How We Program Cardio at OAT

At Outdoor Adventure Training, cardio is not random mileage.

It’s structured, progressive, and specific to your outdoor goals.

Most programs include 2–3 cardio sessions per week, typically structured like this:

• 1–2 midweek sessions
• 1 longer weekend session

Each session has a purpose. Over time, those sessions build durability, aerobic efficiency, and real-world capacity on the trail.

Midweek Cardio Sessions

Our Periodized Approach

Cardio at OAT follows the same three phases as your strength training: Stability, Strength, and Power.

Each phase builds on the last. We don’t rush intensity. We earn it.

Stabilization Phase: Build the Aerobic Base

This is where everything starts.

During Stabilization Phase, most of your cardio stays in Zone 1–2. That means steady effort, controlled breathing, and sustainable pacing. You’re building efficiency, not chasing exhaustion.

Benefits of this phase:

• Builds a strong aerobic engine without overstressing your joints
• Improves recovery between strength sessions
• Develops connective tissue durability for hiking and rucking
• Teaches pacing, breathing control, and movement efficiency

This phase creates the foundation that allows you to safely handle harder work later.

Strength Phase: Increase Capacity

Once your base is established, we begin introducing slightly more demand.

You’ll still complete plenty of Zone 1–2 work, but we start layering in controlled Zone 3 efforts, longer climbs, or heavier load exposure when appropriate.

Benefits of this phase:

• Raises your aerobic threshold so you can climb longer without fading
• Improves your ability to handle moderate fatigue
• Increases sustainable uphill power
• Supports heavier strength training blocks without burning out

This is where you begin to feel more capable on real terrain.

Power Phase: Refine & Prepare for Your Objective

In the final phase, cardio becomes more specific to your goal.

Efforts may become slightly sharper. Vertical gain may increase. Sessions may simulate the demands of your upcoming hike, trek, or climb. But we still maintain your aerobic base.

Benefits of this phase:

• Improves short-term climbing power and stamina
• Increases confidence under higher effort
• Prepares you for elevation gain and sustained output
• Sharpens performance without sacrificing durability

We also strategically include de-load weeks and volume adjustments so intensity never increases indefinitely.

The goal isn’t to exhaust you, it’s to prepare you for the mountain.

We Don’t Prescribe Miles

You’ll notice something different in OAT programming:

We do not tell you “Hike 8 miles” or “Get 3,000 feet of vert.”

Instead, we program around:

• Total time on feet
• Target heart rate zone
• Effort level (RPE)
• Desired training stimulus

Why? Because terrain varies. Elevation varies. Fitness varies.

Time and intensity are more reliable training tools than distance.

Do I Need a Heart Rate Monitor?

Not required, but recommended.

A chest strap heart rate monitor gives use the most useful and accurate data, especially during aerobic base work. Wearable devices can be used, but accuracy may vary.

If you don’t have either one, we guide you using:

• Breathing cues
• Conversational pace tests
• RPE scales
• Movement control indicators

You will always have a way to gauge effort.

Big Picture

Our goal with cardio is not to exhaust you.

It’s to systematically build your aerobic capacity, durable joints and connective tissue, confidence under load, and fortify sustainable movement patterns

So when your objective arrives, your cardiovascular fitness is not the limiting factor.