If we were to take the example of a strength trainee who has never done any cardio, you may observe the following;

1) they require very long rest periods

2) they find it difficult to perform multiple sets at rep ranges >5

3) they have poor tolerance to multiple sets in general

Is it likely that they will be able to gain the most amount of muscle and strength? No, probably not, as they struggle to muster up the energy to even do the training required.

This is where cardiorespiratory fitness becomes important. If you have a higher level of cardiorespiratory fitness, you are more likely to be able to tolerate higher training volumes, have greater tolerance for moderate-high repetition training, and accrue less fatigue during your training sessions, ultimately contributing to greater recovery for a given unit of training.

Along with this, if your cardiorespiratory fitness is also allowing you to go about your day to day life without as much strain, then you are likely to have better potential for recovering from training without the addition of further exercise stress. Essentially, excessive cardio may be unhelpful, but having low cardiorespiratory fitness probably is too.

For these reasons, we recommend including modes of exercise aimed at cardiorespiratory fitness in order to support 1) general health and longevity, 2) quality of life and 3) ability to get the most from your resistance training.

This is especially important for beginners also, since resistance training may be very challenging for you from a cardiorespiratory perspective if you have not been active previously. Therefore, building up that base may support your ability to train with weights without experiencing excessive fatigue (e.g. being very short of breath during your sets, limiting performance).

General Exercise Guidelines

The majority of personal trainers and exercise professionals exhibit little knowledge of the exercise guidelines for health (!). Therefore, it is important that we provide a refresher when discussing cardiorespiratory training.

The exercise guidelines suggest the following in relation to cardiorespiratory training:

• 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week (half that for vigorous exercise).

1. Monday - 30 minute swim, casual pace, roughly 5-6/10 in terms of difficulty.
2. Wednesday - 15 minutes of vigorous cycling, 30 seconds high gear, 30 seconds moderate gear, repeating 15 times. 7-8/10 difficulty. Remember, this counts as double toward our moderate intensity goal.
3. Sunday - 60 minute hike with family, uphill, roughly 5-6/10 difficulty.
   
   Total: 120 minutes, 90 minutes moderate, 15 minutes vigorous.

The goal is not to focus on any specific time, but rather to know that health benefits improve from doing more than most people tend to do. Instead of focusing on a specific target, try to focus on what you can actually sustain long term.

If you can find a way to build this exercise into your life for not just weeks and months, but years and decades, then you will be glad that you chose to play the long game, rather than trying to aim for a crazy 300 minute target per week that you know doesn’t fit into your life.

Along with this, as discussed previously, “exercise” is very much specific to the individual. If your baseline is long term inactivity, then a brisk 30 minute walk with a couple of slight inclines may count as a moderate intensity session for you. That walk could be similar to a run for another individual who has been training for longer. 

Moving Beyond the Basics