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Easy, moderate and hard cardio

How to judge cardio effort on a 0 to 10 scale, and how moderate and vigorous minutes add up.

3 min read

Cardio guidelines count minutes of moderate or vigorous activity. You can judge both without a heart-rate monitor by rating your effort from 0 to 10, relative to your own fitness.

Effort out of 10, relative to your fitness

  1. 2 to 4: Light. Everyday movement such as slow walking.
  2. 5 to 6: Moderate. Counts toward 150 to 300 minutes a week.
  3. 7 to 8: Vigorous. Counts toward 75 to 150 minutes a week.

Three ways to meet the weekly minimum

  • All moderate150 min
  • All vigorous75 min
  • Mixed: 90 moderate plus 30 vigorous120 min

Worked example: a mixed week

  1. Moderate. Brisk walk, 30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 90 moderate minutes.
  2. Vigorous. Jog, 15 minutes on Tuesday and Saturday: 30 vigorous minutes.
  3. Add up. One vigorous minute counts as two moderate ones, so 90 + 2 x 30 = 150. The minimum is met.

Expert consensus

WHO rates light activity at 2 to 4, moderate at 5 or 6 and vigorous at 7 or 8 on a 0 to 10 scale of perceived exertion, relative to each person's capacity.[1]

Running uses a talk test for the same idea; see the Running chapter. Lifting uses a different scale, reps in reserve, in the next chapter.

Key points

  • Rate cardio effort 0 to 10: 5 or 6 is moderate, 7 or 8 is vigorous.
  • One vigorous minute counts like two moderate minutes toward the weekly target.
  • Mix both to reach at least 150 moderate-equivalent minutes a week.

Up next

Sources

  1. [1] Bull FC et al. World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Br J Sports Med 2020;54:1451-1462.

General information from published guidelines, not medical advice, and not reviewed by a clinician. See a doctor for pain, illness, pregnancy or before hard training if you have a condition.