Live Well Be Well with Sarah Ann Macklin | Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition Zone 2 vs HIIT: How Athletes Structure Sessions and Avoid Overtraining | Inigo San Milan | Be Well Moments
Dec 8, 2025
Inigo San Milan, an exercise scientist specialized in endurance training, shares insights on optimizing athletic performance. He discusses the importance of balancing Zone 2 training with HIIT, emphasizing an 80/20 session structure to avoid burnout. Inigo highlights how exclusive HIIT can lead to fatigue and injuries, revealing that only 5-10% of training time should be high intensity. He also talks about the unique challenges women face in HIIT due to muscle fiber differences, and why complete rest days are key for true recovery.
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Fasted HIIT Left Host Feeling Terrible
- Sarah Ann Macklin described a period when ubiquitous HIIT left her feeling awful, especially because she did classes fasted and had no energy.
- The experience illustrated how unsustainable high-intensity programs can be for non-adapted individuals.
80/20 By Sessions, Not Minutes
- Athletes typically follow an 80/20 split by sessions, not minutes, favoring low-intensity work most of the time.
- Only about 5–10% of total minutes in a season are truly high intensity, so session distribution matters more than minute counts.
Blend Zone 2 With Targeted Intensity
- Combine mostly Zone 2 sessions with a few high-intensity sessions and place intensity toward the end of some Zone 2 workouts.
- If you train four days a week, do Zone 2 and add high-intensity efforts in at least two sessions to hit a practical 80/20 balance.