Lately I've been trying a method of exercise for weight management and endurance expansion that is backed up by some level of science. It is a type of cardio that is designed to be able to be done for long periods of time. It is meant for people that are older that want to keep their cardio in line as well as maintain muscle mass in their legs but also at the same time not be pushing themselves to the point of wanting to quit and go home every time they are doing it.
The system is simple: Get into zone 2-3 of your heart rate and then stay there. Do not make an effort to go as fast as you can. Your objective is to stay below zone 4.
I kind of achieved my objective here but since I can't constantly stare at my wrist i sometimes end up in zone 4 but only a little bit.
I have no real objective here other than remaining at this level for around an hour. The reason why I am sometimes a bit over on hour is because I have to get home from where I am at that point.
This is NOT a good pace. It is barely over a walk but my walking pace doesn't get me into zone 3 and since that is where I want to spend most of my time, i have to run a bit or as it probably appears to anyone watching, a very slow jog.
The pace is nothing to get excited about and I am never monitoring that. The only time I ever see my pace is at the end or when it ticks over a full km. Sometimes I feel a bit silly about how slow I am moving, but I have an objective here.
One thing I have noticed is that every now and then I will see something in the distance such as a street I must cross and the countdown on the green is just far enough away that I need to run a bit in order to make it. When I do this run which is sometimes quite fast, I am impressed with how I can do this, get through the light, and then slow down without ever stopping and not be phased by this. This is showing me that the endurance stacking is actually working. It really isn't at all difficult for me to run for an hour even though I am not really running. I am moving though, for over an hour.
I wish there was some way that I could acquire more water at the endpoint because this is the primary reason why I stop. I am not experiencing muscle fatigue, nor am I exhausted. I'm just out of water and since I sweat a lot, this bothers me. Normally I will lose between 3 and 6 pounds from sweat alone on a run. One time in the dead of summer last year I lost nearly 10 lbs in sweat... that can't be good.
So is any of this actually accomplishing anything? I don't really know. What I do know is that I don't dread doing it, and that is the primary thing I try to incorporate into all of my exercises. If i hate it, I won't do it again. I believe that exercise should not be punishing and if it is, most people are disinclined to do it again. This is what being a "normie" kind of means.