In our modern, time-squeezed lives, it\u2019s tempting to do everything as fast as possible: listen to podcasts on double speed, work in email-free sprints, or train at lung-bursting intensity in the gaps between your morning meditation and the school run. But evidence is piling up that the last one might not be as beneficial as it seems \u2013 and that, in fact, just introducing a lot more ultra-low-intensity movement into your schedule can improve your fitness as well as your quality of life, whether you\u2019re a top-tier athlete or experienced couch-crasher. Welcome to zone zero.<\/p>\n
In case you\u2019re unfamiliar with the concept, or just need a quick refresher, zone training is a way of structuring workouts based on how high your heart rate gets as a percentage of the fastest it can possibly thump. Lower means slower \u2013 and most of us will never hit maximum intensity in our day-to-day lives. Over the decades, the most-recommended zones have shifted as training techniques evolve and knowledge of our biology improves \u2013 but zone zero, the state just slightly above total inactivity, where your heart never gets above 50% of its maximum rate, is enjoying a resurgence.<\/p>\n
One reason? It\u2019s easy. Most zone training requires you to know your maximum heart rate \u2013 the British Heart Foundation recommends deducting your age from 220, though more accurate, less pleasant methods exist \u2013 and then making sure it doesn\u2019t go too high or low, usually by training with a heart rate monitor. Zone zero, though, doesn\u2019t require any of this. It\u2019s essentially where you spend most of your semi-active life: walking slowly, doing light tidying, or even working at a standing desk. It shouldn\u2019t really feel like exercise at all \u2013 but it might help you live longer, run faster, or feel better.<\/p>\n
\u201cZone zero is an accessible way to increase daily movement without the need for formal workouts or special equipment,\u201d says Brian Passenti, founder of Altitude Endurance Coaching. \u201cGetting more time in it can be as simple as parking further from the shops to get more steps in, taking a walk break while on a work call, or standing and stretching regularly at your desk. Of course, as you get more used to it, you can walk further or more frequently throughout your day, until you\u2019re spending hours in zone zero rather than on the couch.\u201d<\/p>\n
To understand why this is beneficial, it helps to know a bit about how your body fuels itself. After a meal or snack, carbohydrates are broken down and released into the bloodstream as glucose (a form of sugar), with any excess stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. When you stand up or walk around, your muscles start contracting, which uses some of this glucose for fuel. This can have dramatic effects over time \u2013 a 2022 review of studies<\/a> found that even a little bit of light-intensity walking was enough to \u201csignificantly attenuate\u201d post-food glucose levels compared with continued sitting, which almost certainly reduces your risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Although there\u2019s some criticism<\/a> of the idea that people living in \u201cblue zones\u201d (those regions of the world where life-and-health span might be slightly longer than elsewhere) really differ from other populations, one thing that\u2019s fairly consistent among them is a significant amount of low-level activity, especially after meals \u2013 something that the evidence suggests is a pretty good idea.<\/p>\n Glucose is also released when you\u2019re stressed, as part of the body\u2019s fight-or-flight response \u2013 and managing that process might be one of the reasons that walking seems to be related<\/a> to reduced stress, improved mood and general happiness. And there\u2019s another key element to the fuelling process \u2013 low-intensity exercise uses a higher percentage of fat for fuel than high-intensity exercise, which tends to rely on the quick energy hit provided by glucose. This means that walking for a long time, or walking in a fasted state (like taking the dog out before you have breakfast) tends to pull energy from your body\u2019s fat stores. Total calories burned matter, and so if fat loss is your main goal, adding more high-intensity exercise might get you there faster \u2013 but if that\u2019s unpleasant, injurious, or makes you ravenous, it may do more harm than good.<\/p>\n \u201cFor many of my clients \u2013 especially women in midlife or those just beginning their movement journey \u2013 zone zero is the bridge between sedentary and sustainable,\u201d says Terry Tateossian, a personal trainer and nutritionist. \u201cIt reduces stress, supports mental clarity, can help with improved circulation and better digestion, and it\u2019s a more enjoyable, flexible way to stick with training over time.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to note that, in longevity terms, a bit (or a lot) more daily movement can play a huge role. A 2022 review of studies<\/a> in the Lancet, for instance, found that taking more daily steps \u2013 fast or slow \u2013 was associated with a progressively lower risk of all-cause mortality, to an upper limit that varied by age. Another study led by the American Cancer Society found that any amount of walking, even at a moderate pace and at levels below the recommended guidelines, was associated with lower mortality risk. Consistency counts.<\/p>\n But what about more athletic endeavours? Well, even people who schedule workouts five or six days a week will still probably benefit from adding some extra low-intensity movement to their routine. A few more daily steps can bring all of the benefits mentioned above. But can going (very) slowly actually help you run faster?<\/p>\n Even regular runners may still benefit from doing more low-intensity movement. This, it turns out, is a contentious area. Marathon data, for instance, shows that faster runners tend to spend a huge amount of time in the low-intensity zone compared with their slower peers \u2013 something that has prompted a recent examination<\/a> in the European Journal of Applied Physiology. One theory is that faster athletes train a lot more in general \u2013 they\u2019re spending more hours on the roads and trails, and so some of those have to be slow so they don\u2019t burnout. This is the first of seven different hypotheses in the new piece, which notes that \u201ccomplete cardiac recovery from [high intensity] exercises might take over two days, limiting athletes to two to three weekly well-rested HI sessions\u201d \u2013 leaving four or five days a week that can be filled with low intensity work.<\/p>\n There are also other explanations. Very low-intensity training may trigger training adaptations in a slightly different way to higher-intensity at the molecular level, or through different pathways. It might gradually remodel the structure and function of the heart (particularly the left ventricle), or shift the composition of an athlete\u2019s muscle fibres to the more endurance-focused (and economical) slow-twitch kind. It might also reinforce the effect of more serious training, as suggested by a 2021 study<\/a> that found decreasing daily background steps actually blunted the effects of a high-intensity training programme.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been studies comparing people doing training and getting 2,000 steps per day versus people doing the same training and doing 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day, and those getting more steps get better training adaptations,\u201d says Brady Holmer, an exercise scientist and the author of VO2 Max Essentials. \u201cWe often think it\u2019s best to do your training session and sit on the couch all day, but that doesn\u2019t appear to be the case. You need the high-intensity training to get a faster race time, but zone zero training plays a supportive role.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been well established for some time now that \u201cactive recovery\u201d \u2013 even if you\u2019re barely doing anything \u2013 works to mitigate the effects of workouts that would otherwise leave you sore for days, by getting oxygen and nutrients to damaged muscle tissue through better blood flow. \u201cAn easy walk around the block is the best way to combat sore muscles,\u201d says Passenti. \u201cMy wife is not as active as I am, but an easy after-dinner walk on a summer evening can offer benefits for both of us, and our dog too. While it may not directly improve sprint speed, it supports recovery and endurance development. Every bit of movement counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photograph: Posed by model; East Road\/Ascent Xmedia\/Getty Images<\/p>\n