Cardio Training that is 'Long and Steady' is pretty 'Dull and Tedious' - you will not stick to it over a period of time, this is why people fall off the 'Fitness Trail' and find exercise is 'Not for for me'.
If you are in a Gym you can use the readily available machines more productively and see the time fly by.
If you are outdoors you can alter your routes in different ways to make it more fun.
If you are at home/away with no equipment then Bodyweight cicuits are one of the Greatest ways to increase your fitness and muscle tone.
RUNNING
Running for 30-40mins will raise your heartrate to an optimum level that will have you burning energy for hours after your session. It is a great fat metaboliser that will tone not only your legs but your arms and core. Interval training is far more productive at improving your stamina than sticking to a steady pace. Try to vary speed and level of incline each minute to break up the journey.
Try a 2-1 ratio of speed intervals ( 45sec sprint - 90sec jog)
The stronger your body becomes, alter the rest period go for a ( 30-30/ 60-60 or even a 60-30 for advanced trainers)
Outdoors try sprint/jog using lamposts/tree markers. Again you can sprint 1 jog 1, sprint 2 jog 1, sprint 3 jog 2 or even mix them up. Hill efforts are fantastic for improving stamina and strength, run up as hard as you can, jog/walk down, repeat as many as you can.
Aim to reduce your jog/walk breaks and increase your speed or incline for ultimate fitness.
SWIMMING
Swimming is a low impact aerobic activity that is especially great for rehabilitation as it is gentle on your joints. Whichever stroke you choose ensure your technique is correct, that is smooth and comfortable. Swimming lane after lane can be quite tedious so break it up using different strokes
Crawl is more challenging than Breaststoke, Backstroke gives you more chance to recover with your breathing.
Try alternating one lane of each stroke for variety.
Try 2 crawl- 1 Breastroke, 3-1, 4-2 or viseversa if you are a beginner to crawl.
Cahllenge yourself, see how many lanes you can acheive in 5/10min blocks of any given stroke then aim to improve on it next time.
Time how fasts you can swim 10 lanes, then do gentle swim for 4 lanes and go again.
CYCLING
Whether in a gym or outdoors, cycling is a fantstic cardio option. It is easy to coast along on a bike, so alternate terrain using speed, intervals, and hills.
Outdoors you can cover so much ground in a short time. set yourself a challenge of 'How many villages/ boroughs can you cycle through', GPS on the net is great for selecting different routes and for monitoring miles covered. Choose hilly routes for a challenging day or flat routes for more speed training. It's a great activity for family fun too.
Spinning classes are a fantastic introduction to cycling whereby classes are structured with different terrains that simulate steady flat roads, short burst speed intervals to tough hill climbs by adding greater resistance to make the ride more challenging. Even the stationary bikes in the gym can be programmed for interval training in many different ways.
Try a easy/hard brick session whereby you choose a poweroutput level of say 120 RPM (revolutions per minute - number of circles made with the pedal) maintain the set rpm whilst changing the level of intensity 30sec-30sec, 60 - 30, 60 - 60.
Pyramid hills are great, adding a level every minute until you peak and cannot pedal anylonger at a higher level, then drop a level every minute.
Time will just fly by
ROWING
Rowing machines offer a real fat-blasting whle body workout at it challenges both the upper and lower body with every stroke, though care needs to be taken with regards to correct posture to safeguard your back. Again you can challenge yourself with distance targets and how fast you can get there, trying to better your time
BODYWEIGHT CIRCUITS
Your own gym equipment is with you all day everyday, you don't need any equipment at all to still have a great cardio workout. The great advantage about doing bodyweight exercises is that not only can you really improve your stamina but also acheive great muscle tone too and do it ANYWHERE!!
Try the circuit below for starters:-
Squats
Push-ups
Alternate Reverse Lunges
Tricep Dips
Alternate Side Lunges
Abdominal Climbers
Perform 10 reps of each , no rest between each set and continue until you have completed 10 mins, I guarantee you will be out of breath and sweating like a trooper!
Another variation - do a pyramid so 5 of each, 2nd set -10 reps, 3rd set - 15 reps, 4th - 10, 5th - 5
Make sure you do a warm -up of at least 6 mins before completing any of the above and be sure to stretch afterwards
Get fit and have fun - variety is the key!
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