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


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:
- Books Mentioned:
- Heart Rate Devices Mentioned:
- Polar H10
- Polar Verity Sense
- Garmin Instinct
- Polar Pacer Pro
- WHOOP 4.0
- Oura Ring
- Ruck Loops
- Show Links:
- The Rucker's Edge – Official Site
- Follow The Rucker’s Edge on Instagram: @theruckersedgepod
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
00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:02.660
Have you ever finished a ruck feeling completely
00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:05.500
smoked, looked down at your watch and realized
00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:08.140
you have no idea what those heart rate numbers
00:00:08.140 --> 00:00:10.300
actually mean? Are you building your aerobic
00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:13.199
base or just accumulating fatigue? Are you training
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:15.820
for longevity or just training hard? Because
00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:17.699
there's a difference. Today we're breaking down
00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:19.660
heart rate zones in a way that actually applies
00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:22.420
to ruckers. Not just definitions, but how to
00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:24.859
use them in real time. When to push, when to
00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:27.519
back off, why zone 2 is the foundation for long
00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:29.879
-term cardiovascular health. how hydration can
00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:32.259
skew your data, and how to tell if you're actually
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getting fitter over time. If you're wearing a
00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:37.280
watch but guessing at what it's telling you,
00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:40.640
this episode will fix that. You're listening
00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:42.460
to the Rucker's Edge podcast, a show all about
00:00:42.460 --> 00:00:44.240
rucking that is designed to help you improve
00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:46.320
your rucking routine, lose weight, and ultimately
00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:48.899
gain your strength and energy back. Each episode
00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:51.439
dives into the science, stories, and strategies
00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:53.939
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.
00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:03.439
So whether you're new to rucking or an experienced
00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:05.439
rucker that has already logged hundreds of miles,
00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:08.159
this is the show for you. I'm your host, Spencer.
00:01:08.299 --> 00:01:10.060
Thanks for listening in. Before we dive into
00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:11.900
the conversation, I just want to ask real quick,
00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:14.739
if this show has helped you in any way, it would
00:01:14.739 --> 00:01:16.500
be amazing if you could drop me a quick review
00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:18.319
on whatever app you're using to listen to this
00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:20.890
podcast right now. It helps me bring new episodes
00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:22.810
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
00:01:29.730 --> 00:01:32.530
to take the heart for granted. Us ruckers tend
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to be gearheads. We might be obsessed over our
00:01:35.569 --> 00:01:38.150
footwear, our pack, our socks, and meanwhile,
00:01:38.349 --> 00:01:40.510
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
00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:11.659
combat cardiovascular disease. Research published
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in journals like the Journal of American College
00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:17.110
of Cardiology, has consistently shown that the
00:02:17.110 --> 00:02:19.650
recommended amounts of moderate intensity aerobic
00:02:19.650 --> 00:02:22.949
activity, which is about 150 to 300 minutes per
00:02:22.949 --> 00:02:26.349
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
00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:05.659
genuinely one of the best things a person can
00:03:05.659 --> 00:03:08.500
do for their long -term health. It is low impact.
00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:12.080
weight -bearing, and cardiovascular all at once.
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You don't need a gym membership. You don't need
00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:17.840
a coach. You strap on a pack and you walk. And
00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:20.000
your heart, if you pay attention to it, will
00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.060
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
00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:20.220
spending more time staring at your watch than
00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:22.759
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
00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:33.279
though you feel fine, that's the technology working
00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:36.220
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
00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:48.800
to feel good, stay healthy, and be functional
00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:51.100
for the next 30 years, you don't necessarily
00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:53.660
need to be tracking 10 metrics simultaneously.
00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:58.100
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
00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:05.199
VO2 max, then yeah, data becomes more useful
00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:07.259
because you have a target to compare against.
00:05:07.790 --> 00:05:10.370
And if you're rucking as a form of stress relief,
00:05:10.550 --> 00:05:13.230
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
00:05:24.009 --> 00:05:26.750
noise. If reviewing training data is going to
00:05:26.750 --> 00:05:29.610
become another chore on your to -do list, you
00:05:29.610 --> 00:05:33.110
might be better served by simplifying. You can
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be incredibly fit and never look at a single
00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:38.889
metric. And the third and last question to ask
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before you use tech, or if you want to use tech,
00:05:41.209 --> 00:05:44.329
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
00:05:54.769 --> 00:05:57.329
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
00:06:02.370 --> 00:06:04.990
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
00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:18.120
ranges that correspond to different levels of
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cardiovascular effort. There are five defined
00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:23.759
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
00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:33.480
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
00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.139
% of your max heart rate. The training in zone
00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:41.800
one feels like a relaxed, easy pace with rhythmic
00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:44.430
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
00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:53.569
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
00:07:17.709 --> 00:07:20.170
of like the threshold zone, that's 80 to 90 %
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of your max heart rate. In zone four, you're
00:07:22.069 --> 00:07:25.069
moving at a fast, almost uncomfortable pace with
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forceful breathing. It improves anaerobic capacity
00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:30.730
and lactate threshold. And lastly, zone five,
00:07:30.769 --> 00:07:33.110
that's your max, which is 90 to 100 % of your
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max HR. When you reach zone five, you typically
00:07:35.569 --> 00:07:38.029
are at a sprint pace that is difficult to sustain
00:07:38.029 --> 00:07:41.050
for a long time. And breathing is definitely
00:07:41.050 --> 00:07:45.129
labored. Each zone has its place. But for Rutgers
00:07:45.129 --> 00:07:47.889
who care about longevity and long -term cardiovascular
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health, zone two is the foundation. And before
00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:53.350
I go any further, I just want to remind everyone,
00:07:53.529 --> 00:07:56.490
I'm not a doctor. And the content presented here
00:07:56.490 --> 00:07:58.610
is for educational and informational purposes
00:07:58.610 --> 00:08:01.110
only. Nothing in this episode is medical advice.
00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:03.430
I'm just a guy who rucks, likes to learn new
00:08:03.430 --> 00:08:06.310
things, and enjoys looking at data. If you have
00:08:06.310 --> 00:08:08.540
any heart conditions or concerns at all, definitely
00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:10.579
talk to your doctor before you start adjusting
00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:13.959
your training based on heart rate zones. Now
00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:16.360
back to zone two. So why is zone two ideal for
00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:18.899
ruckers? Well, let's hit up our rucking community's
00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:20.720
favorite literature for some insight on this.
00:08:20.779 --> 00:08:22.800
I'm talking about the books Outlive by Peter
00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:25.180
Attia, The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter,
00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.480
and a new one, RuckFit, authored by a previous
00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:30.560
guest of the show, Kayla Gergen. In Outlive,
00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.940
Atiyah makes the case that Zone 2 training is
00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:34.759
one of the most underrated tools for longevity.
00:08:35.059 --> 00:08:37.139
When you train in Zone 2, you're building your
00:08:37.139 --> 00:08:39.519
mitochondrial density. Mitochondria, as you may
00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:41.179
remember from your high school or your college
00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:44.720
biology class, they are the powerhouses of the
00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:47.059
cell. And the more you have of them and the more
00:08:47.059 --> 00:08:48.919
efficient they are, the better your body runs
00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:52.039
at everything. More mitochondria means better
00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:54.899
fat metabolism, better glucose regulation, better
00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:58.019
cardiovascular output, and lower resting heart
00:08:58.019 --> 00:09:01.100
rate over time. Atiyah advocates for around 80
00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:04.559
% of weekly training to be in Zone 2 with 20
00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:06.860
% of your weekly training at higher intensities.
00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:10.000
Now, Michael Easter in The Comfort Crisis, and
00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.000
I guess in his new book, Walking with Weight,
00:09:12.059 --> 00:09:14.840
I haven't read that book yet, but he talks about
00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:18.139
how humans evolved to cover long distances under
00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:20.980
a load, and that this specific kind of sustained,
00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:23.519
moderate effort movement is what our cardiovascular
00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:28.460
system has adapted for. He makes the case that
00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:31.039
rucking is arguably the exercise we were built
00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:35.100
to do and a pace that keeps us in zone 2 is something
00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:37.919
we should be targeting. Kayla Gergen in RuckFit
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.200
echoes this from a practical standpoint. That
00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:43.700
rucking consistently at moderate intensity is
00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:46.679
more sustainable and more effective for body
00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:48.980
composition and cardiovascular improvement than
00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:51.460
grinding yourself with high intensity work day
00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:54.730
after day. Zone 2 is where your aerobic base
00:09:54.730 --> 00:09:57.129
is built, it's where fat oxidation is highest,
00:09:57.350 --> 00:09:59.710
it's where you can train for long durations without
00:09:59.710 --> 00:10:02.870
excessive recovery, and rucking by its very nature
00:10:02.870 --> 00:10:05.330
is one of the best Zone 2 modalities available.
00:10:06.470 --> 00:10:08.970
So how do you figure out your heart rate zones?
00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:12.049
Well, the traditional formula is subtracting
00:10:12.049 --> 00:10:15.129
your age from 220 to get your estimated maximum
00:10:15.129 --> 00:10:18.860
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
00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:27.240
minus 40 is 180. Zone 2 is generally 60 to 70
00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.659
% of that max, so for that 40 -year -old, roughly
00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:35.559
108 to 126 beats per minute. Now, this formula
00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:39.179
is not perfect. It's a population average, and
00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:42.220
this varies person to person. Some people's true
00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:45.240
max is 20 beats higher than that formula predicts.
00:10:46.169 --> 00:10:48.409
This is a starting point. The most accurate way
00:10:48.409 --> 00:10:51.350
to find your true max is a graded exercise stress
00:10:51.350 --> 00:10:53.570
test done in a lab with a medical professional
00:10:53.570 --> 00:10:56.330
monitoring your heart while you work up to maximum
00:10:56.330 --> 00:10:59.789
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
00:11:02.149 --> 00:11:04.590
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
00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:15.539
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
00:11:18.659 --> 00:11:21.279
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.
00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:53.399
You can add weight. You can pick up the pace.
00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:57.779
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.


