I hate cardio.
The term anyway.
It's one of those words that means everything and nothing. When you say cardio, I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you talking about a 90-minute easy run? Or was it a 20-minute threshold effort?
Both get called cardio, but they're not even close to the same thing.
I think in terms of intensity.
Low intensity and high intensity. That's it. Two buckets.
Yes, there's a spectrum in between. But anchoring to low and high gives you a framework. Most athletes need that before they need the nuance.
Low intensity is easy, aerobic work. You can hold a conversation. Your body is mostly burning fat for fuel. You're building your engine.
This is the work most athletes don't do enough of because it feels too easy.
High intensity is the opposite. Your body is producing lactate and burning sugar. Threshold efforts, VO2max intervals. Sessions with a clear purpose and a real cost.
The problem with cardio is that it tells you nothing. No intensity. No purpose. No direction.
Language shapes how you train. Call it cardio, and it sounds like something you do to burn calories.
Name the intensity, and suddenly it's a decision. A tool. Something with a job to do.
So the next time someone asks if you do cardio, tell them you don't.
You train, and you know exactly how hard.
