Cardio Keeps The Game Going

Need to lose weight? Add cardio.

Want to lose body fat? Add cardio.

Already working out 3 days a week, and the scale isn’t moving? Better tack on 30 minutes of cardio at the end of your workouts.

And yes, while cardio does burn calories, it is only part of your weight loss and body composition plan. And because of that, it’s not the main reason I want you doing cardio.

But the real reason to train your cardiovascular system is pretty simple:
I want your cardiovascular system to be fit.

That is one element of how you can be sure to do what you want to do without being limited by fatigue.

You want to play with your kids? Go for it. Hike on a vacation? Absolutely. Climb a flight of stairs? That goes without saying.

Here’s how I think of it:
Cardio keeps the game going. Strength keeps you in the game.

What Does “Keep the Game Going” Mean?

In this instance, the game is your life, and let’s say you want to live to 95 years old. That’s great!

But there’s a significant difference between simply being alive at 95 and being able to continue to do the things that you want to do at 95.

Enter lifespan versus healthspan.

Lifespan is how long you live or how long the game goes. Healthspan generally refers to how long without major chronic disease. In other words, how long can you continue to play the game?

Evidence would suggest that improving your cardiorespiratory fitness matters for both.

Two studies, one following 24,576 people and the other following 122,000 people, found that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with better health later in life and a progressively lower long-term all-cause mortality.

This means improving your cardiovascular fitness helps you live longer and live better (but it’s only part of the equation).

There’s a much bigger reason to do cardio than trying to burn off whatever you ate Saturday night.

Cardio and Strength Are Doing Different Jobs

This is why I don’t think the conversation should be cardio or strength training. I think it should be both.

Cardio keeps your game going. Strength keeps you in the game.

Cardio helps you sustain physical work and improve your cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory systems, and strength training develops a little bit of a different set of qualities.

You want to be able to carry things, get off the floor, climb, move, and play, and maintain usable ranges of motion, then you need to be strength training.

I don’t want you to simply exist in your later years, I want you to be able to participate in the things you care about as long as you can.

So How Much Cardio Do You Actually Need?

This is where the answer becomes:
It depends.

I know that’s not as satisfying as giving everyone the same number, but what you need depends on what you’re already doing, your current fitness level, your goals, and what else is included in your training.

As a general rule, I prefer somewhere in the 2-3 days per week of some kind of cardiovascular work or conditioning work. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to immediately start running three days a week.

For instance, if you’re already strength training or doing group fitness 2, 3, or 4 days per week, adding a dedicated cardio day could be a perfectly good place to start. And while we might eventually build a day or two into your schedule, that’s not necessarily the goal.

Now, on the other hand, if you’re currently doing nothing, I don’t need you jumping from zero to 5 days of running. Start with a couple days. Go for a walk or walk some hills, ride a bike, but build your capacity from where you are.

Activity and Cardio Aren’t Necessarily the Same Thing

We’ve talked about NEAT before: non-exercise activity thermogenesis. Walking around your office, taking stairs, doing yard work, getting steps in, playing with your kids, that stuff matters.

They are not, however, cardiovascular training, necessarily, although they can be.

For instance, there’s a difference between taking an easy walk because you’re trying to get more steps in and going for a walk with the specific intention of elevating your heart rate and challenging yourself.

Both are useful. They’re just serving different purposes.

This is why it’s important to discern between “I got 8,000 steps today, so I did my cardio” and “I got 8,000 steps today, but I didn’t do cardio.”

What Kind of Cardio Should You Do?

• Walking
• Running
• Cycling
• Rowing
• Elliptical
• Swimming
• Intervals
• Zone 2 conditioning
• Sports
• High-intensity interval training

My answer is pretty much: yes!

Since there’s no prize for choosing the “best” form of cardio, the more important question is what makes sense for you.

I want to figure out what you need, what you can currently tolerate, and what you’re actually willing to continue to do on a consistent basis.

More Cardio Isn’t Always the Answer

This one gets me. Sure, there are some people who don’t do enough cardiovascular work, but there are other people still who try to use cardio to solve everything.

And I mean everything.

Want to lose 10 more lbs.? Run more.
Scale stops moving? Run more.
Body fat isn’t where you want it? Run more.

This is an incomplete approach. Someone can be a very good runner and still have physical qualities that haven’t developed, like:

• Strength and power
• Movement through different ranges of motion that running doesn’t require you to
• Or, the ability to simply carry something heavy

Cardio and strength training complement each other, and if you’re a busy parent trying to stay healthy for the next several decades, there’s a much more useful way to look at training.

Forget Optimal. Start With What You Can Do.

You’re busy, I get it, so the question “What is optimal?” is not the most beneficial question to be asking.

The question you need to be asking is, “What can I realistically start doing this week and consistently do going forward?”

Train your cardiovascular system because your cardiovascular system is worth training, but so is your strength training.

Already working out a lot? Start with one dedicated cardio session. Not exercising at all? Maybe start with a brisk walk or two during the week, where your intention is that you’re challenging yourself. In either case, build from there.

By the way, this doesn’t necessarily mean always in the up direction. Sometimes you’re doing too much, and you need to go back in the other direction.

Because, again:
Cardio keeps the game going.
Strength training keeps you in the game.

I want you to have both.