Everything You Need to Know About Cardio

By Paige Waehner Updated on July 08, 2022

Cardiovascular exercise is exercise that gets your heart rate up. Though some people use it solely for
weight loss, cardio has other benefits as well. Read on to learn more about what this type of exercise is,
the benefits it offers, and how to create a safe and effective cardiovascular routine.

What Is Cardio?

Cardio exercise, which is sometimes referred to as aerobic exercise, is any rhythmic activity that raises
your heart rate into your target heart rate zone. This is the zone where you burn the most fat and
calories.

Some of the most common examples of cardio include walking, cycling, and swimming. However, even
household chores like vacuuming and mopping can qualify as cardio exercise.

Part of what sets cardio apart from other types of exercise—such as strength training—is that it relies on
your body's ability to use oxygen during the workout session. A person's cardio ability or capacity can
vary based on a number of factors.

Research published by the American Heart Association reports that genetics have a 20% to 40%
influence over what you can do cardio-wise.1 Also, females tend to have a 25% lower cardio capacity
than males and, for both sexes, this capacity tends to decline with age.

This is not to say that your genes, sex, or age will prevent you from improving your cardiovascular health.
But it does help to know that there are many factors that can influence how (and how well) your body
responds to cardio exercise.

Benefits of Cardio

There are very few activities you can do for a short period of time that have all of the physical and
mental health benefits that cardio exercise offers. Some of the known benefits of cardio include:
Burns fat and calories, making it easier to lose weight

Enhances sleep quality, especially if the exercise is moderate to vigorous in intensity2

Expands lung capacity, or the amount of air that your lungs can hold

Improves your sex life by increasing your body's ability to become aroused, improving your body image,
and even potentially helping to treat medication-related sexual dysfunction3

Increases bone density when you do weight-bearing cardio exercises like hiking or climbing stairs

Lowers stress, in part by improving your ability to cope with issues in a positive way4

Promotes feeling good, and can even help relieve depression5 and anxiety6

Improves confidence in how you look and feel

Reduces risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some forms of cancer7

Sets a good example for those around you, encouraging them to exercise with you8

Strengthens the heart so that it doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood

How to Choose Cardio Exercise

Your first step in choosing the right cardio workout for you is to figure out what kind of activities you
enjoy. Think about what fits your personality and what you'd feel comfortable fitting into your life. This is
key because if you don't like the exercise, you're less likely to stick with it long-term.

If you like to go outdoors, running, cycling, and walking are all good choices. If you prefer going to the
gym, you have access to many options in the form of stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, treadmills,
rowing machines, climbers, the pool, and more.

Want to increase your heart rate at home? You can do at-home cardio exercises like jumping rope,
jumping jacks, jogging in place, and burpees. Another option is to buy your own treadmill or elliptical
machine. You might also consider using:

Exercise DVDs

Fitness apps
Online workouts

You may not even know what you like yet. In this case, try several different activities to find the one or
ones that you enjoy most. This process can be hit or miss, so don't be afraid to try something and, if it
doesn't work, move on to something else.

Beginner Workouts

If you are new to exercise, there are a few beginner workouts that can help get you started. These
include:

Cardio for Absolute Beginners: This program lets you pick any machine or activity that you're
comfortable with.

Elliptical Workout for Beginners: The elliptical is great for building strength with low impact (meaning
that it is easier on your joints).

Stationary Bike Workout for Beginners: This 20-minute indoor cycling workout is great if you want a
workout with no impact.

Another option is to start with about 10 to 20 minutes of brisk walking at a moderate intensity. This
means that you should be at a Level 5 or 6 on a perceived exertion scale of zero to 10, where sitting is
zero and the highest level of effort possible is 10.

How Long Should a Cardio Workout Last?

Health authorities recommend that most people get 150 minutes of cardio exercise per week.9 The great
thing about cardio is that you don't have to work out for an hour to get benefits.

Even sessions as short as 10 minutes count towards your weekly cardio exercise minutes.10 So, figure
out how much you need to do per week and split it up in a way that makes sense for you.

If you are just starting out, it may feel less overwhelming to break your sessions into 10- to 15-minute
chunks. Increase your time by 5 minutes as the exercise begins to feel easier. Work your way up to 30- to
60-minute sessions.
Frequency of Cardio Workouts

The answer to how often to do cardio workouts depends on a number of factors. Among them are your
fitness level, schedule, and goals.

If you are new to exercise, want to be healthier, don't have a lot of free time, and aren't worried about
losing weight, exercising a little bit every day can do you some good. If you have been exercising
regularly for years, are used to hitting the gym 60 minutes at a time, and are more focused on building
muscle than burning fat, cardio 3 to 4 times a week is probably enough.

When thinking about frequency, it's important to consider intensity as well. Light or moderate-intensity
cardio workouts can usually be performed every day. But if you do high-intensity training, you'll need
more rest days in between your workouts. Mixing the two helps you work different energy systems and
also keeps you from burning out.

Guidelines for Cardio Frequency

The frequency of your workouts will depend on your fitness level and your schedule. The basic
guidelines are:

For general health, try moderately-intense cardio 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, or vigorously intense
cardio for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week. You can also do a mixture.

For weight loss and/or to avoid regaining weight, you may need to do more than 300 minutes of
moderate-intensity activity a week to meet your goals.

To maintain a healthy body weight, you need about 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a
week.

Doing too much cardio is a no-no and can actually backfire. There is a point of diminishing returns, so
keep it reasonable (3 to 6 days per week, depending on your fitness level), vary your intensity, and don't
forget to take rest days when needed.

When Life Gets in the Way

What happens if you can't follow the guidelines? If you're still working on building endurance and
conditioning, it may take a few weeks to work your way up to more frequent exercise.
If it's a busy schedule that stands in your way or other obstacles, do your best to work out as many days
as you can. Try shorter, more intense circuit training workouts to make the most out of the time you do
have. Try these quick workouts:

10 Minute Low-Impact Cardio Workout: A low-impact workout that doesn't require any equipment and
uses your own body weight as resistance

Burn 100 Calories in 10 Minutes: Six workout options help keep things interesting

Keep in mind that if you can't follow the guidelines because of your busy schedule, you may have trouble
reaching weight loss goals. If you can't do the work required to reach your goals, you may have to
change your lifestyle. Or, if that isn't working, change your goal to fit where you are in your exercise or
weight loss experience.

Cardio Exercise Intensity

Once you've gotten used to exercising (and are up to 30 minutes of continuous movement) you can start
working on your intensity. How hard you work is a crucial factor in your workout because of:

Calorie burn: Intensity is directly related to how many calories you burn.

Ease of monitoring: A heart rate monitor or the perceived exertion scale makes it easy to monitor your
exercise intensity.

Time savings: Raising your intensity burns more calories when you're short on time.

Variation: Intensity is an easy part of your workout to change without having to find a new exercise to
do.

How Hard Should You Work?

Your best exercise intensity level depends on several factors, including your fitness level and goals. There
are three different levels of intensity you can focus on during your workouts, and you can even
incorporate all of these levels into the same workout:

High-Intensity Cardio: This falls between 70% and 85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR), or a 7 to 8 on
the perceived exertion scale. This level feels challenging and leaves you too breathless to talk much. If
you're a beginner, try beginner interval training to work harder for shorter periods of time.
Moderate-Intensity Cardio: Moderate intensity falls between 50% and 70% of your MHR (a level 5 to 6
on the perceived exertion scale). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services often recommends
this level of intensity in its Physical Activity Guidelines. This is the level you typically want to shoot for
during your workouts.

Low-Intensity Cardio: This type of exercise is considered to be below 50% of your MHR, or about a level 3
to 4 on the perceived exertion scale. This is a good level to work at during your warm-ups or when you're
squeezing in other activities, like walking, throughout the day.

Keep in mind that target heart rate calculation isn't 100% accurate. You might want to use a combination
of perceived exertion and your heart rate to find a range that works for you.

Cardio for Weight Loss

While the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest that most people get 150 minutes of
moderate-intensity physical activity per week, the amount of exercise needed to lose weight is often
greater. If you want to lose more than 5% of your body weight, you may need 300 minutes per week or
more.11

These guidelines state that moderate-intensity activity is any activity that gets your heart rate going.
However, they also indicate that incorporating high-intensity interval training often provides better
results for people who are overweight or obese.

Adding resistance training to your weekly cardio can also help. It works by increasing your lean muscle
mass. Muscle creates a higher energy demand on your body, meaning more calories burned both at rest
and while exercising.12

Combine your cardio with a healthy diet and you can boost your weight loss more. The Dietary
Guidelines for Americans recommends eating fruits, veggies, grains, low-fat dairy, lean proteins, and
healthy oils while limiting added sugar, saturated fat, sodium, and alcohol.13

A Word From Verywell

Before beginning this or any other exercise program, talk to your doctor. Make sure the exercise is safe
for you to do. Also, listen to your body. If it tells you that you are doing too much, it's time to reduce the
intensity, frequency, or duration of your exercise sessions.

Whatever you do, remember to keep your cardio workouts simple. Just start somewhere and make it a
goal to do something every day, even if it's a 5-minute walk. Try doing it at the same time every day and
schedule it on your calendar. The more you practice, the easier it gets.