Tuesday, February 2, 2010

THE 7 SIGNS YOU ARE DOING TOO MUCH CARDIO

I hate long bouts of cardio on machines in the gym. I see people on those things for 60 minutes and they barely break a sweat and those that do sweat, just don’t seem to ever burn the fat fast enough.

My friend Craig Ballantyne of http://www.turbulencetraining.com/  couldn’t have said it better when he described the "THE 7 SIGNS YOU ARE DOING TOO MUCH CARDIO"

You know you wasting your time doing too much useless cardio when:

#1 - You have to spend 5 minutes before your workout flipping through all the magazines in the gym to find one you haven’t read before.

#2 - You know the other cardio addicts on the machines beside you (that you talk to everyday) better than you know your own friends.

#3 - You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym (and you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)

#3 - You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym (and you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)

#4 - You hate doing it and dread your workouts more than a trip to the dentist.

#5 - The only thing you are losing is precious time - and not belly fat.

#6 - You go to the gym to watch your favourite television shows while doing cardio.

#7 - You’re getting overuse injuries from repetitive motion because you keep doing the same activity over and over again everyday.

So must be asking yourself, "Okay Funk you got me, so now what do I do to burn the fat, strengthen the heart and increase my conditioning more effectively.

Well I have found the answer to the cardio training problem, high intensity interval training. I have used interval training for cardio a lot in the past to help me get ripped and increase my conditioning.

I love high intensity interval training. Whether you are a beginner or an avid gym rat, it not only does it break up the monotony of long boring cardio training at the gym, but it also burns more calories and fat much faster than other cardio exercises.

Interval training consists of repeated intervals of relatively high intensity followed by a longer interval of low intensity. You can use interval training with any of the cardio equipment found at gyms; treadmill, elliptical machine, stair climber or the stationary bike. You can also use interval training with weights exercises, kettlebells, resistance bands, Tabata workouts...anything!

If you are a beginner, you can use interval training too. Take a look at this INTERVAL TRAINING WORKOUT FOR BEGINNERS - CLICK HERE FOR BEGINNER VIDEO

Check out this cool interval cardio workout next time you want to blast fat in the gym or at home.

On the Stationary Bike:

5 Minutes: Level 1-4: Warm Up
30 seconds: Level 8 at above100 rpm
1:30 minutes: Level 1 at above 80 rpm
30 seconds: Level 9 at above100 rpm
1:30 minutes: Level 1 at above 80 rpm
30 seconds: Level 10 at above 100 rpm
1:30 minutes: Level 1 at above 80 rpm
30 seconds: Level 11 at above100 rpm
1:30 minutes: Level 1 at above 80 rpm
30 seconds: Level 12 at above 100 rpm
1:30 minutes: Level 1 at above 80 rpm

Repeat the hi-low intensity intervals 5 more times and then cool down for 5 minutes.
Finish each interval workout with stretching the legs and your tight muscle groups only

Your total workout time should be 30 minutes.

My goal is to get 10 sessions of high-low intensity intervals (10/10) with a 5 minute warm up and cool down. If you are just beginning you must work up to the 10/10. I suggest you try to get to 5/5 and increase by one every successive workout.

By adding interval training to your workouts, you will burn more calories, increase your aerobic capacity and you’ll add variety to your cardio workouts.

1 comment:

  1. These 7 signs about cardio are so true. I hate cardio! So boring.

    ReplyDelete

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