Quick show of hands…who looks forward to running on a treadmill for 45 minutes after lifting weights for an hour? Me, neither. Fuck that bullshit, anyway. Leave that pussy stuff for the cardio bunnies getting ready for a bikini show. But instead of scrapping it totally, implement a more hardcore version of cardio into your routine and at a fraction of the time, too.
The key to doing cardio is by implementing H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training). Short and quick bursts of activity followed up with a slightly longer active rest period will burn more fat and calories than a steady pace for a period longer than both the others combined.
Make sure that you stretch out and warm up beforehand so that you don’t pull a hamstring muscle. Here are a few options for you to try and hit cardio at least three days a week:
SPRINTS
You do not even need to be at the gym to do this, either, which is the best part. The street that you live on will suffice or a local track if you would rather do it there. The one exercise that you should do on a regular basis is sprinting, which is the key to your cardio success. 20 or 30-yard sprints are long enough to get you started and by jogging or walking back to the starting point, you are satisfying the second part of the H.I.I.T. strategy with the active rest/cool down period.
When you first begin doing sprints, keep it to a time period of 10-to-15 minutes and work your way up a few minutes each week. If you’re doing all out sprints (with jogging in between) for a half hour, you are getting the job done.
TREADMILL
So you don’t like running outside wearing your Zubaz sweatpants from 1993 and give that asshole neighbor more ammunition to break your balls? Invest in a treadmill for the home or use one at the gym to get your cardio in.
Look at it like this: do a few sets of five minute intervals that includes two minutes of sprinting with the treadmill on a faster speed and then slow it down to a fast paced walk or slow jog for three minutes.
Use the same formula like the outdoor sprints and don’t settle for anything less than 10-to-15 minutes at the start of this program. Work your way up a single five minute set each time you are able to and before you know it, that half hour will be flying by.
ELLIPTICAL
Use the same chart as the treadmill with one caveat – don’t use the handles every other set so that you are not compensating with your upper body. Using this machine with just your legs is a much harder workout but it is also good to mix in the top for variety.
Turn the level way up on the elliptical when you’re doing the ‘fast’ part for two minutes and then bring it down a good amount for the ‘cool down.’