@Alan_Couzens @tryintotrayd That's 12hours a year... Approx 14 mins a week
English
San Diego Yeti
904 posts
San Diego Yeti
@SD_Yeti
Your ego is not your amigo. Thoughts are not advice.
San Diego, CA Katılım Ağustos 2014
684 Takip Edilen277 Takipçiler
Thanks @tryintotrayd 🙏
Maybe this one from Alex. where he coined the "Couzens Immortality Quotient" - which I still kinda love 😊
outsideonline.com/health/trainin…
An extra 1 hour... per month, per year.
That's all it takes to mitigate age decline.
A simple mission that helps me keep all of the other "fancy stuff" in perspective.
Run@tryintotrayd
@Alan_Couzens Aaaah at 49 need, it’s not what I needed to hear (but it is actually). Alan this reminds of an old post where you (I think?) explained the need for increased 🚂ing time as the years go. Not the same subject here but related I suppose. Thanks for sharing so much knowledge.
English
@Alan_Couzens Another reason for me to quit my 9-5 and go pro. Imagine all the 🥐 you could eat
English
The key question for an amateur endurance athlete:
"How much time do you have to train?"
The key question for a professional endurance athlete:
"How much food can you eat?"
English
@hutch_golf @Alan_Couzens Man those zones seem off given the data above. I would focus on below vt1 for 90% of training bc the gap between them(vt1 and vt2) is pretty big. A lot of aerobic gains to be had. Full disclosure I’m still learning.
English
@Alan_Couzens Any advice on where to spend the bulk of time given these numbers?
Age: 41
VO2Max: 39
Lean VO2Max: 53
Redline Ratio: 90%
VT1: 131
VT2: 160
Zones:
Z1 98–117
Z2 117–144
Z3 144–161
Z4 161–187
English
Zone 1 is an investment.
It builds your fat-burning engine and expands your energy reserves.
Zone 3/4 is a withdrawal.
It spends from that reserve.
Want your hard training to actually work?
Build the reserve first.
#Base
English
@RealRohanReigns @Alan_Couzens I believe the key is that you stay 5-10 beats below AeT.
English
@Alan_Couzens Been following your work on base building and am sold. Need to prioritise low intensity work and deciding between Zone 1 or 2. Some conflicting ideas such as this chart. Thanks for your thoughtful response
English
San Diego Yeti retweetledi
OpenAI:
2015: "We're a nonprofit making AI safe for humanity."
2025: "We've reached an agreement with the Department of War."
The pipeline from "safe AI for everyone" to "classified military deployment" took exactly 10 years.
The mission statement stayed the same.
Everything else changed.
English
@Alan_Couzens It’s really about adding volume then… sucks for me at this stage of life 10 hours is a struggle.
English
How to interpret the curve:
If we take a random sample of ~100 athletes...
1/ Poor Metabolic Health (~20/100)
Approx 20 out of 100 athletes in my sample see their fat max below 60% Max HR - for many, this will be reached at a walk. These are typically sedentary or very low volume athletes (<7hrs/wk) or athletes with very crappy diets.
2/ Low Volume OR Fast Twitch Dominant (~30/100)
Approx 30/100 athletes will see their fat max between 60-70% Max HR - for some a brisk walk, for others a light jog. These athletes are typically training in the 7-15hr range.
3/ High Volume/Slow Twitch Dominant (~30/100)
Another ~30/100 athletes will see their fat max between 70-80% Max HR. These will generally be in high volume training ~15-20hrs/wk or will be natural "slow-twitchers"
4/ Very Competitive/Elite (~15/100)
~15 out of 100 athletes (in my sample) are very high level Ironman type athletes (training 20-30hrs/wk) whose max fat ox continues to quite high heart rates of 80-90% MHR (& high pace/power) - i.e. fat burning persists into higher training zones approaching threshold.
5/ Ketogenic Athletes (~5/100)
~5 athletes will hold their fat max all the way to the end of the test. This will often because they lack sufficient glycogen to achieve a true max.
Alan Couzens@Alan_Couzens
One of the most common questions I get: “Where is my fat-burning zone?” From metabolic testing across all athletes I've tested, maximal fat oxidation averages ~70% max HR. But individual variation is enormous - from <50% MHR to nearly maximal intensity. Population data can give estimates. But to figure out where you fit on the curve, you have to test!
English
Ways we create metabolic imbalance:
• Fueling without movement to justify it
• High-intensity training without aerobic foundation
• Chronic stress without recovery
• Ultra-processed foods that bypass satiety signals
• Sleep restriction that disrupts fuel regulation
Metabolic dysfunction doesn’t just happen.
It’s the predictable result of sustained imbalance.
In the end, you can’t fight nature.
Alan Couzens@Alan_Couzens
Metabolic health: • Stable match between energy supply and demand (steady glucose & triglycerides) • Muscles and liver that remain sensitive to fuel signals • Low chronic inflammation How do we get there? In all things: Give the body what it needs - no more, no less.
English
San Diego Yeti retweetledi
"Trump… doesn't understand what socialism is," says economist
@danieljmitchell.
Since socialism is government ownership of the means of production, the U.S. taking stakes in Intel, MP Materials, Nippon, and more IS socialist!
Here's the BIG problem with that:
English
@Alan_Couzens Nope doesn’t have an ability to add a subscription. Is it possible for me to email you my screenshot?
English
@SD_Yeti If you click on "Categories" in your first screenshot, you should see a "Subscribe" option on that dropdown 🙏
English
Had a Q on the #MADcrew forum...
There is a subscription fee $5/mo to cover costs.
Personally, I think it's a really good deal. I charge $150 for a 1hr consult. For the same amount of $ you could subscribe there and keep asking me (& the team) questions for 2 and a half yrs!
English
@SD_Yeti Hi Amar, Just click the subscribe seen in the screenshot above (on the "Topics" menu on desktop) or, on mobile, it is under "Latest" here... 🙏
English
@inaki_delaparra Awesome. Now I need to find more than 1 hour to train per day!
English
@SD_Yeti Is mixed because you are also more efficient, but ultimately the simple answer yes!
English
+5 hours in Zone 1, lactate check every hour, all sitting at ~1 mmol 😎
4 of those hrs indoor 😴 🚲 💧
You just can’t cheat the easy work.
2026, here we go 🔥🦾
English
Easy ~4 miles 🏃♂️
I think this is sufficiently easy @Alan_Couzens 😅
Full run test may be in my near future.
Added some strides after the finger poke.
English
@runliftrunlift How would you execute “developing a big aerobic base” as a time restricted athlete?
English
The cool thing about developing a big aerobic base is you’re already pretty fit, and only 6-8 weeks away from being “race ready”
I see lots of athletes like this on Strava. They don’t do much intense training, but very consistent with easy volume week over week. Then they can put up impressive race times with a period of specific work.
The have nots are those who get very motivated, train too hard, get injured or burned out, and have disappointing race results. Then it’s back to the couch and the cycle repeats…
Learn to enjoy easy running, cycling, whatever form of exercise. Do it consistently, you need only a bit of intensity to top it off. You’ll get very fit if you can keep this up for several months.
English
@andersonc0d3 @runliftrunlift So it doesn't really matter if I get my HR zones tested today (10 weeks before my event) or 6 months ago (just getting off the sofa) they are roughly the same it's the pace I can hold within that zone that is changing...right?
English
@SD_Yeti @runliftrunlift I've asked that question here in the past. I did a CPET some days ago and the cardiologist also said the same thing. The result of the test looked similar to a year ago regarding the heart rate zones.
x.com/andersonc0d3/s…
Anderson Nascimento@andersonc0d3
Hi Jim, I'm trying to understand how heart rate zones, particularly zone 2, change with increased fitness. I'd appreciate your clarification as I have been following you for a while and know you are experienced. Last year, I had two lab tests that indicated a high zone 2 heart rate. I was initially skeptical because I've observed individuals who are fitter than me having lower zone 2 heart rates. However, after thinking about it for a while, I realized my initial understanding might be flawed. My current thinking is this: As athletes' fitness improves, their ability to run faster increases. Could this increased speed effectively "shift" their heart rate zones downwards? For example, an athlete who trains consistently for several years might find that what was previously their zone 2 heart rate now corresponds to their zone 4 or 5, but at a significantly faster pace. Essentially, their heart rate zones shift relative to their pace. Is this interpretation correct? Does increased fitness lead to a decrease in heart rate zones for a given pace? In other words, does the same heart rate now correspond to a faster pace, effectively shifting the zones downwards in terms of pace?
English
In my opinion, there’s no real need to test race pace until about 6-8 weeks out. Your fitness is (hopefully) improving, so your race pace 3-4 months out won’t be the same on race day.
Weekly interval workouts are a good gauge of top end fitness. I can do a 800-1600m repeats session and see where I am on VDOT, and that extrapolates well to shorter distances. Mileage and long runs are necessary to translate VDOT to longer distances.
English
@Alan_Couzens Over the long run in your experience does MAF(180-age) align with the high end of zone2? If so does someone with a large difference mean they are severely under trained and need to focus all available training hours to z1.
English
Kipchoge does the bulk of his training miles at 60-70% of his marathon race pace.
For someone with 3:00 marathon fitness this would be a 10-12 min/mi light jog.
For someone with 4:00+ marathon fitness it would be a walk. 🚶
Do you think you know better than the GOAT? 🐐
English