Cardiovascular fitness is easy to neglect because nothing hurts when it slips.
You don't wake up one morning and notice it's gone. You notice it gradually. The stairs up to the meeting room leave you more out of breath than they used to. You hang back on the walking holiday. You keep up with the grandchildren for ten minutes rather than an hour.
For busy professionals and business owners over 50, it's often the domain that gets the least attention. Strength gets talked about more. Nutrition gets talked about constantly. Cardio tends to be either ignored or done in the most punishing way possible, which rarely lasts.
That's a shame, because your cardiovascular fitness sits underneath almost everything you want to keep doing.
What we actually mean by cardiovascular fitness
In simple terms, it's how well your heart, lungs, blood vessels and muscles work together to keep you moving. The fitter that system is, the easier ordinary effort feels, and the more you have in reserve for the things that aren't ordinary.
Like strength, it tends to decline with age if it's left alone. And like strength, it responds to training. You don't need to have been an athlete. You need to start from where you are and be consistent.
That's why cardiovascular fitness is one of the four domains in CapabilitySpan, alongside strength, nutrition and recovery. CapabilitySpan isn't about how long you live. It's about how long you stay capable of living the life you want. I wrote more about that idea in CapabilitySpan: thinking beyond lifespan.
Two kinds of effort
You'll hear a lot of jargon about zones, heart-rate targets and thresholds. Some of it is useful. Most of it isn't necessary to get started. What matters is understanding that there are two broad kinds of effort, and you want both.
Easy effort. A pace where you could hold a conversation, even if you'd rather not. Brisk walking, steady cycling, rowing, swimming, an easy jog if your joints like it. This should make up most of your cardio. It builds your base, it's kind to your recovery and it's easy to fit into a busy life.
Harder effort. Shorter efforts where talking becomes difficult. A few minutes of hard cycling or uphill walking, with recovery in between. A smaller amount of this, once you've built a base, adds something easy effort alone doesn't.
You don't need a gadget to tell the difference. The talk test does the job.
A simple weekly mix
This is where Simple vs Complexity from the W.I.S.D.O.M. framework matters. Complicated plans don't survive a demanding diary. Something like this does:
- Most days: some easy movement. A brisk 20 to 30 minute walk counts.
- Two or three times a week: a longer easy session, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Once a week, when you're ready: a short harder session, for example 4 to 6 hard efforts of 1 to 2 minutes, with easy recovery between each.
Then look for the opportunities already in your week. Walking meetings. Walking the first or last part of the commute. Taking the stairs. Twenty minutes on a hotel bike before the conference starts. These aren't a substitute for structured sessions, but they add up, and they make movement a normal part of your day rather than a separate project.
Who you are becoming
The people I see stay capable into their 60s and 70s don't usually think of themselves as people who "do cardio". They think of themselves as people who move every day. That's Identity, and it's more powerful than any training plan.
It starts with Willingness. Not "what would the ideal plan be?" but "what am I genuinely willing to do this week?" If the honest answer is three brisk walks, start there. A plan you're willing to follow beats a perfect one you resent.
Don't forget the other domains
Cardiovascular fitness doesn't sit in isolation. Strength training makes everyday effort easier on your joints. Good nutrition fuels the work. And if you're sleeping badly and running on stress, piling on hard cardio can make things worse rather than better. As I've said before, recovery is part of the work, not a reward for it.
A sensible note on safety
If you have a heart condition or any other medical condition, experience symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness, or haven't exercised for a long time, speak to your GP or doctor before increasing the intensity of your exercise. Build up gradually. Harder sessions are something you earn after a few weeks of consistent easy work, not where you start.
Where to start
If you'd like to see how your cardiovascular fitness compares with your strength, nutrition and recovery, take the free Health & Capability Assessment. It shows you which domain will give you the biggest return right now.
And if you'd like someone to build the plan around your diary and keep you accountable to it, find out how my coaching works.
- Willingness
- Identity
- Simple