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Master your Endurance Knowledge!
Zone Inflation™
Zone Inflation™ is a trademarked term coined by Ho’Omau founder Andy Funk, and generally refers to a state where a person’s heart rate zones are utterly inflated regardless of the zone or intensity level. This condition is the opposite of Zone Compression™, which is observed mostly in extremely fit athletes and professionals.
Zone Inflation usually occurs in sedentary individuals who also often suffer from obesity and other health ailments. For example, a 32-year old sedentary person weighing 245 lbs has an elevated resting heart rate of 75 and a maximum heart rate of 175, creating a total range of 100 beats per minute. While a typical age group athlete would have Zones 1-5 spaced out fairly evenly across this 100 bpm range, our sedentary non-athlete suffers from Zone Inflation.
While climbing a a flight of stairs, which should be active recovery, or Zone 1 effort at best, this person’s heart rate is immediately elevated to 155, the equivalent of a Zone 3 or possibly Zone 4 effort for our standard age grouper. When going on a very slow run, this individual’s heart rate is elevated to 170, almost reaching maximum anaerobic capacity. In other words, all effort levels, from active recovery to all out, occur at extremely inflated heart rates. If this person ultimately decided to get into shape, this Zone Inflation will be problematic at first, as it will be impossible to distinguish between heart rate zones for some period of time, therefore, making a proper training plan very difficult to create.
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Take on one of the toughest cycling challenges in the world! Can you get to Vegas in 24 hours?
2026 Altitude Haus Training Camp
Welcome to the 2026 edition of the Ho’Omau Altitude Haus in beautiful Lake Arrowhead, California. We are looking forward to…
Explore the top recipes from our Race Ready Kitchen
Oats of Champions
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Who will argue with decreasing bad LDL cholesterol, lowering blood pressure and blood sugar levels? Not just that, but oats also provide some important minerals that tend to run lower in vegans: iron, calcium, thiamin, zinc, magnesium, and selenium.
Lean & Mean Black Bean Burger
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Hands down one of meanest and leanest black bean burger recipes you will ever find. This is one of Andy’s – our Chief Ho’Omau – favorites. For a plant-based vegan burger, it really doesn’t get any better.
Avocado Toast Delight
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Not every avocado toast is alike, and there is a reason why we call ours ‘delight’. A good dose of healthy fats make this a great recipe on longer lower intensity training days – just make sure to wait a few hours before you head out on your run, ride, swim, etc.
Heavenly No-Oil Pancakes
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So fluffy and yummy nobody would ever guess that no oil was used to prepare this heavenly recipe. A true keeper that never really gets old, and if there are kids around in your house, they will keep on thanking you over and over again.
Mango Hulk Smoothie
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With almost 300 calories, 50g of carbs and 11g of protein, our Mango Hulk Smoothie is almost too perfect of a post-workout recovery smoothie. With a 4:1 carb to protein ratio, it will delight every endurance athlete after a high intensity session.
Farro Funghi Risotto with Asparagus
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A creamy, hearty and delicious lunch or dinner, packed with earthy mushrooms, tender farro grains, garlic and onions. At 10g of fiber per serving, the recipe provides 20% of your daily fiber intake needs.
Mediterranean Lentil Salad
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This mediterranean jewel is Incredibly flavorful, not too filling, and a perfect lunch any day of the week. This lentil salad delivers in carbohydrates, calories and healthy fats and therefore is quite the candidate for a post Zone 2 or Zone 3 workout meal.
No Compromises Gnocchi
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Whip this tuscan dish together in just about 15 minutes for a quick lunch – yet it has the wow factor of a main course of an elegant dinner and will impress your athletic friends at the fancy table. Really now, don’t feel embarrassed to serve it to guests.