Cycling
Steady riding, outdoors or on a stationary bike, as daily low-intensity cardio
Riding a bike at a conversational pace, as transport or as a set block of cardio. It works the legs without the joint impact of running, so older lifters who still want an hour of aerobic work most days tend to land on it. A commute to the gym counts. So does a stationary bike in the corner of the room.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Arnold SchwarzeneggerDoes it
Bodybuilding champion, actor, former governor · Arnold's Pump Club
An hour on the bicycle every morning, slotted between the workout and the shower, is how he described his routine to Tim Ferriss in 2018.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #216 transcript: Arnold Schwarzenegger Part 2“Some days, even for me, the world feels like a black-and-white movie. I wake up, and everything is gray. And then I get on the bike, and I go to the gym, and somewhere in there it turns to color.”
Arnold's Pump Club newsletter: What's the Alternative? (opens in a new tab) · 29 Jun 2026 - Austin KleonDoes it
Writer and artist · Steal Like an Artist
Fell for riding in 2022 and rides with a group he calls The Turtles. Two hours is plenty long, by his reckoning, and he keeps a simple bike he can get on without fuss. His advice to new riders is to buy whatever fits the budget and work out what you want after six months.
Source: AustinKleon.com: One year of biking - Chris BumsteadDoes it
Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
His post-retirement routine, as he laid it out in December 2024, starts on a bike. Five days a week, 30 minutes. Heart rate steady at around 130 to 135 beats per minute. He frames it as conditioning and endurance work, now that he is training to feel good rather than to look a particular way on stage.
Source: The Standard newsletter: My Training Reset - Nick BareDoes it
Hybrid athlete · Bare Performance Nutrition founder
Trained through a Texas summer in triple-digit heat on the bike, which he credits for a 5:48 split over 112 miles at Ironman Florida. He finished the whole race in 11:28, more than half an hour inside his target.
Source: BPN: Nick Bare's Ironman Race Day Recap - Novak DjokovicDoes it
Tennis player · Record 24 Grand Slam singles titles
Bikes on non-training days, alongside hiking and jogging, out of a habit of staying active all year rather than only in the training block.
Source: Plant Based News: Novak Djokovic Opens Up About His Diet And Wellness Routine - Ryan HolidayDoes it
Writer · The Daily Stoic
Took up more riding after an ankle injury and kept it alongside the running and swimming. He treats all three as versions of the same physical practice.
Source: RyanHoliday.net: You Need This Practice In Your Life - Sam SulekDoes it
Bodybuilder and YouTuber · Spring Bulk gym vlogs
The recumbent bike wins on arithmetic, he says: roughly 300 calories in thirty minutes against the 45 minutes a treadmill walk would need for the same reading. The Stairmaster feels like too much work to him, and sitting down to pedal does not.
Source: Fitness Volt: Sam Sulek Discusses Bulking, His Favorite Form of Cardio, and Getting Jacked - Stacy SimsDoes it
Exercise physiologist · Women Are Not Small Men
Endurance is where she came from and the gravel bike is what survived it. She told Andrew Huberman she now loves long weekend rides, while acknowledging in the same breath that they are not what her age or her own goals really call for.
Source: Huberman Lab: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity - Valter LongoDoes it
Biogerontologist · The Longevity Diet
A stationary bike sits in each of the three places he lives, which he says is the only reason the session happens. An hour every other day, resistance set to feel like climbing a hill.
Source: TODAY: Diet and exercise habits of a longevity expert who wants to live to 120“I cloned the environment because I realized that if I don’t have it at home… I would not do exercise… So every other day, no excuses. I have a stationary bike and I do one hour.”
TODAY: Diet and exercise habits of a longevity expert who wants to live to 120 (opens in a new tab) · 5 Oct 2023
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under fitness, energy or longevity.
- Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Resistance training
Lifting weights 2-4 times a week to build and hold muscle
On record from 43 of 62 tracked people: 37 do it, 4 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Zone 2 cardio
Easy aerobic work you can hold a conversation through, 3+ hours a week
On record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 5 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
High-intensity interval training
Short all-out efforts with full recovery in between, a few times a week
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Daily cardio
Around half an hour of aerobic work most days, at any pace you can sustain
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Polarized training
Most sessions easy, a few genuinely hard, almost nothing in the middle
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Protein-forward eating
Roughly 1g of protein per pound of target bodyweight, spread across meals
On record from 21 of 62 tracked people: 15 do it, 5 recommend it, 1 has discussed it
Protocol entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.