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What to Log for Cardio

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DefinitionA short reference note, not a full lesson.
Definition

A cardio session is described by duration, distance, pace, heart rate, time-in-zone, power, cadence, elevation, and effort — log what your modality and goal actually use.

Detail

Cardio logging spans more fields than strength because intensity can be expressed several ways. The full menu:

  • Duration — total time; the backbone metric and the basis of weekly volume.
  • Distance — from GPS or a calibrated machine (see GPS Distance and Accuracy).
  • Pace / speed — time per distance (min/km, min/mile) or distance per time (see Pace, Speed, and Distance).
  • Heart rate — average and max (see Logging Heart Rate (Avg / Max)).
  • Time-in-zone — minutes spent in each HR (or power) zone (see Time-in-Zone).
  • Power — watts and FTP for cycling/rowing/running power (see Power and FTP).
  • RPE — perceived effort, the intensity field that needs no device (see Cardio RPE and Session RPE).
  • Cadence — steps/min running, rpm cycling, strokes/min rowing/swimming (see Cadence).
  • Elevation — gain/loss, which reframes how hard a given pace really was (see Elevation Gain).

Log only what your goal uses. A general-health walker needs duration and maybe steps; a cyclist chasing FTP needs power and time-in-zone; a marathoner needs pace, HR, and weekly distance volume. The session intensity should be classifiable against FITT-VP Applied to Cardio and Heart-Rate Zones (5-Zone Model) so the data layer can confirm the prescribed easy/hard distribution was met.

Key facts

  • Core fields: duration, distance, pace/speed, avg & max HR.
  • Intensity fields: time-in-zone, power/FTP, RPE.
  • Form/terrain fields: cadence, elevation gain/loss.
  • Duration is the volume backbone; weekly duration or distance trends progress.
  • Log to the goal — don't capture power for a casual walker.

Connections

Sources

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Established endurance-training-monitoring consensus (ACSM; NSCA endurance guidelines).

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Educational content only — not medical advice. Always consult a qualified professional for individualized guidance, especially around injury, pregnancy, or medical conditions.

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Atlas Connections

FITT-VP Applied to Cardio
ACSM's prescription template — Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type, plus Volume and Progression — used to build a complete, individualized aerobic exercise plan.
Heart-Rate Zones (5-Zone Model)
A common scheme that divides aerobic intensity into five heart-rate bands (zone 1 easy to zone 5 maximal), used to structure and distribute training.
Cadence
Cadence is movement rate — steps/min running, rpm cycling, strokes/min rowing or swimming — a form and efficiency signal that complements pace and power.
Pace, Speed, and DistanceClosely related
Pace (time per distance) and speed (distance per time) are the same intensity expressed two ways — but raw pace must be read against terrain and conditions.
Cardio RPE and Session RPE
Perceived effort (Borg 6–20 or 0–10) needs no device, and session-RPE × duration yields a simple, validated whole-session training-load number.
Elevation Gain
Total vertical climbed reframes how hard a given pace really was — without it, hilly and flat sessions look falsely comparable.
GPS Distance and Accuracy
GPS gives good-enough distance and pace outdoors, but multipath, tree cover, and tunnels introduce error — and vertical (elevation) error is worse than horizontal.
Logging Heart Rate (Avg / Max)
Average and max HR turn a session into an internal-load measure — how hard your cardiovascular system actually worked, independent of pace.
KPIs for Endurance
Track weekly training volume and intensity distribution as the inputs, and pace-at-HR / FTP / efficiency as the outputs that confirm aerobic fitness is rising.
Power and FTP
Power (watts) is the most objective cardio intensity metric — instant, terrain-immune — and FTP is the threshold anchor its zones are built on.
Time-in-Zone
The minutes you spend in each intensity zone — the metric that verifies whether your easy days were easy and your hard days hard.