Now that warmer weather is upon us, it’s a great opportunity to add some different cardio workouts into your weekly game plan. Before starting any type of cardio training be sure you are healthy and have spoken with a doctor to ensure you can train safely.
Do you like cycling? Cycling is a great way to burn calories and rev up your cardio. Start your workout with a 10 minute warm-up on the bike. Spend 8 minutes cycling hard then complete 6 minutes of strength conditioning sets. So in other words, plan on cycling hard for 8 minutes, give yourself 2 minutes rest break for each set. Repeat this sequence four times then move into the strength conditioning portion of the workout. Put your bike on gear that has more resistance, cycle for 6 minutes giving yourself 2 minutes rest. Repeat this four times. Another cycling workout to help your cardio is cycling on hills. Bike on hills at least 2 days a week. Over time regularly cycling hills will improve your endurance and make your legs stronger.
Next, consider going for a run. Are you new to running? Beginning runners should start with two to four runs per week at about 20 to 30 minutes (or roughly 2 to 4 miles) per run. You may have heard of the 10 Percent Rule, but a better way to increase your mileage is to run more every second week. This will help your body adapt to your new hobby so you don’t get hurt.
If you are a beginning runner, plan on incorporating intervals in your weekly run schedule after you have been running consistently for about 4 weeks. You can start by running at a harder intensity 2 times per week. As you become a more experienced runner, popular intervals to be Yasso’s 800. These intervals were created by Runner’s World writer Bart Yasso. He started working at Runners World in 1987 to develop the groundbreaking Runner’s World Race Sponsorship Program, creating a vehicle for Runner’s World to work with over 7,000 races representing 4 million runners per year. Inducted into the Running USA Hall of Champions.
Yasso also invented the Yasso 800s, a marathon-training schedule used by thousands around the world. He is one of the few people to have completed races on all seven continents from the Antarctica marathon to the Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon. In 1987, Yasso won the U.S. National Biathlon Long Course Championship and won the Smoky Mountain Marathon in 1998. He has also completed the Ironman five times and the Badwater 146 through Death Valley. He has also cycled, unsupported and by himself, across the country twice.
Another great cardio workout is HITT (High Intensity Interval Training) on an outdoor court of any type. Use the outline of a basketball/volleyball to perform the three fat-burning drills: Sprints (5): Sprint from one end of the court to the other, running forward and then jogging back backwards. Repeat 5 times total. Lateral hops (30): Jump over and then back along the full court line, facing forward the whole time. Do 30 hops total (1-2 lengths of the court). Side shuffles (6): Do side shuffles the full distance of the court and back,. Repeat 6 times total. The entire workout should take about 15 minutes and will have you sweating buckets!
Next, cardio fans should consider sailing or rowing. Water sports are becoming more popular across the country. They are also very affordable and offer a change of pace from traditional workouts. Sailing is a total-body workout that helps build upper-body muscular endurance, agility, coordination and flexibility. Rowing is a fantastic form of low impact cardio that works your legs and core and burns roughly 800 calories per hour.
Last but not least Crossfit fans will love being able to take their workout, outside. Not familiar with cross fit? Crossfit is constantly varied functional movements performed at relatively high intensity. All CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements, and these movements reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more.
Take this workout to the park or beach. Start with a ten minute warmup. You can do jumping jacks or run in place. After that do five rounds of session 1 which includes:
5 Pushups, 10 Sit ups, 15 Squats. Then do five sessions of workout 2 which includes:
10 Burpees, 20 Bench jumps, 30 Pushups, 40 Squats, 50 Lunges. After completing any of these workouts be sure to stretch, hydrate and use sunscreen.