Manage weight
Burn more energy across the week.Weight is mostly about total energy across the whole week, so volume is your friend. Start at the guideline minimum, build the habit, and lean on longer, easy sessions that are simple to keep up.
Your plan at a glance
150+ min a week
Build toward 200–300 as the habit takes hold.
Mostly moderate
A pace you can sustain — longer sessions burn more overall.
Steps on top
Everyday walking and movement add up more than you'd think.
Make it enjoyable
The version you'll repeat next week beats the 'perfect' one.
Worth knowing
Cardio works best for weight alongside food habits — and being active protects your heart whatever the scale says.
How hard should it feel?
Your breath is the simplest intensity meter there is — no heart-rate strap required. Match the effort to the session: easy for warm-ups and recovery, moderate for most of your minutes, and short vigorous bursts when you want to boost fitness.
What a week looks like
Five moderate sessions plus a longer one at the weekend. Brisk walking counts fully.
Your sample session
The dose above stays the same whichever way you move. Pick your activity and grab a ready-made session to match.
The most accessible cardio there is. Walk briskly for moderate effort; add hills or short fast bursts to push harder. Kind on the joints and easy to keep up.
See the walking session →Efficient and easy to scale — jog gently for base fitness, or add fast intervals to spike it. Build up slowly and mix in walk breaks early on to stay injury-free.
See the running session →Low-impact and interval-friendly, indoors or out. Gentle on the knees, and hills or a turbo trainer make hard efforts easy to dial in exactly.
See the cycling session →Can't do it all? Do a little.
Even short bouts count — three brisk 10-minute walks add up to the same as one 30-minute session. The biggest step is simply starting; build from there.