Ep 80 | How Hard Should You Train Cardio?
One of the most common struggles in fitness is knowing whether you're pushing hard enough in your workouts or if you're pushing too hard. This uncertainty can lead to plateaus when you're not challenging yourself enough, or worse, overtraining and injury when you're pushing beyond what your body can handle.
Today, I want to demystify what it actually looks and feels like to challenge yourself appropriately in cardiovascular training so you can make consistent progress without burnout.
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Jayd (00:00):
Something that we often talk about is how it's so important for you to challenge yourself in your workouts in order to continue to make progress, but it can sometimes be a little confusing to know what that exactly means. What does it actually feel like to challenge yourself in your workouts? Now, this is an important question to consider, especially because if you don't challenge yourself enough in your workouts, you'll likely see a plateau in your progress at the same time. A lot of people have a tendency to challenge themselves too much by pushing too hard, working too hard, and risking over-training or injury in their workouts. So what I want to do today is open up a discussion on what it actually looks like and feels like to challenge yourself in just the right amount in your workouts to continue to make progress by burning fat, building muscle, and getting stronger.
(01:07)
Welcome to the Coaching Corner podcast. My name is Jayd Harrison. I'm a personal trainer and I've created this podcast to share with you tips and tricks to improve your fitness without shame and without burnout. In today's episode, I'm going to start a three part discussion on what it looks and feels like to challenge yourself in your workouts depending on the style of training that you're doing. Now, this discussion is going to be broken up into three main parts because there are three main differences in how it looks and how it feels to challenge yourself in three different areas of exercise. I'm going to go over what it looks like and feels like to challenge yourself in cardiovascular training as well as what it looks like in the two main styles of resistance training that I use with my clients high volume training or hypertrophy training and strength training or heavy lifting.(02:00)
Now, keep in mind that these episodes are going to be small excerpts from the lessons that I give to my one-on-one coaching clients, and right now I am onboarding new clients into my 90 day fat loss transformation program. So if you are looking to lose weight, burn fat and keep it off for good, consider working with me. Use the link that is in the video description below if you're watching on YouTube or in the show notes if you're listening to the podcast. And before we get into the episode, please make sure to like this video if you're watching on YouTube and subscribe to my channel so you never miss new videos. And if you are listening to this podcast, thanks so much. Make sure that you follow the show so you always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. Without further ado, let's get into to today's discussion of what it looks and feels like to challenge yourself in cardiovascular training.(02:57)
Let's get into what it looks and feels like to challenge yourself in cardiovascular training. Now, cardiovascular training is a style of training that's focused specifically on training your cardiovascular system that is your heart and your lungs ability to get oxygen to your muscles. Now, this is a really important system not just for your fitness but for your overall health, and it is important to train our hearts to keep them healthy. So during a cardiovascular focused workout, your goal is going to be to get your heart pumping and to keep it pumping at a slightly higher rate than what you normally have when you are sitting at rest, working or just relaxing. Most people don't really need to do more than between 150 to 300 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every week. That's what the American Heart Association recommends for people to maintain the health of their hearts and their cardiovascular systems.(03:55)
This could be five days a week of doing between 30 and 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is any type of activity that keeps your heart rate up for a sustained period of time, at least five minutes. It usually involves repetitive motions, specifically using your bigger muscles in your legs, but really any sustained activity for any of the muscles in your body can get your heart rate up and count as cardiovascular exercise. And there's two main types of cardiovascular exercise that you need to be aware of. One is moderate intensity and the other is high intensity. Most people are fine to just do between 150 and 300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every week. Moderate intensity activity is anything that gets your heart rate up to between 50 and 70% of your max heart rate and your max heart rate is something that is going to be different depending on your age.(04:55)
So for a 30-year-old, a moderate intensity heart rate would be between 95 and 162 beats per minute. So when you're exercising, you can use a heart rate tracker or fitness tracker device like an Apple Watch or Fitbit, or you can use a heart rate monitor or you can even track your heart rate manually by finding your pulse at your wrist or at your neck to make sure that while you're exercising, your heart is beating in the right number of beats per minute. An easier way for you to check whether you're working at a moderate intensity is to use the talking test. When you are doing moderate intensity exercise, you should be able to talk. Although you are breathing faster, you should not be able to sing though. Great examples of exercises that count as moderate intensity activity are going for a brisk walk where you're walking at least 2.5 miles per hour.(05:47)
Dancing like ballroom or social dancing are great moderate intensity exercises as well. Riding a bike at a slow rate of 10 miles per hour or slower also counts here. Many activities of daily living like gardening, doing yard work or tidying up your house also count as moderate intensity exercise. Now let's talk about what it actually feels like when you are working at that moderate intensity exercise. Again, you can use the talking test and the singing test to make sure that you are working where you need to work, but there are other sensations that you can keep an eye out for to ensure that you're working as hard as you need to be and not over training. So you may experience physical sensations like you're breathing noticeably harder than you would if you were at rest, but you should still be able to maintain a full conversation with full sentences, although you may have to breathe more frequently than you would if you were resting.(06:36)
Your heart rate should be elevated but steady where you're aware that your heart is beating faster but you're not alarmed by it. You will likely also experience a very light sweating or a slight increase in your body temperature, especially after five to 10 minutes, your muscles will likely feel engaged and warm but not burning or straining. You should feel like you could sustain whatever activity it is that you're doing for 30 to 60 plus minutes. Mentally, you'll likely feel like what you're doing is challenging but also manageable. The activity that you're doing might require some focus to maintain your pace, but your mind can still wander and you can still think about and talk about other things. You might also feel a sense of like, I'm working but you don't feel desperate. For the work to end, I usually recommend most people just focus on doing moderate intensity cardio and keeping their exercise moderate for the most part because it's not so stressful on your body as doing high intensity training, and you often can do other things while you're doing your moderate intensity activity.(07:41)
This is the type of activity that a lot of people can do while they're working. If they have a standing desk and a walking pad or a stationary bike that they can sit at while they work, you should be able to do other things while you're doing moderate intensity activity and you usually won't have much difficulty in recovering after a moderate intensity cardio session. It's also really easy to incorporate moderate intensity cardiovascular training with other training programs as well. So if you do resistance training, you could do moderate intensity cardio before or after your training session without either being impacted too much. Now if you're short on time, but you also are a more intermediate or advanced exerciser, you can try high intensity or vigorous exercise. The American Heart Association classifies this as any kind of exercise that gets your heart rate between 70 and 85% of your max heart rate for a 30-year-old that's between 133 and 161 beats per minute.(08:38)
During vigorous exercise or high intensity cardio, you'll get warm and you'll begin to sweat and you'll be breathing a lot faster. If you try to talk for more than a sentence or two, you will get out of breath. So it's very hard for you to talk. The high intensity or vigorous exercise is really efficient for burning calories and improving the fitness of your cardiovascular system, which is why for each minute a vigorous or high intensity exercise or mixed high intensity and moderate intensity exercise, each one minute actually counts twice as two minutes towards your 150 to 300 minute weekly goal of exercise. So you can spend less time doing a higher intensity or a vigorous type of exercise, and it will count twice towards your weekly minute goal. So for example, if you did 15 minutes of high intensity interval training, that actually counts the same as 30 minutes of moderate intensity interval training.(09:35)
Now, high intensity or vigorous training is a lot of wear and tear on your body, so you don't really want to be doing this all the time, and you certainly want to be aware of how your body recovers after doing high intensity training. A lot of people experience difficulty recovering from high intensity training because it can often put a lot of strain on the joints and on the muscles. So I generally don't recommend doing high intensity cardio training more than two or three times a week. So if you're interested in trying high intensity training, I suggest introducing it gradually to your weekly exercise routine, starting with just once a week or twice a week at most, and then keeping the rest of your cardiovascular training at a moderate intensity, and then also really monitor how your body recovers after doing high intensity training. If you're experiencing joint pain or you get lots of minor aches and pains that are just kind of recurring and not going away, this may be an indicator that you're doing too much and you need to step back a little bit.(10:39)
So some good examples of high intensity or vigorous exercise are things like high intensity interval training where you alternate between doing vigorous bouts of exercise for a period of time and then alternating that with either lighter intensity exercise or rest. Good example of that would be a Tabata, which is an eight rounds of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off of doing an exercise. There are lots of different ways that you can incorporate high intensity interval training, but in essence, you're alternating between bursts of intense activity and rest or lower intensity activity. A lot of circuit training is also high intensity cardio as well. Even if you're doing resistance training exercises like pushups and squats with circuit training, the goal is to keep your heart rate elevated, so you're going to be moving really quickly between these different exercises with the goal of keeping your heart rate up while challenging different muscles and movement patterns.(11:36)
Running and sprinting are also good examples of high intensity cardio. So is vigorous aerobic dancing, playing a sport like tennis or soccer, riding a bike or cycling for 10 miles per hour or faster jumping rope or hiking uphill or while wearing a heavy backpack, you'll know that you're working at a high intensity if you're wearing a heart rate monitor or a fitness tracker, or if you're tracking manually and you check the number of beats per minute of your heart rate, again, for high intensity or vigorous activity, that's 70 to 85% of your max heart rate, which for an average 30-year-old is going to be somewhere between 133 and 161 beats per minute. Now, what this actually feels like is physically, you'll notice that you're breathing heavily. You can still speak, but it's got to be in short phrases and you can't talk for very long.(12:27)
You'll notice that your heart is pounding noticeably in your chest, but it shouldn't be at a pace where it's really alarming. You'll notice significant sweating often pretty quickly within minutes, and you may also notice that your muscles start burning, especially the muscles that are working. You might experience a strong desire to stop, especially towards the end of an interval, and you will feel like you can only sustain your pace for short bursts of time. A high intensity or vigorous exercise often requires a lot of mental grit and self-talk to push through and keep going, or you may require your coach to tell you Don't give up, keep going, keep pushing. It's hard to think about anything except for the exercise that you're doing, and you might experience mental relief when your interval ends. It feels genuinely challenging in the moment, but your recovery comes relatively quickly during your rest periods and at the end of the workout.(13:25)
Now, a few red flags that you should watch out for when you're doing any type of cardiovascular exercise. These are red flags that you're working way too hard or that there is something wrong and you are at risk of injury or getting sick. One is if you feel any chest pain or pressure, and this is distinct from feeling your heart pumping in your chest, okay? You want to pay attention to that because that could be an indicator of something going wrong. You also should not feel any dizziness or lightheadedness or feeling faint. Any nausea or vomiting is also a red flag that you're pushing it too hard. Any pain in your jaw, your neck or your arm, especially on the left side of your body, is a huge red flag and could be potential cardiac symptoms, so pay attention to those as well. Any severe shortness of breath that doesn't improve even after you slow down is also another red flag.(14:17)
Any irregular heartbeat or heart palpitations is also a sign of something being wrong. So if you notice any skipping beats or fluttering, that's a red flag or any sharp joint or muscle pain is also a sign that you should slow down or stop. Now, dull fatigue and burning in the muscles is totally normal, and I think that you can tell the difference between a dull burning sensation of the muscles as they get tired versus that type of sharp pain that you feel when you're experiencing an injury. We never want to push through acute pain if you start to feel signs of confusion or an inability to focus, that's also a red flag. If you experience any of these things, you need to stop the exercise immediately and get some medical attention. Other signs that you need to slow down, and you're probably overdoing it, are experiencing your form completely breaking down.(15:09)
You're not able to perform a squat with good technique or you're not able to hold the plank or the pushup or whatever exercise it is with good technique and good alignment. This is a sign that you're overdoing it and you need to slow down or stop. If you're having difficulty recovering during your rest periods between your high intensity intervals, this means that you're likely pushing it too hard and you need to slow down. And if you're also experiencing extreme fatigue that lasts for hours after the workouts, that's also a sign that you're overdoing it and you need to step back. If you are feeling worse and not energized, especially after weeks of a new block of training, this is a sign that the intensity is way too high and you need to back off. So the key thing to take away here when it comes to training effectively in your cardiovascular workouts is that discomfort is a part of challenging yourself.(16:00)
So there are certain uncomfortable feelings that you're going to feel that are necessary as part of challenging yourself and improving your cardiovascular fitness, but you don't need to push yourself to the point of extreme discomfort, pain or risk of injury or illness to make progress. Pain and warning signs like feeling nauseous or dizzy or confused, or having an inability to focus. These are all red flags that you're pushing it way too hard. Remember, you don't need to push it that hard in order to make progress and keep in mind that the risk of over-training far outweighs any potential benefits that you might get from pushing yourself too much, because if you end up getting injured or sick in a way, that means that you're not able to actually stay consistent on your workout plan because you need to take a break that is going to harm your progress in the long term. So you don't need to push yourself to that point. However, in order to keep making progress, you do need to push yourself and challenge yourself within reason. So these are some of the things that you can listen to your body on while you're doing your cardiovascular training to make sure that you're working at just the right level and getting just the right amount of challenge to keep making progress, to keep burning calories and improving your overall fitness level.(17:27)
Thank you so much for watching or listening to this episode of The Coaching Corner podcast. In the next episode, we're going to dive into the different ways that it looks and feels to challenge yourself in resistance training workouts. Now, this is distinct from the way that it feels to challenge yourself in cardio workouts, so we'll dive deeper into that next time. In the meantime, make sure to like this video if you found it helpful, and make sure to also subscribe to my channel on YouTube. Do you never miss new videos as they drop? If you're listening to this podcast, thank you so much. Make sure that you've also followed the show so you always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. I'll see you in the next episode where we will talk about what it looks and feels like to challenge yourself in resistance training. In the meantime, make sure that you take care of yourself, eat your veggies, eat your protein, drink water, and I will see you soon.
Understanding Cardiovascular Training
Cardiovascular training focuses specifically on training your heart and lungs' ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles. This isn't just important for fitness—it's crucial for your overall health and longevity.
During a cardio workout, your goal is to elevate your heart rate above its resting level and maintain that elevated rate throughout your session. The good news? Most people only need between 150 to 300 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week to maintain heart health, according to the American Heart Association. That breaks down to just 30 to 60 minutes of activity, five days a week.
Cardiovascular exercise includes any sustained activity that keeps your heart rate elevated for at least five minutes. While this typically involves repetitive motions using your larger leg muscles, any sustained movement can count as cardio.
The Two Types of Cardio Intensity
Moderate Intensity Cardio
Most people can meet their cardiovascular health needs through moderate intensity exercise alone. This type of training gets your heart rate between 50% and 70% of your maximum heart rate.
For a 30-year-old, that's approximately 95 to 162 beats per minute.
The Talk Test: A simple way to gauge moderate intensity is whether you can talk but not sing. You should be breathing faster than normal but still able to maintain full conversations with complete sentences.
Examples of moderate intensity exercise include:
Brisk walking at 2.5 miles per hour or faster
Ballroom or social dancing
Cycling at 10 miles per hour or slower
Gardening and yard work
Household cleaning and tidying
What moderate intensity actually feels like:
Physically, you'll notice you're breathing noticeably harder than at rest, but you can still hold full conversations. Your heart rate will be elevated but steady—you're aware it's beating faster, but it's not alarming. You'll experience light sweating or a slight temperature increase after five to ten minutes. Your muscles will feel engaged and warm, but they shouldn't be burning or straining.
The key indicator? You should feel like you could sustain the activity for 30 to 60 minutes or longer.
Mentally, moderate intensity feels challenging but manageable. The activity requires some focus to maintain your pace, but your mind can still wander. You might think about other things or have conversations. You're working, but you don't feel desperate for it to end.
Why I recommend moderate intensity for most people:
Moderate cardio isn't overly stressful on your body, which means you can often multitask during these sessions. Many people do moderate intensity cardio while working at a standing desk with a walking pad or stationary bike. Recovery is typically straightforward, and you can easily incorporate these sessions before or after resistance training without either workout suffering.
High Intensity Cardio
If you're short on time or you're a more intermediate to advanced exerciser, high intensity or vigorous exercise can be an efficient option. This style of training elevates your heart rate to 70% to 85% of your maximum.
For a 30-year-old, that's approximately 133 to 161 beats per minute.
The major benefit? High intensity exercise counts double toward your weekly minute goal. Fifteen minutes of high intensity interval training equals 30 minutes of moderate intensity training.
Examples of high intensity exercise include:
High intensity interval training (HIIT) like Tabata workouts
Circuit training with minimal rest
Running and sprinting
Vigorous aerobic dancing
Sports like tennis or soccer
Cycling at 10 miles per hour or faster
Jumping rope
Hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack
What high intensity actually feels like:
Physically, you'll be breathing heavily. You can still speak, but only in short phrases—you won't be able to talk for long. Your heart will be pounding noticeably in your chest, though it shouldn't feel alarming. You'll experience significant sweating, often within minutes. Your muscles will start burning, especially the ones you're actively using. You'll feel a strong desire to stop, particularly toward the end of intervals, and you'll only be able to sustain the pace for short bursts.
Mentally, high intensity training requires serious grit and self-talk to push through. It's difficult to think about anything except the exercise itself. You'll experience mental relief when intervals end. The workout feels genuinely challenging in the moment, but recovery comes relatively quickly during rest periods and after the session ends.
Important considerations for high intensity training:
High intensity workouts create significant wear and tear on your body. I generally don't recommend doing this type of training more than two to three times per week. Many people struggle with recovery because high intensity cardio can strain joints and muscles.
If you want to try high intensity training, introduce it gradually—start with just once or twice a week maximum. Keep the rest of your cardiovascular training at moderate intensity. Monitor how your body recovers carefully. Recurring joint pain or minor aches that don't resolve may indicate you're doing too much and need to scale back.
Red Flags: When You're Pushing Too Hard
Certain warning signs indicate you're working dangerously hard or something is wrong. Stop immediately and seek medical attention if you experience:
Chest pain or pressure (distinct from feeling your heart pumping)
Dizziness, lightheadedness, or feeling faint
Nausea or vomiting
Pain in your jaw, neck, or arm, especially on the left side
Severe shortness of breath that doesn't improve when you slow down
Irregular heartbeat or heart palpitations (skipping beats or fluttering)
Sharp joint or muscle pain (dull fatigue and burning is normal)
Confusion or inability to focus
Other signs you need to slow down:
Your form is completely breaking down—you can't perform exercises with proper technique
You're having difficulty recovering during rest periods between high intensity intervals
You experience extreme fatigue lasting hours after workouts
You feel worse, not energized, especially after weeks of a new training block
The Bottom Line
Discomfort is part of challenging yourself and improving your cardiovascular fitness. However, you don't need to push yourself to the point of extreme discomfort, pain, or risk of injury to make progress.
Pain and warning signs like nausea, dizziness, confusion, or inability to focus are red flags that you're pushing too hard. The risk of overtraining far outweighs any potential benefits because getting injured or sick will force you to take a break, ultimately harming your long-term progress.
That said, to keep making progress, you do need to challenge yourself within reason. Use the sensations and guidelines I've outlined to gauge whether you're working at the right level—getting just enough challenge to improve your fitness, burn calories, and build a healthier cardiovascular system without crossing into dangerous territory.
In my next post, we'll explore what it looks and feels like to challenge yourself in resistance training workouts, which requires a completely different approach than cardiovascular exercise.
Looking to lose weight, burn fat, and keep it off for good? I'm currently onboarding new clients into my 90-day fat loss transformation program. Learn more about one-on-one coaching or join my Gains Club membership for ongoing support and guidance.
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