When you’re suffering from depression, you might feel like you barely have the energy to get through the day, let alone exercise. 

You may be surprised to know that exercise, specifically Zone 3 cardio for depression, is often the very thing that helps people clear the depressive fog and begin healing. Doing cardio every day for depression, even for 10 minutes, can lift your mood and break your cycle of depressive inactivity when your heart rate is in the right zone. 

In this guide, we explore the ins-and-outs of daily cardio for depression, including the benefits of this clinically-supported exercise routine and the science behind why these workouts help. You’ll also learn about Brain-Body Therapy’s Zone 3 exercise program and how it can help your mental health. 

Key Takeaways

• Zone 3 cardio raises your heart rate to 70 to 80 percent of its maximum, triggering the release of endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and BDNF, a protein that helps rebuild the hippocampal brain regions most affected by depression.
• Research shows that Zone 3 cardio can produce mental health benefits comparable to antidepressants while simultaneously improving physical health.
• Brain-Body Therapy’s 12-week Zone 3 workout program combines moderate cardio, strength training, and progressive therapeutic movement, all completable at home with no equipment.

What is Zone 3 Cardio? 

Cardiovascular exercise is any type of workout that elevates your heart rate. Zone 3 cardio is moderate- to high-intensity cardio that raises your heart rate to 70-80% of your maximum heart rate (MHR).

According to the American Heart Association, to find your MHR, subtract your age from 220. So, for a 32-year-old, the MHR would be 220 – 32 = 188 beats per minute (bpm). 70% of that would be 131.6, which is what your heart rate should be when engaging in Zone 3 cardio. 

You should be able to speak a few words before you need to catch your breath, but you shouldn’t be able to sing or hold a long conversation. Running, climbing up the stairs, jumping rope, and training on an elliptical all qualify as Zone 3 cardio.

Benefits of Zone 3 cardio

Zone 3 cardio:

• Improves heart and lung health
• Builds endurance
• Increases your stamina
• Regulates your blood sugar
• Burns calories, aiding in weight management
• Provides mental health benefits by reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress

How Does Zone 3 Cardio Help Depression and Mental Health?

Bottom line: doing cardio every day for depression works wonders for men, women, and teens. At a glance, it helps improve your mood, rebuilds and strengthens your brain muscles, reduces inflammation, and improves your physical health (which helps support mental health, too).

But, what’s the science behind it? How does Zone 3 cardio benefit your mental health?

Cardio has long since been hailed as a natural antidepressant. A recent study comparing the mental health benefits of antidepressants with running further proved how effective cardio is for treating depression.

For the study, a group of participants received antidepressants, while another group was asked to run. After 16 weeks, it was found that both antidepressants and running had similar (positive) benefits on the participants’ mental health. In fact, running actually improved their physical health, too. 

While all types of cardio for mental depression offer similar benefits, Zone 3 cardio is the sweet spot where you get a bigger boost in mental health benefits (when compared to Zone 1 or Zone 2 cardio) without tiring yourself out as much as you would in Zone 4 or 5.

Follow along for more insights into the key benefits Zone 3 exercise offers for people battling depression:

Boosts your mood

Zone 3 cardio workouts raise your heart rate, pushing it near the anaerobic threshold. This rise in cardiac output increases blood circulation throughout your body (including your brain), which triggers a potent release of “feel-good” hormones like endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and endocannabinoids. 

Here are the changes that these chemicals bring about in your mood:

• Endorphins: Natural painkillers that lift your spirits and promote a sense of well-being.
• Dopamine: This chemical is what drives the reward system in your brain and is responsible for the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction you get after a workout. It also makes you feel more motivated, keeping you in a positive loop of feeling better after each workout.
• Serotonin: Commonly known as the “happy chemical,” serotonin directly alleviates feelings of sadness. It also stabilizes your mood and helps you fix your sleep-wake cycle.
• Norepinephrine: It makes you more alert, improves your focus, and gives you the burst of energy you get after exercising. These effects directly counteract the depressive mental fog.
• Endocannabinoids: These molecules are responsible for the post-workout euphoria you feel. 

Rebuilds your brain’s muscles

Regular Zone 3 cardio for depression immediately stimulates the increase of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a type of protein that helps your nerve cells grow, make new connections, and adapt and rebuild. Think of it as fertilizer for the field of your brain. Compared to lighter-intensity cardio, Zone 3 exercises significantly increase BDNF levels.

Higher levels of BDNF are associated with improved mental clarity, sharper focus, and better memory. People living with depression have a smaller hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible for mood and memory. BDNF supports the growth of neurons in this region, which helps relieve symptoms of depression and makes you feel better.

Combat your depression by doing the opposite of what it tells you to do: physical activity. Reap the benefits of exercise on your mental health with Brain-Body Therapy’s Zone 3 Workouts for Depression.

Reduces chronic inflammation

Research suggests a link between systemic low-grade chronic inflammation and depression. An overload of inflammatory proteins in your bloodstream can reach the brain and induce neuroinflammation, which disrupts the production of neurotransmitters and dysregulates your mood. 

Regular Zone 3 cardio for depression eases neuroinflammation by sending anti-inflammatory proteins that calm your immune system down. And when your inflammation goes down, so do your depressive symptoms.

Gives you a sense of accomplishment

Every time you engage in high-intensity cardio for mental health, your physical health improves by leaps and bounds, too. Your blood pressure goes down, energy levels increase, and your lungs and heart become stronger. In the long run, you also decrease your risk of developing chronic conditions, such as diabetes, which can worsen your depression.

Unlike improvements in mental health that can be harder to pin down, your exercise and physical health progress can be quantified. This tangible improvement can give your self-esteem a boost and make you proud of how far you have come. This serves as proof of your ability and gives you something to work towards, proving your depression-induced feelings of worthlessness and pointlessness wrong.

What is Zone 3 Cardio Helps for Depression? 

Brain-Body Therapy, founded by a counselor, is based on the idea that exercise has the power to heal your mind. The app features structured workouts specifically designed to target the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and chronic stress. 

Brain-Body Therapy’s Zone 3 workouts target depression through a mixture of moderate- to high-intensity cardiovascular exercise and strength training. The workouts are backed by science and designed to improve your mood, build your motivation, and increase your energy levels.

Personalized Cardio Workouts for Depression

Rather than overwhelming you with a buffet of options, Brain-Body Therapy’s Zone 3 cardio for mental health gives you a structured plan to follow. The program is broken up in 12-week sessions,  with each session running up to 45 minutes.

Your program begins with an Each day begins with a pre-workout check-in, followed by a 30-minute workout session to improve your mental health. Once you’re done with your daily cardio for mental depression, you’ll be prompted to check in again and compare your mood. Finally, end the day with a short, counseling-guided video to ground you. 

On cardio days, you’re free to pick your own brand of cardio. We’ll cover some of the best cardio exercises for depression below (they’ll be accessible, too!).

Brain-Body Therapy Zone 3 Workout Progression

While cardio is a major focus of the Zone 3 workouts, that’s not all you’ll be doing. There will also be strength training exercises thrown into the mix. Don’t worry, even if you’ve never worked out before. Brain-Body Therapy’s workouts have a low barrier to entry to make even beginners and people with depression feel comfortable about moving.

As you progress through the program and your strength builds and mood improves, you’ll be introduced to therapeutic exercise modalities, such as yoga, breathing exercises, and mindfulness, to help you build long-term resilience. These low-impact exercises help you flush out all the tension you’ve been carrying, making you feel lighter.

Take the first step towards harnessing the mind-body connection in battling depression. Download the Brain-Body Therapy app today.

Specific At-Home Cardio Exercises for Depression

Here are some of the most accessible, at-home cardio workouts for depression. Pick one of these, or cycle between them during your Brain-Body Therapy’s cardio workout days. No equipment or gym necessary!

If you have trouble going at it for 30 minutes at a stretch, break your cardio session into bite-sized sessions of 10 minutes each. And remember, the goal is not to pick the most grueling exercise; it’s simply to get your heart pumping through movement that pushes you but still feels doable.

Brisk walking

Even a simple walk around your neighborhood (but at a brisk pace) will do the trick. When you go for a walk outside, you have the added benefit of changing your surroundings and being in nature, both of which are beneficial in lowering symptoms of depression. 

If you can’t make it outside, walk around your house or simply go up and down the stairs. Walking on a treadmill (if you have access to one) works, too!

Jogging or running

In addition to raising your heart rate, the rhythmic movement that running or jogging gives you makes for a nice distraction from any depression-induced negative thought patterns that you may be experiencing. Another benefit is that this meditative motion also decreases your stress levels, promoting a sense of calm.

If you don’t have the motivation to get into your running clothes and head out the door for a session, just jog in place inside your home in your pajamas. It’s the movement that matters more than the geographical location. Again, a treadmill works, too.

Cycling

Cycling is something that you can easily incorporate into your routine naturally. You don’t even need to treat it as a separate exercise; rather, start cycling to the grocery store, the corner bodega, or even to the subway or bus stop. 

Bodyweight cardio workouts

If you have minimal space and not a lot of time, these bodyweight cardio workouts will work beautifully. They don’t need any equipment (although you can dial up the intensity by substituting water bottles or other household items for dumbbells).

You can do these before heading to work, during your lunch break, or after you get home. Set a timer for 10 minutes and do as many of these cardio exercises as you can. Remember, these workouts aren’t about nailing every move or hitting every rep; they’re about showing up and continuing to show up.

Here are some of the best bodyweight cardio workouts for depression:

• High knees
• Mountain climbers
• Jumping jacks
• Lunges
• Squats
• Butt kicks
• Inchworm crawls
• Crunches

Start Healing Through Movement with Brain-Body Therapy

Even when your depression makes you want to stay in bed all day, pushing yourself to go against that urge and getting some physical activity in is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. The first few days of exercise are going to be hard, but you don’t have to do it alone. And it beats living a sedentary life.

Brain-Body Therapy’s structured Zone 3 workouts for depression will guide you every step of the way, helping you stay consistent. Our structured program gives you a clear pathway to follow to begin healing your mind. 

Download the Brain-Body Therapy app on the App Store or Google Play to start your journey.

If you’re a community center, university, or workplace looking to support the mental health of your neighbors, students, or employees through exercise, reach out to us to discuss organization-wide rollouts.

Zone 3 Exercise for Depression FAQs

What is Zone 3 cardio?

Zone 3 cardio is moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise that raises your heart rate to 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Running, stair climbing, jumping rope, and elliptical training all qualify as Zone 3 exercise.

What is Zone 3 cardio good for when it comes to depression?

Zone 3 cardio benefits people with depression by boosting mood-regulating neurotransmitters, reducing chronic neuroinflammation, rebuilding brain tissue in the hippocampus, and providing a measurable sense of accomplishment that counters depression.

What does a Zone 3 workout look like for someone with depression?

A Zone 3 workout for depression does not require a gym or equipment. Brisk walking, jogging, cycling, or simple bodyweight movements all qualify when performed at the right intensity. 

Brain-Body Therapy’s program structures these into guided 30 to 45-minute sessions with pre and post-workout mood check-ins to track progress over time.

How does aerobic Zone 3 exercise compare to antidepressants for treating depression?

A 16-week study comparing antidepressants to running found that both produced similar mental health improvements. Zone 3 cardio in particular had the added advantage of improving physical health simultaneously. 

While exercise is never a substitute for professional medical care, consistent Zone 3 training has been shown to be a clinically meaningful complement to formal treatment for mild to moderate depression.