Cardio Happens 1.0 Beginner is the starting point for the Cardio Happens series, the collection built around aerobic capacity, VO2 max, and the cardiovascular fitness that the rest of your training relies on. Most women come here if they are new to structured cardio training. Strength trainees who have been cardio-light for a while also train here effectively, since the aerobic base supports recovery, work capacity, and the loads you can absorb in the gym.
The work focuses on LISS, also called Zone 2, in the early weeks. Zone 2 is the intensity where conversation is still possible, where the aerobic system does most of the work, and where the body adapts by building mitochondria, capillary density, and the capacity to use oxygen efficiently. It does not feel hard the way intervals do, and the slow accumulation is the point. The aerobic base built here is what supports everything more intense that comes later. At week 4, the plan introduces interval training in measured doses, so the body learns to handle higher intensities without losing the base you have been building.
Two cardio sessions per week in program 1, then three sessions per week for the remaining programs. The plan runs with or without equipment, indoors or outdoors, and you do not need anything that tracks watts at this level. You go by effort. Most women continue into Intermediate 1.0, where the training shifts to power-based intervals on a watts-displaying machine.
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12 weeks total | 4 programs, 3 weeks each
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2-3 cardio sessions per week
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Workout length: 45-60 min (no alternate)
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Equipment: cardio machine optional, no watts tracker needed at this level.
This plan follows Cardio 1.0 Beginner. It builds on the aerobic base from that program and shifts the training to a power-based structure, where the work is measured in watts rather than effort. Most women come here after Beginner 1.0. Women with a solid cardiovascular fitness base from outside the series also train here effectively, provided they are cleared by a healthcare provider for max heart rate intensities.
This plan requires a cardio machine that displays watts. A stationary bike, rower, ski erg, or elliptical with power metrics will all work. A treadmill works if you are a seasoned runner, but is not recommended otherwise. The reason is structural: at this level, perceived effort alone stops being a precise enough tool. Wattage is what the programming is built around, and what makes the intervals trainable in a way that matches your actual output.
Each week runs three sessions of different types. Fast Start Intervals open with a high-power burst and diminish across the working set, training the body to recruit quickly and then hold a sustainable output afterwards. Variable Power Intervals shift wattage across the session, building the ability to change pace under fatigue. The LISS day is the same Zone 2 work from Beginner 1.0, run here as the recovery and aerobic-base session between the harder days. The three types together cover the range of demands that the cardiovascular system needs trained. By week 12, the power you can produce and the speed you can recover at will both be exponentially improved.
Three cardio sessions per week. The plan can run anywhere a watts-displaying machine is available, at home or in a gym.
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12 weeks total | 4 programs, 3 weeks each
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3 cardio sessions per week: Fast Start Intervals, Variable Power Intervals, and LISS/Zone 2
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Workout length: 45-60 min (no alternate)
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Equipment: cardio machine that displays watts is required (stationary bike, rower, ski erg, or elliptical. Treadmill works if you are a seasoned runner).
This is the upper end of the Cardio Happens series, built for women with established aerobic capacity, the ability to produce real power output, and the cardiovascular fitness to recover between high-intensity efforts. It is for women who are cleared by a healthcare provider for max heart rate work and confident in their interval training history. Most women come here after Intermediate 1.0.
This plan requires a cardio machine that displays watts. A stationary bike, assault bike, rower, ski erg, or elliptical with power metrics will all work. A treadmill works if you are a seasoned runner, but is not recommended otherwise. At this level, the programming is built around watts and the precision matters. Perceived effort is a useful complement, not a substitute.
The training carries the same three session types as Intermediate 1.0: Fast Start Intervals, Variable Power Intervals, and a LISS day. What changes is the demands inside them. The intervals push longer and harder, the recovery windows tighten, and the power output the programming asks for sits at the upper end of what trained individuals can produce. Fast Start Intervals teach the body to recruit at peak output and then hold a sustainable line. Variable Power Intervals train the ability to change pace under fatigue, which is what real cardiovascular fitness looks like in practice. The LISS day rebuilds the aerobic base between the harder sessions, so the work compounds instead of stacking fatigue. By week 12, the power you can produce, the speed you can recover at, and the cardiovascular ceiling you can train against will all be exponentially expanded.
Three cardio sessions per week. The plan can run anywhere a watts-displaying machine is available, at home or in a gym.
-
12 weeks total | 4 programs, 3 weeks each
-
3 cardio sessions per week: Fast Start Intervals, Variable Power Intervals, and LISS/Zone 2
-
Workout length: 45-60 min (no alternate)
-
Equipment: cardio machine that displays watts is required (stationary bike, rower, ski erg, or elliptical. Treadmill works if you are a seasoned runner).