This Is How Much Cardio You Actually Need

The cardio craze has ebbed and flowed for decades. At various points in time, it’s felt like everyone is obsessed with cardio-based workouts—and doing a lot of them—from step aerobics in the ’80s to the boutique cycling boom in the 2010s. And who can forget about the surge in race signups and Peloton memberships when the COVID-10 pandemic hit? Yet, while fitness trends come and go, cardio at its core—no matter which form you prefer—remains a constant in any well-rounded program.

Like most things in health, though, more cardio isn’t always better. “Cardio is incredibly beneficial, but like any form of physical stress, it requires balance,” Anne Brady, PhD, a professor of kinesiology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and an online fitness coach, tells SELF. “The body adapts best when training is paired with adequate recovery.”

So, what’s the sweet spot? More importantly, how can you tell if you’re currently overdoing it, underdoing it, or hitting that just-right sweet spot? We asked experts to explain.

The benefits of cardio workouts

“The term ‘cardio’ typically refers to an aerobic activity that raises your heart rate and breathing for sustained periods,” Alyssa Younker-Barber, PhD, a North Carolina-based exercise physiologist at Human Powered Health, tells SELF. As a result, these workouts strengthen your cardiovascular system and improve endurance, while also supporting your mental and emotional well-being.

Some specific benefits of cardio include:

• Improves your cardiorespiratory fitness. This means your body can deliver (and use) oxygen more efficiently. Over time, this helps you feel less fatigued and less out of breath during everyday activities and workouts.
• Lowers your resting blood pressure and heart rate. This means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. Reducing resting heart rate and blood pressure can also help improve your athletic performance.
• Reduces chronic disease. Consistent aerobic exercise is linked to a lower risk of metabolic conditions and chronic disease over time, including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
• Protects your brain. “Regular exercise can increase blood flow, which decreases your risk of stroke,” says Younker-Barber. Research also suggests cardio workouts can positively affect your memory and cognitive function, which is important at any stage of life, but especially as you age.
• Supports your mental well-being. Cardiovascular exercise also supports mental and emotional health by elevating mood and releasing endorphins, or natural “feel-good” chemicals in the brain that help reduce stress and improve your sense of well-being, Brady says.

What the official guidelines say

Because of all the health benefits at stake, experts say every adult should fit in some cardio exercise each week. The most recent Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio (you can also do a combo of the two) each week for general health benefits. (At least two strength-based workouts should also be sprinkled into your weekly routine.)

Both Brady and Younker-Barber say these guidelines are rooted in evidence and are a great benchmark for assessing whether you’re doing enough cardio. But beyond that, the exact number of heart-pumping minutes you should log each week depends mostly on your current activity level and your fitness goals.

How to figure out your personalized cardio needs

The best way to determine how much cardio you should do each week? Think about your fitness goals. For example, if you want to:

• Cash in on the health benefits of exercise, then let the official recommendations be your beacon. That doesn’t mean you have to stop at 150 minutes, though: You’ll reap even more health benefits if you go beyond that prescribed minimum. Just make sure to not overdo it. If you’re sticking to moderate-intensity cardio, you shouldn’t have to worry about this, but if you’re adding in some high-intensity workouts, too, you may need to add more rest time in-between sessions. If you feel too tired after a workout to get through the day, think exercise might be interrupting your sleep, or feel constantly sore and achey, those are all signs you need to dial back and give yourself some time to recover.
• Increase muscular strength and endurance, but maintain your current weight, you’ll want to prioritize strength training over cardio, but you can still comfortably do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week, Brady says. The wide range is intentional: The idea is to adjust based on your lifestyle demands and current fitness level. Try alternating your cardio and resistance training days, Younker-Barber says, to make sure you’re fully recovering in between each workout.
• Build muscle mass, you’ll want to do more strength-based workouts, up your protein intake, and do less cardio. If you’re trying to increase the size of your muscles, dialing back on cardio—meaning, hitting the minimum of 150 minutes a week, but not going above and beyond—and following a progressive resistance training plan is your best bet. “For well-rounded health benefits, it’s not recommended to completely cut cardio out of your routine, even if building muscle mass is your only goal,” Younker-Barber says. “It’s possible to build mass while maintaining an aerobic routine.”

What counts as cardio?

“Cardio is any sustained, rhythmic activity that elevates heart rate and challenges the cardiovascular system,” Brady says. “All cardio is physical activity, but not all physical activity qualifies as cardio, because cardiovascular exercise must reach a certain intensity and be sustained long enough to stimulate aerobic adaptations,” she explains.

Moderate-intensity—think: your effort feels like a 4 to 6 on a scale of 1 to 10—cardio can include low-impact aerobic workouts like brisk walking, light cycling, elliptical use, swimming, water aerobics, hiking, rowing, and stair climbing. Any of these can be turned into vigorous-intensity if you up the pace, resistance, or incline so that your effort feels like a 7 or higher out of 10.

Some types of resistance training workouts can also count toward your weekly cardio goals. “Typically, any type of circuit training that consists of high repetitions with minimal rest between sets will keep your heart rate elevated for a sustained period of time,” Younker-Barber says.

If you’re trying to hit the minimum weekly cardio guidelines for general health and well-being, shake it up by doing a variety of aerobic activities in one week. For example, you could do at least two 20-minute runs plus a 35-minute circuit training session to hit at least 75 minutes of intense-vigorous activity. Or, you could do three 30-minute brisk walks, one low-key 30-minute rowing workout, and one chill 30-minute cycling session for a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio. There are infinite combinations—get creative and pick things you enjoy so that you’ll want to keep going back for more.

Related:

• 8 Workouts That Will Help You Get More Zone 2 Cardio
• What ‘10,000 Steps a Day’ Gets Right (and Wrong) About Health and Weight
• How to Trick Your Brain Into Doing Something You’re Avoiding

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