More recently, you may have noticed another, even lower-effort form of cardio all up in your algorithm: soft cardio. Also known as “cozy cardio,” soft cardio is simply regular cardio done at a slow, relaxed pace so as to spare your body from repetitive impact — hence the name. While soft cardio, with its inherently low intensity and sluggish pace, could easily be mistaken for zone 2 cardio, it’s something else altogether. “If you work out a few times a week, instead of a total rest day, you can just do soft cardio,” Dr. Sulapas says. Soft cardio is not so much about what you do as it is about how you do it.