Cardio for Health + Wellbeing

Cardiovascular training is important for everyone because cardiovascular health is important for everyone.

It’s important regardless of your primary fitness goals: it can help reduce your risk of heart related disease and has important psychological health benefits. While cardio isn’t a replacement for actual therapy, actual medication, and other medical intervention, it really does help with depression and to improve mood.

We all know we should do cardio, but many of us aren’t quite sure how to effectively incorporate it into our routines. To make things worse, there are a lot of mixed messages out there when it comes to how much you should do, how intense it should be, what modality is best, and more. Misleading marketing from businesses trying to sell their specific class format or cardio formulation leaves people thinking that implementing cardio properly is more complicated than it really is. Like most things in fitness, its less complicated and more flexible than you’d think. It’s all about adhering to a simple, consistent routine that incorporates types of cardio that you enjoy enough to keep doing for years to come.

In this post, we’ll revisit the basics to clear confusion, come up with an effective plan to help you go from zero structured cardio to the recommended amount in a sustainable manner, discuss various weekly schedule options, and end by answering some common questions.

Cardio Basics: target durations and intensities

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends we aim for 30 minutes of moderate cardio 5 days per week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3 days per week. A combination of the two is also an option. We often use a 10-point perceived effort scale to define the various cardio intensities. Here are some important reference points for cardio styles you’ll see:

Moderate Intensity — aim for 6 to 7 out of 10

High intensity / Vigorous (anaerobic threshold) - aim for 7 to 8.5 out of 10

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - 9.5-10 out of 10
True HIIT is extremely challenging and advanced. Its an effort that truly exhausts you in a matter of seconds or, at the most, minutes.We will not cover HIIT in detail here as it is an advanced training style that - at this point - research has not shown to be essential for general heart health and wellbeing.

Ratings of perceived exertion can be useful, but often feel too abstract to those new to exercise.

Moderate intensity training

Moderate intensity training at a continuous pace makes up the bulk of most cardiovascular training protocols. If you’re new to cardio training, your initial focus should be to build up to 30 minutes at this intensity. Advanced athletes should also continue to perform much of their cardio at this intensity. No one is too advanced for moderate intensity work.

Here are a few ways you can determine what moderate intensity means for you:

1. Heart rate
   If you have access to a heart rate monitor or smart watch, aim for 55-70% of max heart rate (we can estimate our max heart rate by subtracting our age from 220). This is a good option for beginners as ratings of perceived exertion can feel pretty abstract at first.

2. Perceived effort scale
   Aim for 4-7 out of 10 on the perceived effort scale. Usually a 6-7 lands us at the appropriate heart rate, although more advanced endurance athletes may rate their efforts lower on the scale.

3. Talk test
   You should be able to speak in full sentences, but not comfortably. Your breathing should feel heavy, but you should feel as if you could hold a conversation if needed.

Although you may need to work up to it over the course of weeks, you will typically be able to sustain this level of effort for 20-40 minutes or more. It should feel like you’re doing work, but that work should not feel so intense that you need to stop immediately. Most people tend to make the mistake of pushing too hard! Moderate intensity is more…moderate than you’d think.

Vigorous intensity training

Vigorous intensity continuous cardio is more intense than moderate (can you believe?), but not as intense as HIIT. It’s a great option for those with limited time and those who hope to work up to true HIIT one day. It’s also generally a good idea to work towards training at a variety of intensities as they each provide unique benefits.

Here are a few ways you can determine what vigorous intensity means for you:

1. Heart Rate
   Aim for 60-85% of your maximum heart rate. For most up us, vigorous intensity will land somewhere above 70% although 60% may be adequate for those newer to cardio training.

2. Perceived effort
   7-8.5 out of 10

3. Talk test
   At this intensity, you should only be able to speak in short bursts of a couple words in a row. Full sentences without breaks for heavy breathing should feel nearly impossible.

True vigorous intensity cardio can typically be sustained for a maximum of about 20 minutes. You can begin to incorporate cardio at this intensity after you’ve mastered 20-30 minutes of moderate, continuous cardio. The next section will outline how to go about that.

Structuring a progressive cardio program

Let’s say you are currently doing ZERO cardio, here’s how you can work up to the recommended amount per week in a sustainable manner.

Months 1-2: working up to 20-30 minutes of moderate intensity cardio

During the first month to month and a half, we’ll focus on building up to 20-30 minutes before worrying about reaching the 3-5x per week frequency or increasing intensity. After this feels comfortable, choose one of the two options below to progress.

1. Start with 10 minutes of moderate, continuous cardio two days per week. Focus on effort level and heart rate, not distance traveled or speed. This might just mean a brisk uphill walk at first, depending on your level!

2. Add five minutes per workout each week with a goal to reach 20-30 minutes of continuous, steady state cardio at a moderate intensity. Starting at 10 mins, this should take you about 3-5 weeks. If you are unable to increase by five minutes per week, don’t worry! You can repeat the same week schedule for 2-3 weeks before moving on. A couple extra weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things!

After you feel comfortable with 30 minutes at a moderate pace, you have a couple options. Choose one!

Option one: increase frequency

We’re now comfortable with two 20 to 30-minute cardio sessions twice per week. We want to increase the frequency, ideally to five sessions per week at a moderate intensity, or 3-4 40 minute sessions.

Start with two sessions. Add 1-2 sessions every 2-4 weeks. For additional sessions, you can choose to start back with shorter efforts of 10-15 minutes and slowly build your third day up to be as long as the first two. You can also jump right into longer 20-30 minute sessions if you’re feeling good about it!

Initially, it may be easier to add a session every two weeks. As you get closer to 5 sessions, you may need to slow your progression to add a new session only every 3-4 weeks. The rate at which you increase frequency will be influenced by many factors including your training history and the amount of time you are able to commit to your program (life does have other demands after all).

Why increase frequency (rather than intensity)?

1. Unique benefits. Moderate intensity work (specifically 120-150 BPM) is unique in that it maximizes stroke volume (essentially the amount of blood your heart is capable of pumping out per beat). Both higher and lower intensities do not seem to have this affect cardiac output. For this reason, work done at a moderate intensity has unique heart health benefits. It also means that performing moderate intensity work translates to better performance at all intensities, including higher intensity training.
   

Option two: increase intensity

We are starting in a place where we can comfortably perform 20-30 minutes of moderate intensity cardio at least twice per week. We aim to add intensity in order to diversify training style (and to save some time). 

Why increase intensity? While staying at the moderate intensity indefinitely is more than enough, advancing to more vigorous work is likely something that most of us will want to do as it saves a lot of time. Vigorous intensity provides similar heart health benefits in much less time.

1. Begin by increasing intensity by modifying your target heart rate. A 29 year old woman with a max HR of 191 (that’s me!) might aim initially aim to perform 30m with a heart rate around 115-125 (60-65% max). When this becomes relatively easy, she might increase to 133-140 (70-75% max). 

2. Once you’ve reached the upper end of that moderate range, introduce vigorous intensity (see previous section for what vigorous feels like). Scale back frequency to 2-3x per week (if you’re doing more) and cut duration by 50%. This means 10-15 minutes per workout rather than 20-30. Add 2-5 minutes on every 1-3 weeks until you’ve reach 3 20-minute vigorous workouts per week.

Structuring your weekly workout routine

Let’s cover some examples of how you might focus on working up to the recommended amount of weekly cardio — without sacrificing strength training!

For most of us, 150 minutes of steady state cardio each week will feel like too much - especially if we also plan to strength train. If you find yourself wondering how you can do both while still living your life, these sample schedules will come in handy.

1. Choose the column that most closely reflects the amount of time you can commit to exercise on a weekly basis.

2. Choose the row that most closely reflects your fitness level. You can use the descriptions in previous sections if you need help deciding whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced exerciser.

Maintaining an optimal weekly volume of cardio while also incorporating adequate resistance training.

Choosing a Type of Cardio

Choosing a kind of cardio that you really enjoy - or that you plan to compete in - is essential if you want to stick to your plan.

Any exercise that can be performed continuously in a rhythmic manner and that incorporates larger muscles in your body can count as cardio (ASCM). Typically this is something full body or lower body focused, not something isolated to the upper body as it would be difficult to reach and maintain an appropriate intensity using just your arms.

Popular cardio modalities

Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, stairs, jump rope, aerobics class, cross country skiing, skating, rowing, dancing, and any other favorite gym based cardio machines like the stationary bike or the elliptical.

Things that DONT count

• Lifting heavy weights (even if your heart rate is up). While lifting does have some cardiovascular benefits, its not the same as cardio specific training. Also - intentionally elevating your heart rate during heavy lifts can really take away from the unique benefits that lifting heavy brings (for one thing, you won’t be able to lift as heavy if you’re out of breath).

• Being nervous or anxious

• Watching scary movies

• Drinking too much coffee

FAQ

How do I get going?

After you’ve settled on a schedule based on the samples shown in previous sections, schedule your planned workouts into your calendar! Buy a workout log book, use a calendar app, or a simple spreadsheet. You can use my habit tracker template to track progress towards daily habit goals including strength training and cardio workouts.

Cardio can be very simple, you don’t need any fancy tools to get started. Walking uphill, jogging, or cycling are common accessible options.

I am happy to construct cardio plans for you if you prefer to skip the thinking and get write to the structured workout schedule. Sign up for a consult call here.

What cardio intensity is most beneficial?

Moderate intensity gives the most unique benefits related to maximizing stroke volume and cardiac output and is the intensity that everyone should be doing (for some this would be in addition to higher intensity work). It’s often undervalued since it feels so slow!

Is work done below moderate intensity effective?

Yes! It’s important to keep moving outside of workouts. Many of us do this by counting steps or trying to consistently fit in a yoga class or two per week.

That said, we don’t really count this low intensity towards cardio! Just towards general “none exercise movement” or NEAT.

If you’re very sedentary, getting your NEAT up can be a great precursor to starting this more structured cardio regimen.

Does timing/time of day matter?

Not really, especially if you are exercising for general health and wellbeing. Don’t stress about timing, just choose the time of day where you’re most likely to do your best work.

If you plan to workout early, be smart about your food. Eating a big breakfast beforehand is not ideal, but you don’t want to train hungry! A few options here:

1. Train fasted - make sure you have a big dinner the night before!

2. Consume a protein shake and a bit of juice

3. Consume a banana and protein shake

What if I also want to strength train?

Again, don’t stress about timing. Some other things to keep in mind:

1. Try to strength train BEFORE cardio if possible. Another option - if you want to do cardio first - would be to separate your cardio workout from your strength workout by at least a couple of hours.

2. The most important thing is to get your planned workouts in consistently. If that means running TO the gym and doing cardio first, then go for it! The total volume of work we do over the week is far more important than the timing.

3. If the total amount of exercise you’ve committed to feels overwhelming, adjust your workout schedule. The ideal number of workouts per week is the number that you are able to get in consistently week after week.

Is there an ideal intensity for fat burning?

No. When trying to lose (or gain) weight, it all comes down to the total calories consumed verses calories expended. This means that your nutrition is paramount when it comes to any weight or body fat related goal.