What is it? It’s your easy to moderate run/walk. I use it for my long runs to help build cardiovascular endurance, bone and tendon strength. It’s a 6 out of 10 feel. It’s about a 65-70% of max heart rate
Here is chart to help you estimate your 50% to max heart rate from the American Heart Association:
What are the benefits?
- Endurance. It’s great to help build up your base endurance. It’s beginner friendly and super easy on your body.
- Recovery. Too many runs and too many workouts at a high intensity leaves you in a fatigued state which means high cortisol and limited resources for your body to recover. This puts you at risk for injury, especially overuse injuries – stress fractures, tendonitis,
- Builds your engine. Lower intensity, steady-state workouts helps build your cardiovascular gains. It’s the work that helps build up your body’s aerobic capacity, mitochondrial efficiency, bone and tendon capacity.
- Brain health. It’s great for sleep and boost your mental health. It’s a mood booster which can help your immune system, skin and digestive health.
- It can be social!
I did 90 mins on the treadmill yesterday at 130-140 bpm. Caught up on my (Nerd alert) Star Trek – Picard series and then pushed a stroller around DC for 5 miles with about 130 lbs of resistance. I’d say 70% of my runs are in this steady state. I enjoy the meditative aspect of it. Keeps my mood up which is so important for me these days.
Native Physical Therapy 