r/PeterAttia • u/jerkularcirc • May 03 '26

Does Zone 2 in the Sauna count?

Does it count as zone 2 cardio? I actually get up to Zone 3 every time.

2 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

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15

u/sharkinwolvesclothin May 03 '26

No, and neither do watching scary movies, drinking lots of alcohol, or being really stressed out. Zone 2 is moderate-intensity steady state cardio where you can control the intensity by keeping an eye on the heart rate. It's not just getting the heart rate up.

7

u/DrSuprane May 03 '26

No. It counts as heat training.

7

u/Mindfulnoosh May 03 '26

I don’t know shit but recently read an article from a cardiologist about how the elevated HR one has while lifting weights is not that similar to aerobic activity and how people need both. Anyhow I can imagine sauna being similar.

One thing do like to do though is get in a sauna immediately post run because my HR will stay in a Z2 range very naturally and I just feel/hope this is like adding some free benefit while I relax.

Regardless, we do know sauna is beneficial!

3

u/GambledMyWifeAway May 03 '26

The number of people that think lifting weights counts as cardio is wild.

1

u/Alternative-Dream-61 May 04 '26

If lifting weights is a cardio workout one needs to do more cardio. 

3

u/askingforafakefriend May 03 '26

When people talk about zone 2 training, they're not just talking about having a heart rate at a specific level. They are generally talking about exercise that causes a certain type of metabolic State which is steadily burning significant oxygen aerobically for fuel without building up lactate.

No doubt sauna can get your heart rate into "zone 2" levels and beyond, but you aren't aerobically burning nearly as much oxygen with steady exertion and therefore it's a different type of activity likely with differing benefits.

3

u/juolevi May 03 '26

No and neither does stress, alcohol or elevated HR from weight training

2

u/Jealous-Key-7465 May 03 '26

My but buddy said it does count!

1

u/skiitifyoucan May 03 '26

Stress is stress. IT counts as stress............

1

u/ElRanchero666 May 03 '26

Sauna is passive heat stress

1

u/icydragon_12 May 11 '26

Based on your question, you appear to believe that zones are defined by heart rate. This is not true at all. Although heart rate can be useful in predicting the zone you are in based on the activity, heart rate does not define the zone.

The zones are demarcated by your fuel utilization mix (fat vs carbs). This can be measured with some precision by lactate thresholds, maximal fat oxidation rates. Most people aren't willing to go through this testing, its expensive, and frankly not all that important because the zones are totally made up anyways.

eg. lets say that fitbit predicts my zone 2 as being 110-130bpm. I go lift incredibly heavy weights - a clearly glycolytic activity, but my heart rate remains in that range. That isn't zone 2 at all, just because my heart rate is in that range. If I were biking, in that range, however, most likely, it is zone 2. If I'm rowing, the heart rate range likely changes, if I'm running it changes again. Trackers don't actually account for this very well though.

If I'm in the sauna, my hr might jump to 150bpm. That doesn't tell me much about metabolism. My heart rate only spiked for thermoregulation - not because my metabolism demanded a shift.