After reading this, you’ll have a clear understanding of:
- The difference between low-intensity and high-intensity cardio
- Which types are best during specific phases of your fitness journey
- How to properly and effectively pair cardio with different types of weight training
If the only cardio you do is running away from it, this one is for you.
Let’s break down what cardio really is and how to make it work for your goals. Our mission is not to overwhelm you with the science but to simplify the chaos and help you choose the right type of cardio for your body, training phase, and lifestyle. There’s no single perfect formula, but this framework is simple, effective, and easy to stick with.
Start with the Basics
Before you dive in, ask yourself a few key questions to determine where you’re at right now:
- What’s your current level of ability?
- What are some injury considerations you have?
- How often are you training?
- What’s your current goal?
- What phase of programming are you in?
- What are your life demands?
- What kind of space do you have?
- What kind of equipment do you have access to?
These questions help define how to prioritize cardiovascular training according to your individual goals.
How to Identify the Cardio Zone
Understanding cardio zones helps you target the right effort level for your goals. There are a few simple ways to find which zone you’re in.
Step 1: Your heart rate max (HR max) is the fastest way your heart can beat during intense effort. It’s the foundation for determining your cardio zones.
Quick formula:
220 – your age = estimated HR max
Example:
If you’re 40 years old, your estimated HR max is:
220 – 40 = 180 beats per minute (bpm)
So, your HR max is 180 bpm.
Step 2: Try the Breath Test
A simple way to gauge your cardio zone is by paying attention to your breathing. Here’s how it works:
If you can breathe comfortably through your nose only, you’re likely in Zone 2 cardio with steady, sustainable effort.
If you’re gasping for air, you’ve pushed into Zone 4 or Zone 5, which are high-intensity efforts.
Step 3: The Speech Test
The speech test works similarly to the breath test. Here’s how it works:
If you can have a full conversation while doing a given activity, you’re likely in Zone 2 cardio. If you are struggling to put together a word or two at a time, you’re likely working Zone 4 or 5.
Step 4: Use the RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
Lastly, gauge your cardio intensity using RPE. It’s a simple 1-10 scale based on how hard you feel you’re working. 1 will feel like easy work, while 10 is going to be your highest level of effort.
The 3 Categories of Cardio
Now, let’s get into the 3 different categories of cardio training.
Zone 2: Aerobic Base Work
This is your foundation. Zone 2 improves your aerobic capacity, fat metabolism, and your body’s ability to utilize oxygen during exercise. Having a solid aerobic base is going to allow you to recover faster during intense work, and that includes in the weight room.
Typically, cardio in Zone 2 is going to take place in 20 minutes or more of continuous aerobic work. Think lower-impact activities like incline walking, elliptical, or light jogging.
Zone 2 should look like this:
- Heart rate max: 60-75%
- Breath test: breathe through your nose only
- Speech test: comfortably hold a full conversation
- RPE: 2-4
Zone 3-4: Moderate-to-High Intensity Aerobic Work
Zones 3 and 4 push you harder, where oxygen demand starts to exceed supply. It boosts endurance and your ability to sustain tough efforts. This is typically done at intervals of 5-8 minutes of challenging work, followed by rest.
This can be:
- Rowing
- Assault bike
- Spin
- Running
- Stair Climber
If you have a higher cardio capacity, you could do this in a sustained longer effort like running a 5K or doing a higher intensity stair climb for 20-30 minutes.
Zones 3 and 4 should look like this:
- Heart rate max: 75-85%
- Breath test: breathe through nose and mouth
- Speech test: can put some words together in short sentences, but your speech is broken
- RPE: 6-8
Zone 5: Anaerobic Power and VO2 Max
This is your all-out effort with short bursts at or near max capacity. It improves your ability to perform and recover from maximal effort.
You can approach this in 2 ways:
- Intervals: All-out effort for 20-30 seconds, followed by a full rest for longer than the work, repeating for 5-20 minutes.
- Power Sprints: True max effort with even longer rest (5 or 6 times) and finishing when you can’t give max effort.
You can execute this running, with the assault bike, hill sprints, or even bodyweight circuits.
For running, you go as hard as possible for 50 yards and rest for 4-5 minutes.
On a spin bike or an assault bike, you would go as hard as possible for 20 seconds, rest for 100 seconds, and repeat that until you feel that you can no longer give your max effort.
- Heart rate max: 90%+
- Breath test: breathing heavy through mouth and nose
- Speech test: hard to speak at all
- RPE: 10
Cardio Based on Your Training Phase
To determine how to integrate these different types of cardio into your training phase, we need to define the objective and priorities of the training phase.
Fat Loss Phase
About 95% of people who join Supra Human start in the fat loss phase. The goal is to lose fat and preserve muscle. You’re in a calorie deficit and weight lifting 2-4 times per week.
If you need to lose a significant amount of weight, your focus is Zone 2 cardio. If you need to lose weight but have been training, you’ll still focus on mostly Zone 2, mixing in some Zone 4 cardio, staying cautious of frequency and duration.
The fat loss phase isn’t about working yourself into a deficit. The most efficient way to be in a deficit is to eat less, not spend hours cardiovascularly trying to outwork a sloppy diet.
The goal in this phase is to let nutrition drive and use cardio as a tool, not a punishment.
Recovery Phase
This phase bridges fat loss and muscle building. You’re adding calories back in and letting your body rebound from the deficit.
The majority of the cardio work you do in this phase is Zone 2. You’ll still be in a calorie deficit for a bit, so you don’t need to add higher intensity work yet.
Lean Gain Phase
In this phase, your focus is on building lean muscle. You’re in a caloric surplus and training hard in the weight room. Your cardio training will not change much, sticking with lower intensity and using it to support recovery and endurance.
A great structure would be 4-5 lifting sessions and 1-2 Zone 2 cardio sessions per week. If you want to include Zone 4 or 5 cardio, depending on your capacity, you can add that in once a week.
Maintenance Phase
Here, your goal is balance and longevity. You’ve reached the physique you want, and now it’s about staying strong, healthy, energized, and maybe working toward a new performance goal.
You have more flexibility to mix all types of cardio based on your individual goal and cardio capacity. Remember, the key is that the main thing stays the main thing.
If your focus is to build more strength, prioritize your lifting. If you want to increase cardio capacity, prioritize cardio.
If you want to work Zone 5 cardio, do it before you lift. You won’t get max effort in Zone 5 if you do a 45-minute lift before.
Zone 2 and 4 cardio can be done before or after you lift. Just keep in mind volume in one area will pull from performance in another, even in low-impact or low-intensity.
Bottom Line
Cardio doesn’t need to be complicated. When done right, it complements your training instead of competing with it. Use these guidelines and work with your coach to make cardio work for your specific goals, not against them. And remember, consistency always wins.
At Supra Human, we build programs grounded in science and executed with precision, designed to break plateaus and transform your performance and physique.
Reach out to your coach to learn more about how cardio training can be integrated best in your current program.
