Body — Cardiovascular Training
The Case for Cardio.
One of the few tools that works equally well as a kickstart to the day or a way to come all the way down at the end of it.
One of the few tools that works equally well as a kickstart to the day or a way to come all the way down at the end of it.
Cardiovascular training gets treated as separate from performance, something for "fitness," not for the craft. The research doesn't support that split. Raising your heart rate on purpose, regularly, changes the body's baseline capacity and the brain's chemistry in ways that show up directly in stamina, mood and mental clarity.
Regular cardiovascular training increases stroke volume, how much blood the heart moves per beat, and improves the body's efficiency at delivering oxygen to working muscle. For performers, this is the physiological floor underneath stamina across a long number, a demanding show, or a full eight-show week.
Source: exercise physiology research on cardiorespiratory adaptation.Aerobic exercise triggers the release of endorphins and increases availability of mood-regulating neurotransmitters including serotonin and dopamine. Meta-analyses find aerobic exercise produces measurable reductions in symptoms of anxiety and depression, comparable in some studies to other first-line interventions.
Source: exercise and mental health meta-analyses, British Journal of Sports Medicine.Research on exercise and cognition finds a single session of moderate-to-vigorous cardio improves attention and executive function for a window afterward, sometimes called the "afterburn" effect on the brain, distinct from the cardiovascular afterburn on the body.
Source: acute exercise and cognitive performance research, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.A short, brisk session first thing raises core body temperature and alertness ahead of a demanding day, useful before an early call, a full day of rehearsal, or a matinee.
Sounds counterintuitive, but a moderate session after a show can help process the adrenaline of performing, making it easier to actually come down rather than lying awake still wired.
Cardio doesn't need to mean a dedicated hour at the gym, the research is largely about consistency and heart rate, not a specific format.
The cardiovascular capacity that gets a performer through a physically demanding number without running out of air is built over weeks of consistent aerobic work, not solely by rehearsing the number itself.
On a hard week, bad reviews, a rough run, personal stress, cardio is one of the more reliably evidenced tools available for genuinely shifting mood, not just distracting from it.
Many performers come off stage still running on adrenaline and go straight to lying in bed unable to sleep. A short, deliberate cardio session shortly after a show can help metabolise that adrenaline rather than letting it linger for hours.
Cardio done outdoors combines this section with the next one on this page, see Fresh Air & Daily Sun for why that combination compounds the benefit rather than just adding two separate things together.
Not as a separate fitness goal, but as the cardiovascular and mood infrastructure underneath everything a demanding show week asks of you.