If there’s a single comment that I’ve heard more often than any other over the past 15+ years of coaching, it’s this:
“I think I need to do more cardio.”
When I ask more questions to discover what outcome the individual actually wants, this is the shortlist of responses (in order of frequency):
- Burn more calories / lose weight
- Improve pace for a race
- Not get winded doing daily tasks (e.g. carrying groceries up a flight of stairs, playing on the floor with pets/kids/grandkids)
And when I ask what s/he thinks “more cardio” looks like, the replies include:
- More mileage, time, or number of weekly sessions on the treadmill, stationary bike, stair climber, etc.
- Higher repetitions and less rest when training with weights (i.e. “heavy breathing + feel the burn” kind of stuff)
Now this may all look like solid fitness logic, but that’s only because it’s what has been in the public discourse over the past 40+ years.
Just like the computer or phone on which you’re reading this tip has evolved from the 386 or rotary styles that were popular in the ’80s, knowledge of effective fitness training methods has progressed as well. The problem is that public understanding (or, in many cases, opinions) on the topic have been slow to change.
So over this and the next couple tips, I’m going to briefly cover a few up-to-date aspects of “cardio”, how to do it better, and, in all likelihood, how to make it less of a mind-numbing slog.
What is cardio?
Misunderstanding of cardiovascular training often begins with the definition, which has less to do with heavy breathing or the type of activity (e.g. running, swimming, biking) and everything to do with stimulating the cardiovascular system. That is, the heart and blood vessels.
In other words, it’s heart rate training.
While many people associate heavy breathing (or panting) and cardio training, the latter can—and, in many cases, should—occur without much of the former. I’ll discuss this a bit more in the coming weeks.
For now, the general idea of heart rate zones is useful to begin wrapping your mind around. Heart rate zones are effectively percentages of your maximal heart rate (MHR). MHR varies based on a number of factors but can be roughly estimated as 220 minus your age in years.
Common zones are listed below:
- Zone 5: 91-100% of MHR
- Zone 4: 81-90%
- Zone 3: 71-80%
- Zone 2: 61-70%
- Zone 1: 60% and less
While spending time in each of the upper four zones can play a part in effective cardio training, some zones should play a greater part than others.
Zones 4 and 5 are often associated with what’s commonly known as “high intensity interval training”, or HIIT. This is what many people tend to think of as “cardio” and as what produces the best results (usually from a body composition standpoint).
However, relatively minimal time should actually be spent training in these zones. In fact, some studies have shown that spending too much time in zone 5 can actually be detrimental to long-term health outcomes.
Since zone 1 is basically where we live and therefore doesn’t provide much adaptation, that leaves zones 2 and 3 (and brief periods of time in the lower half of zone 4) as the best places to develop the cardiovascular system safely and effectively.
What cardio does (and doesn’t) affect
It’s time to address the elephant in the room. And you might be surprised (or incredulous) to hear this, but… cardio doesn’t help with weight loss. At least, it doesn’t in the way most people think (burning calories) or the way most people do it (slogging for hours on the treadmill, bike, or stair climber).
I’ll discuss this a bit more next week along with the body’s energy systems. For now, remember that you can’t out-exercise a poor diet, and a good night of sleep might do more for your body composition than exercise of any type could.
That said, most cardio training does help to improve general health and everyday functioning (like climbing stairs with an armload of groceries) as well as cognitive functioning as we age. In fact, the body’s (and brain’s) ability to utilize oxygen, which is an attribute enhanced by cardio training, has been more closely correlated to cognitive ability in the elderly than the more common practice of playing “brain games” like crossword puzzles.
Last but not least, the effect that cardio training has on strength and power development, hypertrophy (i.e. muscle growth), and speed/pace (as in a race) is entirely dependent upon how the cardio training is performed. More on this in a couple weeks. 😉
Putting it into practice
If you’re currently relatively sedentary, then it’s probably safe to say that you could benefit from doing more cardio. (And strength training… but that’s a topic for another time.)
But adding it to your routine doesn’t need to be as difficult or time-consuming as you might expect. When you’re just starting out, a 10-15 minute brisk walk after dinner would likely send your heart rate into zone 2 and provide a variety of benefits.
If you’re already somewhat active, then you’re quite possibly doing more cardiovascular training than you think. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t benefit from a regimen upgrade. But we’ll get to that over the next couple tips.