Three dials, turned one at a time
Every cardio plan has three dials: the number of sessions in a week, the length of each one and the effort you put in. Beginners who turn all three at once usually end up sore and tired, and many stop within a month. Turn them in order instead. Frequency comes first, because the habit of turning up matters more than any single session. Duration comes next. Intensity waits for the last phase.
This matches what the World Health Organization's 2020 guidelines say to adults who are not yet active. Doing some activity is better than doing none, and the starting point is a small amount that grows over time in frequency, duration and intensity. For the machines themselves, see RPM's cardio floor.
The eight weeks in three phases
The weeks are a guide. Stay in a phase until its last column is true for you, even if that takes longer.
| Phase | Typical weeks | Sessions | Each session | Effort out of 10 | Move on when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learn | 1 to 2 | 3 a week | 15 to 20 minutes | 3 to 4, so you could chat comfortably | You made all six sessions and finished each one feeling you could have carried on |
| Lengthen | 3 to 5 | 3, then 4 a week | About five minutes longer each week, up to 30 minutes | 4 to 5 | A 30-minute session feels ordinary and you wake up without aching legs |
| Lift | 6 to 8 | 4 a week | 30 to 35 minutes | Mostly 5, with short spells at 6 to 7 in one session | You feel recovered from the harder session within a day |
By the end of the Lift phase the plan comes to roughly two hours a week. WHO's range for adults is 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity, so the step after week 8 is more minutes, not more speed.
Week one, written out
A first session should be boring on purpose. Here is a 20-minute session on an upright bike. The same shape works for walking on a treadmill or for a cross-trainer.
- Minutes 0 to 4: pedal gently, with the resistance low enough that your breathing barely changes.
- Minutes 4 to 16: raise it one or two steps, to an effort you could hold while talking in full sentences. Stay there.
- Minutes 16 to 20: ease back to the warm-up level and let your breathing settle before you climb off.
- Afterwards: note the machine, the setting, the minutes and how hard it felt out of 10. Two lines in your phone will do.
That log makes the next session easy to plan: the same setting, a minute or two longer. Around week four it often shows that the old setting now feels easier, which is usually the first sign the plan is doing its job.
Reading effort when everything feels hard
At the start almost any effort can feel hard, so beginners tend to push faster than they need to. WHO describes moderate effort as about 5 or 6 on a 0 to 10 scale of your own capacity, and vigorous effort as about 7 or 8. In the first phase you sit below that, at 3 or 4, deliberately.
| Number | Breathing | Talking | Where it belongs in this plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 4 | A little quicker than pottering round the house | Full conversation | The whole of the Learn phase |
| 5 to 6 | Clearly working | Sentences, with a breath between them | Most minutes from the Lengthen phase onwards |
| 7 to 8 | Hard | A few words at a time | Short spells in one session a week, from the Lift phase |
| 9 to 10 | Gasping | Nothing | Not part of a beginner's first two months |
When to repeat a week instead of moving on
Repeating a week is part of the plan, not a failure. Stay where you are if any of these applies:
- You missed more than one session that week.
- The easy effort still leaves you unable to talk.
- Your knees, hips or shins ache the next morning. Try another machine, such as the bike or cross-trainer in place of the treadmill.
- You are sleeping badly, feeling unwell or carrying an unusually heavy week at work.
- It is the first week of Ramadan, or you have just come back from travelling.
Stop and get medical advice if you have chest pain, feel faint or are far more breathless than the effort explains. If you have a heart, lung or blood-pressure condition, are pregnant or take regular medication, ask your doctor how hard you should work before you start.
Heat, Ramadan and keeping the plan alive
From May to September, walking or jogging outdoors in Abu Dhabi gets squeezed into the early morning or the hours after dark, and many beginners give up rather than adjust. An indoor plan does not change with the forecast, which is the main reason to start on machines. You still arrive warm from the car, so drink some water before the warm-up and keep a bottle on the machine.
Ramadan changes the timing more than the plan. Many people who fast train after iftar, once they have eaten and had something to drink. Keep the effort in the Learn range for the month, accept that a week may be repeated, and pick the plan up again after Eid. If you have a medical condition, speak to your doctor about exercising while fasting.
When the weather cools, a walk along the Corniche or round a park can stand in for one of the week's sessions.
Starting cardio at RPM
RPM is one club, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, with free on-site parking at AD HUB and a lift up to the club. The training-floor photos show treadmills, cross-trainers and an upright bike by tall windows, with spin bikes in the functional area. The women-only Ladies section has its own cardio equipment, so women can follow the whole plan there.
If you would rather someone set the phases for you, the Engine tier adds coached programming and the Atelier tier is built around 1:1 coaching. Coaches on the roster include Taha Ragab for general fitness in the Mixed section and Coach Maria for strength and conditioning in the Ladies section. Which sections and coaching a tier includes is confirmed on enquiry, and prices are not published online.
Book a free guided tour at the hour you plan to train and look at the machine you would start on. Cardio with a personal trainer explains what a coach adds once the basics are in place.
Sources
Questions, answered.
Is walking on a treadmill enough to start with?
Yes. Brisk walking is aerobic activity, and an incline makes it harder without running. Many beginners walk for all eight weeks and only then decide whether to add jogging.
Which machine should a beginner choose?
The one that feels comfortable on your joints and that you will use three or four times a week. Choosing a gym's cardio equipment compares the options.
Can I do cardio every day as a beginner?
Most beginners do better with rest days between sessions in the first weeks. Daily walking outside the gym is fine, but keep the planned sessions to three or four until the Lift phase feels routine.
Should I add weights at the same time?
WHO also advises muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week. Many beginners start with cardio and add two short strength sessions once the cardio habit is steady, or ask a coach to combine the two from the start.
What comes after week eight?
More minutes before more intensity. Lengthen each session a little, or add a fifth, until your week sits inside WHO's 150 to 300 moderate minutes. Then consider a second harder session.