The libraryVitality
Cardio Training
Fitness predicts death from any cause as steadily as anything a doctor measures.
Also called Aerobic Exercise, Cardiovascular Exercise, Endurance Training, Aerobic Training, Cardiorespiratory Training, Cardio
Who it's forAny man whose whole training week is lifting.
The item
Three squares: proven in human trials. Two: a strong signal. One: early human data. Striped: the trials disagree.
Start today
- Book a VO2 max test this month and put one hard interval session in this week's diary.
Why it works
Central and peripheral adaptations converge on one number. The heart fills more completely and contracts harder, raising stroke volume while resting rate falls and blood volume expands. In the muscle, more capillaries and more mitochondria improve oxygen extraction and the capacity to burn fat and clear lactate. VO2 max is simply the integrated result of both, which is why it tracks health outcomes so well.
Where it fits
Cardio Training is a move in 14 protocols. Each one opens the plan it sits in.
- Raise Your VO2 Max
- Stop Your Heart Palpitations
- Recover From Your Concussion
- Clear Your Brain Fog
- Keep Your Mind Sharp
- Stop Getting Sick All the Time
- Stop Overthinking
- Recover From Burnout
- Stop Your Panic Attacks
- Put Your Trauma Behind You
- Bring Down Your Blood Sugar
- Learn Faster
- Stop Forgetting Things
- Strengthen Your Immune System
What people say
Here is what doctors, influencers and men online say about Cardio Training, word for word.
Experts
Clinicians, authorities
“The risk of atrial fibrillation isn’t zero, but the benefits to heart health more generally are far greater.”
“For some people it works as well as antidepressants, although exercise alone isn't enough for someone with severe depression”
“Aerobic exercise is often credited for improving mood, and research suggests that it may help improve memory and other mental functions, as well.”
Gurus
Podcasts, channels, influencers
“Simply bringing your VO2 max from ‘low’ (bottom 25th percentile) to ‘below average’ (25th to 50th percentile) is associated with a 50% reduction in all-cause mortality.”
“Zone 2 training not only increases the number of your mitochondria, but improves their efficiency as well.”
“culminate to make it one of the most formidable and immediately practical real-world interventions for human aging and the brain.”
Regular people
Forums, reviews, comments
“Long efforts at zone2 can improve vo2 max, but the best improvements involve training at higher zones.”
“What a joy to discover I could actually start building muscle and become lean on so much less 'exercise'!”
“it's the toxic "cardio kills your gains" broscience that's harmful, as it leads to people actively avoiding healthy cardio.”
The studies
Every study behind this page.
- Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong and consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality among adults: an overview of meta-analyses representing over 20.9 million observations from 199 unique cohort studiesPubMed, PMID 38599681
- Objectively Assessed Cardiorespiratory Fitness and All-Cause Mortality Risk: An Updated Meta-analysis of 37 Cohort Studies Involving 2,258,029 ParticipantsPubMed, PMID 35562197
- Cardiorespiratory fitness as a quantitative predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in healthy men and women: a meta-analysisPubMed, PMID 19454641
- Cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer: dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studiesPubMed, PMID 35022163
- Dose-response associations between accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time and all cause mortality: systematic review and harmonised meta-analysisPubMed, PMID 31434697
- Registered trial NCT06507189Trial registry
- Registered trial NCT06955676Trial registry
- Registered trial NCT04962061Trial registry
- Registered trial NCT05609097Trial registry
Words on this page
- PMID
- A study's ID number in PubMed, the public index of medical research.
Train your VO2 max. It's the number that says how long you've got.
Emergency: call 911.
I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This is self-education. Talk to a physician who has your history before you change anything.