Recently I decided I wanted to do something a little different with my workouts. Every once in a while, I'll think about my routine and what I like about it and what I could change to make it better or more effective. I've always really liked to resistance train and workout with my trainers. I also enjoy boxing and kickboxing and try to do that two to three times a week. The one part of my routine that I've decided I want to work on is the type of cardio I am doing.
I have always been the type that would rather run sprints at a high intensity for a shorter amount of time than run long distances. So I've decided to welcome more interval training into my life. I've also decided that I want to try doing some of these runs outside. I've always been the treadmill type but I think it would be nice to at least be able to tolerate outdoor running when the weather is cooperating.
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT training has many benefits. Like I said before, the duration of your workout doesn't have to be as long when your intensity is high. Everyone has 15-30 minutes in a day to get a quick and effective workout in.
This method of cardio helps build your endurance. It conditions your heart to be able to recover quickly. The way to know if you're able to endure more is to evaluate yourself after a high intensity interval. How fast does your heart rate come down after a burst of speed? How long does it take you to be able to feel ready to run another sprint? These are good questions to ask yourself during your workout. You should progress pretty quickly with consistency and effort.
You can do intervals anywhere. Running outside or on a treadmill, using the stairmill, the bike or the row machine, are all options. Cross training is always a great way to add variety and fun into your workouts. The less bored you feel while doing cardio, the better chance you'll have of sticking to it long term.
So here are some example workouts that I've done that I've found to be very effective...tiring but quick and challenging.
1. Tabatas. Tabatas are 30 second intervals in sets of eight, each lasting four minutes. There are a couple different ways to do them based on your fitness level. Since each tabata is only four minutes long, I'll typically take a minute break in between and do four or five tabatas total.
Beginner: 10 seconds work, 20 seconds rest x8
Novice: 15 seconds work, 15 seconds rest x8
Advanced: 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest x8
Side note: you are responsible for choosing speeds that work for you. Your work pace should obviously be very challenging and your rest is your down time until the next interval. You can sprint and jog, jog and walk or speed walk and slow walk depending on how conditioned you are.
2. Shorter Distance Sprint and Jog: 1 minute work, 1 minute rest x5 followed by 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest x10. This will put you at a 20 minute workout not counting your warm up or cool down.
3. Longer Distance Run and Jog: 90 seconds work, 60 seconds rest x10. Your work rate should be a pace that you could only hold for around three minutes.
These are just a few ideas that I've done and enjoyed. If you're just starting out, I recommend shorter bursts of speed followed by longer rest periods and gradually work yourself into have the same rest time as your work time. You know your body better than anyone so it's important to push yourself within your limits and make sure when your workout is finished, you are very tired.
The Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is the probably the best way to evaluate your workout since it's all based on each individual. It is a scale from 1-10 where one would be sitting on the couch and 10 would be your absolute max effort. When you are done with your interval workout, you should be around a 7 or an 8.
So get out there and start running or walking or climbing. Tomorrow starts the first week of my 30 day challenge of getting myself to run outside. I'm going to start off with a short amount of time and work myself up to a longer cardio session using these great interval ideas.
Happy cardio ya'll!
No comments:
Post a Comment