:20.070 --> 00:16:22.629
Your Garmin displays and records the chest strap

00:16:22.629 --> 00:16:25.210
data with your activity. I think that's the move

00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:28.409
if you're serious about precise data. Tier 2,

00:16:28.570 --> 00:16:30.870
now this is very good, the bicep and armband

00:16:30.870 --> 00:16:33.450
monitors. I've never used one of these, but these

00:16:33.450 --> 00:16:36.059
use optical sensors. which is the same technology

00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:39.320
as wristwatches or fitness trackers that you

00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:42.139
wear on your wrist, but you place these on your

00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:44.600
upper arm. They have significantly better accuracy

00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:48.639
than wrist -based devices. The Polar Verity Sense

00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.159
is a pretty decent option. It goes on the upper

00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:53.080
arm. It's wireless. It's near the chest strap

00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.419
accuracy at a lower price point. It's a strong

00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:58.700
option if you want better accuracy than a watch,

00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:02.320
but prefer not to wear a chest strap. Tier three,

00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:03.919
convenient. I think this is where a lot of us

00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:07.369
fall. is our wrist -based watches or fitness

00:17:07.369 --> 00:17:10.829
trackers. Wrist devices use optical sensors,

00:17:10.950 --> 00:17:14.009
so LED lights that shine into your skin and measure

00:17:14.009 --> 00:17:16.589
how light is absorbed by blood moving through

00:17:16.589 --> 00:17:19.829
the capillaries. More blood flow per beats means

00:17:19.829 --> 00:17:22.950
more light absorbed. That's the signal that the

00:17:22.950 --> 00:17:26.730
watch interprets as your heart rate. Wrist -based

00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:29.910
monitoring is generally accurate enough for useful

00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:33.849
data at steady -state efforts. They're less reliable

00:17:33.849 --> 00:17:35.849
during high intensity intervals or exercises

00:17:35.849 --> 00:17:38.549
with significant wrist movements. For steady

00:17:38.549 --> 00:17:41.829
rucking, most good wrist devices give you a reasonable

00:17:41.829 --> 00:17:47.130
read. I'm biased. I'm a Garmin wearer. I have

00:17:47.130 --> 00:17:49.650
a Garmin Instinct. It has a pretty robust integration

00:17:49.650 --> 00:17:53.430
with Garmin Connect for trend analysis. There's

00:17:53.430 --> 00:17:57.170
also Polar makes a Pacer Pro, I think is what

00:17:57.170 --> 00:18:00.819
their wrist. heart rate monitor is. I know Whoop,

00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:02.740
I think they're on the fourth version, 4 .0.

00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:05.279
There's no screen. It's a subscription -based.

00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:07.339
It's excellent for 24 -hour recovery and HRV

00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:08.880
monitoring. I think that's its selling point.

00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:11.920
Wrist trackers also capture resting heart rate

00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:14.440
and sleep heart rate. So that's data your chest

00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:15.940
strap misses because you're not wearing it at

00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:17.799
night. I don't think people are wearing those

00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:21.200
at night. And then lastly, tier four, these are

00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.880
recovery -focused. I added this on the list because

00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:25.980
I'm just curious about them, but those are your

00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:28.710
smart rings. The Oura Ring uses optical sensors

00:18:28.710 --> 00:18:30.470
on your finger where the signal can be quite

00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:35.849
clean, but it's not ideal for workouts. Oh, here's

00:18:35.849 --> 00:18:38.230
something interesting that I came across doing

00:18:38.230 --> 00:18:42.170
this research for this episode. There's an issue

00:18:42.170 --> 00:18:47.789
with ruckers and heart rate monitoring. And it

00:18:47.789 --> 00:18:49.730
makes sense now that, you know, I read it and

00:18:49.730 --> 00:18:51.569
I'm thinking about it, but your rucksack strap.

00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:54.200
If you're wearing a wrist -based monitor, your

00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:57.279
rucksack's shoulder strap can throw off the reading.

00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:00.740
Optical sensors depend on consistent blood flow

00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:04.240
at the sensor site, and the shoulder straps of

00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.539
your ruck compress the tissue of your shoulder

00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:09.480
and upper arm area, which can restrict blood

00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:13.480
flow reaching your wrist. On top of that, strap

00:19:13.480 --> 00:19:15.440
movement creates vibrations on your forearm,

00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:18.000
which introduces motion artifact into the optical

00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:21.769
reading. This is just another reason to pick

00:19:21.769 --> 00:19:24.329
up a pair of ruck loops. Ruck loops are awesome.

00:19:24.589 --> 00:19:27.289
I included a link in the show notes. I highly

00:19:27.289 --> 00:19:29.369
suggest you pick up a pair of those. But yeah,

00:19:29.470 --> 00:19:31.890
anyway, chest straps are completely unaffected

00:19:31.890 --> 00:19:34.109
by this, by the way. Bicep straps worn above

00:19:34.109 --> 00:19:36.950
the ruck strap contact point are also unaffected.

00:19:36.990 --> 00:19:39.450
If you've ever glanced down at your watch mid

00:19:39.450 --> 00:19:41.529
-ruck and gotten a reading that seemed wildly

00:19:41.529 --> 00:19:45.170
off, it likely could be that the straps compressing

00:19:45.170 --> 00:19:48.490
on your shoulders is the culprit. Alright, let's

00:19:48.490 --> 00:19:50.450
summarize what we discussed today. Heart rate

00:19:50.450 --> 00:19:53.390
zones give you a map for your training. Zone

00:19:53.390 --> 00:19:55.970
2 is your foundation, where your aerobic base

00:19:55.970 --> 00:19:59.369
is built, where fat metabolism is highest, where

00:19:59.369 --> 00:20:02.490
longevity adaptations happen. The talk test is

00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:04.369
a free and effective tool for getting you there.

00:20:04.730 --> 00:20:06.970
Your formula for figuring out your max heart

00:20:06.970 --> 00:20:09.910
rate is 220 minus your age. Monitor your heart

00:20:09.910 --> 00:20:12.029
rate during your rucks to stay honest, stay hydrated.

00:20:12.490 --> 00:20:15.380
Cardiovascular drift is real. Set zone alerts

00:20:15.380 --> 00:20:17.259
on your tracker so you can stay present for your

00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:19.519
ruck. And track your data over time. A lower

00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:21.559
heart rate at the same pace and the same weight

00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:23.720
over weeks and months is the clearest signal

00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:25.920
you're getting fitter. And then when it comes

00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:28.460
to choosing your monitor, choose it based off

00:20:28.460 --> 00:20:30.680
your needs. Chest strap for the most accurate

00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:32.859
data. Bicep strap as a strong middle ground.

00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:35.440
Wrist -based watch for convenience and all -day

00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:40.019
tracking. So keep it simple, stay consistent,

00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:42.400
and let your heart rate data tell you the story

00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:45.200
of your progress. That's it. That's all I have

00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:47.960
for today. Feel free to reach out to me at theruckersedge

00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:50.960
.com. And if you want to find me on social media,

00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:53.519
you can follow me on Instagram at theruckersedgepod.

00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:56.859
But that's all I got for today. Sincerely, thank

00:20:56.859 --> 00:20:59.079
you for listening. I'll catch you next time on

00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:00.019
The Rucker's Edge.