Fitness Nutrition Forums

Step Up Your Cardio With These Workouts

0912treadmil.jpg

Once you've finished with your weight training, hitting the treadmill, stationary bicycle or elliptical machine for some cardio is the way to complete your workout in style. After all, ending your workout with cardio helps to burn fat! But instead of walking, jogging or cycling, kick your workout up a notch! Up the intensity of your cardio training, and you'll see much better results. Here are four workouts designed to help you raise the intensity bar.

10 x 3

This workout is designed to help you warm up your body to some higher-intensity cardio, push your lungs and heart hard for a short period of time, and then help you cool down and finish off your workout properly.

The workout is divided into these 10-minute intervals:

  • 10 minutes of warm-up -- Keep this slow, either walking at a fast pace or jogging slowly. Don't push yourself too hard just yet.
  • 10 minutes of fast-pace running -- Now is when you push yourself, turning up the intensity to a 7 of 10. If you jog at 4.5 or 5 MPH, try running at 6 or 6.5 MPH for 10 minutes. This will give your heart and lungs a tough workout.
  • 10 minutes of cool down -- After pushing yourself, it's time to cool down and end your workout right!

20-Minute HIIT


This High Intensity Interval Training workout will have you sweating hard, and it will burn amazing amounts of fat. Plus, you can get it done in as little as 20 minutes!

The way the intervals work is:

  • Walk for 90 seconds -- Set the pace anywhere between 3.2 and 4 MPH.
  • Sprint for 30 seconds -- Kick it up to anywhere over 8 MPH.

Repeat this interval 10 times for a proper 20 minute workout. If you're in good shape, try jogging instead of walking!

Hill Training

While on the treadmill, you can increase the incline to simulate tackling hills, but why do this when you can go out and run real hills instead? Whether you're tacking a hill indoors or outdoors, adding the incline torches fat and maximizes calorie burning.

This workout calls for:

  • 5 to 10 minutes of warm up -- Keep the pace slow, and get your body ready for some hard work.
  • 2 minutes of hill running -- The pace isn't what matters, though faster is always better. Don't sprint, but run at a good clip and let the incline do the work.
  • 1 minute of recovery -- Walk or jog at a slower pace, with or without the incline.

Repeat the hill runs 5 times, with recovery time between each. After you're done, cool down for 5 or 10 minutes, and your 20 to 30 minute workout will be complete!

Backward-Forward

Bored of doing the same old thing on the elliptical machine? Try this awesome workout to mix things up:

  • 5 minutes of warm-up -- Go slow, and don't push yourself too hard. This gives your knees a chance to acclimate.
  • 2 minutes of backward walking -- Raise the incline to 10, and walk backwards. This is a great thigh workout and great cardio!
  • 30 seconds of forward walking -- Return the incline to 0, and walk forward as fast as you can. Pump those arms and legs at full speed for 30 seconds.

Once you've completed this interval 4 times, cool down for 5 minutes to wrap-up your 30-minute workout.

With these four workouts, you'll never get bored on the treadmill or elliptical machine again! Use these workouts to push yourself hard, get in your workout and get out of the gym!

tinybride.jpg
Get In Shape In Time To Say "I Do!"

Some people get lucky and are born with fit, toned bodies. Andy Peloquin is not one of those people... Fitness has come hard for him, and he's had to work for it. His trials have led him to becoming a martial artist, an NFPT-certified fitness trainer, and a man passionate about exercise, diet and healthy living. He loves to exercise -- he does so six days a week -- and loves to share his passion for fitness and health with others.

{{ oArticle.title }}

{{ oArticle.subtitle }}