Exercise library · Cardio
Cardio exercises
Running, cycling, rowing and intervals, measured in time and distance.
Tap an exercise to see how it's done.
Machine8
Bodyweightno gym4
Other5
How to train your cardio fitness
Cardio fitness is your heart and lungs' ability to get oxygen to your muscles, and it is trained by anything that keeps your heart rate up for a while. Pick what you enjoy most, because that is what you will keep doing: running, outdoor cycling, the rowing machine, the cross trainer or swimming.
Most people get the most out of a mix. Easy sessions, where you can talk while you train, build the base and can be done often. Intervals, short hard efforts with rest in between, raise the ceiling. The assault bike and the SkiErg suit intervals well because you control the pace entirely. Without equipment, skipping and high knees work at home.
Time and distance are what show your progress here: the same distance in less time, or a longer distance at the same pace.
Common mistakes
- Everything at the same pace. Keep the easy sessions easy and the intervals hard. Somewhere in between easily ends up being neither.
- Too much too soon. Increase your time or distance a little at a time, especially with running, which is tough on tendons and joints at first.
Want them set out in a programme?
Answer a few questions about your goal, equipment and time, and BIP builds a weekly programme with sets, reps and rest worked out. You log your weights as you train and see your progress afterwards. The first week is free, no card.
Create a programme →