Cardio is more than “burning calories”

Whether it is walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, rowing, hiking, paddling or simply moving more often, rhythmic and consistent cardiovascular activity provides a positive stimulus to almost every major system within the body.

At BP ONE, we view cardiovascular exercise as much more than simply “burning calories.”

It is one of the most effective ways to improve the health of the heart, lungs, blood vessels, muscles, metabolism and brain — all at the same time.

The biggest mistake most people make

One of the most common mistakes I see is people exercising too hard, too often.

Many believe that every session should leave them exhausted, breathless or completely spent.

In reality, excessive intensity often leads to poor recovery, increased injury risk, reduced consistency, elevated fatigue, poor sleep, reduced enjoyment and an increased likelihood of giving up.

The BP ONE philosophy — DTI

At BP ONE, much of our cardiovascular training is built around what I call DTI — Default Training Intensity.

DTI is the exercise intensity where your body is working hard enough to stimulate positive adaptation, yet easy enough to recover from and repeat consistently.

Think of DTI as your “all day pace.”

It is not easy. It is not hard. It is sustainable.

For most people, DTI allows them to build fitness, improve metabolic health, increase exercise volume and develop long-term consistency without excessive fatigue.

Finding your personal DTI

Every person is different.

Age, training history, body composition, current fitness, recovery capacity, medications, lifestyle stress and health history all influence the intensity that is most appropriate.

To determine your DTI, we typically use a combination of:

• Heart rate monitoring
• Perceived Rate of Exertion — PRE
• Exercise history
• Current health status
• Practical field testing

Using this information, an estimated DTI range is established. You then trial this intensity during your training and provide feedback to Brad. From there, your personal training intensity can be refined and adjusted to suit your individual response.

Train smarter, not harder

One of the greatest lessons endurance athletes learn is that fitness is not built during training.

Fitness is built during recovery from training.

The purpose of cardio exercise is not to constantly push harder. The purpose is to create the right stimulus, recover from it, and repeat it consistently over time.

At BP ONE, our focus is helping people find the exercise intensity that delivers results while protecting recovery, reducing injury risk and supporting long-term health.