How Much Cardio Should You Do?

Everyone should exercise, but not everyone loves it. This presents a problem – how much cardio should you do daily to maintain health and performance?

This article is going to go over the details and tell you how much cardio you should do daily and what type is best. Plus, we'll even go over how much to do to maximize your results! So, how much cardio per day should you do?

What Is Cardio?

This may seem like a silly question, but it's important. Some people may think that simple walking is cardio, while others may think you "must sweat" for it to be cardio.

Therefore, let's break down what "cardio" is so that we can tell you how much of it you should do.

“Cardio” = Cardiovascular Exercise

"Cardio" is short for "cardiovascular exercise," which refers to any physical activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it elevated for a sustained period. 

Your cardiovascular system is your body's system to transport oxygen and nutrients in blood. It consists of;

• Heart
• Blood vessels
• Blood

Ultimately, cardiovascular exercise is physical activity that "trains your heart" by placing a greater demand on it. We 100% support increasing physical activity by increasing your steps; however, this is why simply walking may not technically meet the criteria for "cardio."

What Does the Cardiovascular System Do?

As you can imagine, improving the health and function of your cardiovascular system is important. It serves a ton of functions, including;

• Delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissues
• Removes carbon dioxide and waste
• Helps maintain body temperature
• Supports immune function and healing

Therefore, cardiovascular exercise is primarily concerned with improving your heart health as well as your lungs. Collectively, this will improve all of the above functions in your body.

When we're talking about performance specifically, increased cardio health will be able to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your muscles more efficiently. This will help improve;

• Endurance
• Recovery during exercise
• Recovery after training.

Is Walking Considered Cardio?

Before we go further, we will say there's some nuance here based on the language used but this is what we feel best fits the definition in order to see significant benefits.

Some people incorrectly label "cardio exercise" as exercise at any intensity, such as walking on the beach or going for a leisure cycle. While we encourage this as well, it doesn't meet the minimum threshold for cardio. 

Cardio is an exercise that elevates the heart rate for an extended duration at the appropriate intensity. There are generally two levels of intensity.¹

• Moderate intensity:50–70% of HRmax
• Vigorous intensity:70–85% of HRmax

By this, we see that 50% of your heart rate max is the minimum threshold for exercise to be considered cardio.

To determine your max heart rate, this basic equation can give you a rough idea;

• HRmax = 220 − your age

Are HIIT And Intervals Considered Cardio?

Now, this is where some context and nuance come in. We can obviously exercise harder than 85%HRmax. This includes things such as;

• Sprints
• Intervals
• HIIT Training

However, cardio is generally defined as exercise that elevates the heart rate to at least 50%HRmax for at least 10 minutes. This eliminated maximal efforts, as you can't sustain maximum speeds for this long.

In addition, over the years, cardio has also been used interchangeably with "aerobic training." "Aerobic exercise" refers to exercise that's fueled by your aerobic metabolic system, which requires oxygen. 

Physiologically, this system takes a bit longer to produce energy but is able to do so in large quantities. This makes it the primary metabolic system to power prolonged exercise of moderate Intensity.

However, "cardio" ultimately means training your cardiovascular system. HIIT and intervals are definitely going to do this as well. Further, they improve your VO2max, which is considered to be the ultimate measure of fitness.

Therefore, we do believe that HIIT can contribute to your overall cardio training.

How Much Cardio Per Week Should You Do?

So, let's start with the basics and lay out the minimum amount of cardio you should perform every week. These numbers are set for by various Health Organizations: ²

• 150 minutes of moderate-intensity OR,
• 75-90 minutes of vigorous-intensity OR,
• Combination of both.

Further, this should be spread out across the week, i.e.

• 30 minutes X 5
• 50 Minutes X 3

Even though the Health Organizations say "any movement," we feel that each session should be at least 10 minutes and at 50% HRmax. This can easily be done with brisk walking.

This does not mean we don't think general movement is bad; it is 100% beneficial. However, cardiovascular exercise should stress the heart, so if the physical activity is too low, this won't occur.

Types Of Cardio

When it comes to the actual exercise, it doesn't matter what one you use as long as you can perform it constantly. This can include

• Running
• Cycling
• Jogging
• Rowing
• Brisk Walking
• Rucking
• Stair climbing 

Literally, anything that is capable of sustaining your heart rate for a prolonged duration can qualify as cardio.

Even dancing has been found to provide cardio and weight loss benefits!³

Walking

You may have heard us talk about walking before, but we strongly believe it's the easiest behavior change society can make. We're strong believers in the "10,000 steps a day."

Research has consistently shown that increasing daily steps produces a plethora of benefits, including:⁴

• Improved body composition
• Decreased cardiovascular mortality risk.
• Decreased all-cause mortality
• Improved mental health.

Factors To Consider

Now, let's go into a few factors that may dictate how much cardio you need to do. 

1. How Much Activity Do You Do?

This could be perhaps the biggest factor. Depending on your other activity level, you should do a lot of cardio. 

Are you working at a bank where you sit down all day? Or do you work on a construction site and go to the gym three times a week? 

If you're incredibly active and go to the gym, you could get away with less cardio throughout the week. On the other hand, if you live a sedentary life, you should definitely be getting 150+ minutes weekly

2. What Type Of Cardio Are You Doing?

High-intensity? Low-intensity? Moderate? And how much of each are you doing? For example, someone who performs 5 quality HIIT sessions every week may be able to get away with only doing brisk walking for cardio.

On the other hand, if you're only doing low-intensity exercise, you should try to get in as much as possible. You see, it's up to you to really look at the entire picture to determine what your goal should be.

3. Why Are You Doing Cardio?

This is another factor to consider. Why are you doing cardio? For general health? To improve your cardio? For performance benefits? To burn calories?

If you're doing cardio to burn calories, this will depend on your diet and caloric needs.

Or do you have health conditions that you're trying to reverse? Research shows that increased cardio can provide greater benefits for those suffering from various conditions, such as cardiovascular disease.⁵ 

Should You Do Cardio Everyday?

One question many people have concerning cardio is whether they can do it daily. 

It largely depends on;

• What type of cardio you're doing
• The intensity of your cardio
• Duration of the cardio
• Your current physical and fitness level

For example, if you're doing long duration at higher intensities, such as 30+ minutes at 75-80%HRmax, you may need to allow recovery days if you're new to cardio. On the other hand, if you're fit and have experience with cardio, 30 minutes might be your recovery day!

Therefore, when it comes to moderate-high intensity cardio, it will largely depend on you and how much you do.

However, we strongly believe in walking every day and increasing your general activity. This kind of cardio isn't stressful on the body or joints, so there's minimal, if any, risk of injuries caused by overuse.

So, yes, you can do cardio every day. In fact, we actually think you should include cardio everyday assuming we're considering brisk walking as "cardio". Depending on the intensity level and duration of exercise, you may need to alternate days of low-intensity and high-intensity.

How To Optimize Cardio

Above, we discussed the minimum amount of cardio everyone should do. Now, let's examine how to truly optimize our cardio.

More Is Better

One problem with our society is that we hear things like "150 minutes is the minimum amount of cardio weekly" and "150 minutes is the maximum amount of cardio weekly"  or "all you need is 150 minutes of cardio weekly."

In reality, this is the minimum, and more is better. 

Of course, you can do too much, but it seems as though there is a dose-response between cardio and benefits of up to 300 minutes weekly!² That's twice as much as the minimum!

This same principle applies to walking as well. While 7,500 steps daily seem to give you the most bang for your buck, research shows a dose-response up to 20,000 steps daily!⁴

Use Variation Of Cardio

Assuming you're getting in plenty of cardio, you could then focus on using a variety of cardio. Not necessarily the type you do but the intensity;

• Low - We can consider this to be general activity and walking
• Moderate/Vigorous - This could be your traditional cardio in the 50-85%HRmax range.
• High- This could be considered your HIIT and Interval training.

While all of these will benefit your heart and cardiovascular system, they'll use different physiological systems, such as your aerobic and anaerobic metabolic systems. An optimal functioning body will include some specific training for each.

To get the most benefits out of your cardio, include a variation. This includes;

• Getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 90 minutes of vigorous activity
• At least one session of high intensity to train your anaerobic system
• At least one session of exercise that's 30+ minutes @ 70%HRmax to train your endurance and really stress your aerobic system
• Get in as much general activity and walking as possible.

Final Say On How Much Cardio You Should Do?

When it comes to cardio, the most important factor is that you increase your activity levels at sufficient intensity. You can ultimately do whatever type of cardio you want so we encourage you to find one you thoroughly enjoy doing. Further, realize that it doesn't all have to be "exercise". Taking your dog for an extra long walk, cycling through a local nature preserve or going out kayaking.

References

1. American Heart Association. Target Heart Rates Chart. American Heart Association. Published March 9, 2021. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates
2. American Heart Association. American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids. American Heart Association. Published January 19, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults
3. Rodrigues-Krause J, Farinha JB, Krause M, Reischak-Oliveira Á. Effects of dance interventions on cardiovascular risk with aging: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2016;29:16-28. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.09.004 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27912941/
4. Banach M, Lewek J, Surma S, et al. The association between daily step count and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a meta-analysis [published correction appears in Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2023 Dec 21;30(18):2045. doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwad263.]. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2023;30(18):1975-1985. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwad229 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37555441/
5. Kunutsor SK, Laukkanen JA. Physical activity, exercise and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular disease: a narrative review. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther. 2024;22(1-3):91-101. doi:10.1080/14779072.2024.2328644 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38488568/