Movement · The Fit Edit
The Cardio
Edit
Cardio without
the confusion.
Build cardiovascular fitness with a simple mix of easy aerobic work, well-placed intervals and enough recovery to keep progressing.
The Map
You do not need
a lab to understand
intensity.
Use effort and the talk test. Most of your cardio should feel easy. Hard work is useful — just in a much smaller dose.
Zone 1
Very easy
Warm-up, cool-down, recovery
You can sing
Zone 2
Easy
Your aerobic base — most cardio lives here
Full conversation
Zone 3
Moderate
Comfortably hard — useful, but often overused
Short sentences
Zone 4
Hard
Intervals and VO₂max work
A few words
Zone 5
Maximal
Brief, occasional and optional
Can't talk
Choose Your Method
Cardio does not
mean running.
Pick the modality you can repeat. The cardiovascular system responds to the work — not to whether it happened on a treadmill, bike or rower.
Zone 2
Easy aerobic work that builds the base and can be repeated consistently.
Intervals
Short, controlled doses of hard work to develop your top end and VO₂max.
Walking
Brisk or incline walking absolutely counts when it reaches an aerobic effort.
Low impact
Cycling, rowing, swimming, elliptical and stair climbing can all build a strong engine.
Make Them Fit
Strength and cardio
can coexist.
The issue is not cardio itself. It is how you arrange the hard work.
Prioritise
Do the session that matters most first when you must combine them.
Separate
Keep hard cardio and heavy lifting on different days or several hours apart.
Use Zone 2
Easy aerobic work can fit almost anywhere, including lifting days.
Fuel
More conditioning means more output — eat enough to recover.
The Training Plans
Build the base.
Then sharpen it.
Start with easy aerobic work, progress duration gradually, then add controlled hard sessions once the foundation is there.
Base
2 × Zone 2 · 20 min
Extend
2–3 × Zone 2 · 30–35 min
Sharpen
2 × Zone 2 + 1 short interval session
Consolidate
2 × Zone 2 + 1 progressed interval session
Next Step
The 6-Week VO₂max Build
Once your aerobic base is established, two easy sessions maintain it while one quality session progressively develops your top end.
Get It Right
More hard work
is not the answer.
Living in Zone 3
Making every session comfortably hard.
Too many hard days
Chasing intervals three or four times a week.
Skipping the warm-up
Going straight from cold to hard effort.
Under-fuelling
Using cardio as a reason to eat less.
All or nothing
Skipping the week because you cannot do it perfectly.
Inside the Edit
Mostly easy.
A little hard.
Heart-Rate Zones, Simply
The 8-Week Conditioning Build
Weekly Cardio Tracker
The Cardio Edit
Build your engine.
Keep it for life.
Build cardiovascular fitness without turning every session into a punishment.
Get the Cardio Edit