Strength athletes almost always have poor cardiovascular conditioning and VO2 max. This isn't a problem for other athletes like field sports players or track runners since this population already gets plenty of aerobic work from their sport. Strength athletes spend most of their time using the anaerobic system, and having a poorly developed aerobic system can effect recovery capability both between sets and between sessions.
All strength sport athletes (mainly powerlifters and weightlifters) should do some dedicated zone 2 cardio at least twice a week. These should be done for AT LEAST 20 MINS, as this is the minimum time required to work aerobic capacity. I personally do zone 2 work for 25-30 mins, although you could do it up to 1 hr. I would do a maximum of 6 of these sessions a week.
In each of these sessions, you should be working at Zone 2 specifically. There are two ways to measure if you are in zone 2. First, subtract your age from 220. If your heartrate is between 60 and 70 percent of this new number during the session, then you are working in Zone 2. Another way coaches cue zone 2 is "work as hard as you can whilst still breathing through your nose". If you cannot breath through your nose during the workout, you are not working in Zone 2, but higher.
This is a short and time effective way to facilitate strength gains. I like to do these on my rest days, and I find that's when people have free time to get this type of work done.
~ Prem
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