Week 6: Winter Cardio, Against My Will

Hey  {{first name | reader}},

It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for your weekly fitness check-in. Welcome to Week 6.

I’m finally at home and settling into my comfortable fitness routine, with dry January and Sydney in my rear view. As much as I like traveling, being home feels great— sleeping in my own bed, working out in my regular gym, seeing the same 5:30 AM work out crew everyday.

This morning I spent 50 minutes on a spin bike, staring at the back of the woman in front of me, thinking about how winter cardio is a special kind of psychological test. It’s dark. It’s cold. And suddenly the idea of running outside feels less like exercise and more like penance. Very different from January's Sydney runs, I’ll tell you that.

This week's topic: How I Do Cardio Without Hating My Life

Let’s be clear: I don’t love cardio. I do it because it supports my lifting, keeps my heart healthy, and—at this age—opting out is no longer a serious option.

But the treadmill? The treadmill is my nemesis.

Running in place while watching a clock crawl backward is deeply soul-eroding. Podcasts don’t fix it. Audiobooks don’t fix it. TV doesn’t fix it. Forty-five minutes on a treadmill still feels like forty-five minutes on a treadmill.

So over the years, I’ve built a winter cardio rotation that keeps me consistent without losing my mind. Here’s what actually works.

What I Do Instead:

1. Spin / Cycling (Current favorite)

Why it works:

Is it fun? No. Is it tolerable? Yes. And tolerable, done three times a week, counts.

2. Rowing (Underrated, humbling)

Full-body cardio, strength benefits, and enough technical complexity that you have to pay attention. Start with intervals:
500m hard / 1 min easy × repeat.
Bonus: it’s fun to watch the stats tick up, all the data you could want is right in front of you. And you can picture yourself gliding through the water— maybe the Charles, definitely not the Hudson.

3. Stair Climber (Hard boring)

I avoided this for years. Turns out: it’s boring and brutal. Heart rate spikes fast, legs light up, and 20–25 minutes is plenty.
Stand tall. Don’t lean on the handles. Accept the burn.

4. Walk outside anyway

Yes, it’s cold. I also hate the cold. Still worth it.
Layer up. Accept the first five miserable minutes. A 30–45 minute brisk walk outdoors wakes you up in a way indoor cardio never does.
I walk my San Francisco neighborhood most mornings before lifting. It’s not glamorous, but it’s free, outside, and doesn’t involve a screen.

5. Swimming (if you have access)

Low-impact, full-body, quietly ruthless. Great if your joints are cranky. I’m not a naturally gifted swimmer (actually what they call a “sinker”), so it's humbling enough to keep me focused. The real barrier though is wet hair in winter, and I refuse to pretend otherwise.

6. Cardio circuits (when you can’t face one thing)

Break it up:

The Real Secret

The best cardio is the cardio you’ll actually do.

I don’t care what’s “optimal.” I don’t care what training zone is trending this week. Consistency beats optimization every time.

Stop trying to love cardio. Find the version you hate the least. Put it on the calendar. Do it anyway.

“How do you motivate yourself to do cardio if you don’t love it?”

I don’t. I schedule it.

My cardio days are fixed: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday. I don’t negotiate with them. Motivation is optional.

I’ve also reframed what cardio is for: Can I hike for hours? Carry groceries upstairs? Throw my bag into the overhead bin? Keep lifting heavy into my 50s and 60s?

Cardio isn’t punishment. It’s insurance for the training I actually care about.

Myth: Cardio has to be long and boring to work.
Reality: Cardio works when you do it consistently.

You don’t need an hour. You don’t need one “perfect” method. You need something that keeps your heart rate up and that you’ll repeat week after week.

Do the cardio you’ll actually do. That’s the only protocol that matters.

I have strong texture opinions, and most oatmeal makes me gag.
This version? Barely oatmeal. Crunchy, rich, and surprisingly edible.³

Base:

Cook per package instructions, then add:

Stir aggressively. Eat while warm. Accept that this is not “diet food.”

Podcast: Zone 2 Training (Yes, Attia again)

If you want to go beyond “cardio is good for you” and into the why, Peter Attia will happily take you there. He breaks down training zones, aerobic capacity, and longevity in more detail than you probably need—but it’s genuinely fascinating if you enjoy nerding out.

Fair warning: it’s long, it’s dense, and it’s intense. You are absolutely allowed to fast-forward.⁴

The 10-Minute Cardio Sampler

Try one cardio thing you usually avoid—for just 10 minutes.
Row. Climb. Spin. Swim. Walk uphill.

You’re not committing. You’re just gathering data.

Stay strong,
 {{first name | reader}},

P.S. Yes, I skipped outdoor winter running. I live in San Francisco, where winter means 50 degrees and drizzle. If you love running in snow, I respect you deeply and do not understand you at all.