Cardio is often misinterpreted and misconstrued. There are many camps of people and scientists that argue on which form of cardio is better than the other. They often argue like this,“Long, slow, monotonous bike riding is the only way to increase your aerobic base and cardiac output”.
“You’re wrong, High intensity interval training, is the best way to get your body prepared for the physical, cardiac challenges for the sport of life”.
“The study we have done shows, Blah Blah Blah…”
There is so much out there, it’s no wonder so many people get confused about what and how to approach cardio. The fact is Cardio is Cardio. You can do it in any form you like. Often the confusion I think lies when we read or hear a study from someone talking about one variable that applies to some elite level athlete or higher level of performance. Let’s keep this simple and just focus on two forms to get some real results.
Sustained, long distance Cardiac Output
Just as the name insists, this version of cardio is the typical big box gym version, where you see many people on the ellipticals, treadmills, spin bikes, and as of recent rowing machines. Here you are trying to maintain a sustained level of output. The easiest way to measure this is through your heart rate. The heart rate range you are going for should be anywhere from 110 to 150 heart beats per minute. The amount of time spent on any of these devices is up to the user, but anywhere from 15-45 minutes is usually a good marker for this. The best ways to make sure you are in this heart rate range can be done in the following two ways: A). using a heart rate monitor or B) being able to breath exclusively through your nose while performing the chosen activity.
For the best results, use both.
Interval Training
Interval training is when a person sustains a high level of intensity with a movement(s) to increase the heart rate and then immediately follow it up with a period of rest. Any movement works for this, but should probably be limited to little or no weight, as the increase of injury goes up when fatigue begins to set in. The same rule applies with the heart rate range, 110 to 150 heart beats per minute. You can use the same ways to measure it via heart rate monitor and the breathing technique talked about earlier. Interval training can take a bit of the boredom out of training and can be done in a shorter bout of anywhere from 5-15 minutes. The goal is to elevate the heart, have it come down, and then elevate it again.
SO… which one is good for me?!!!!
Truth be told, they both are. There are a myriad of benefits to both and people should balance their training with both. However, I know that many people would not feel comfortable with changing up their style of training, due to the lack of understanding. So below, I have laid out two forms of interval training to show how it can be done on a traditional cardio machine or through a bodyweight movement.
(Below I show, how to use the treadmill for Cardio using interval training and also a bodyweight interval training set. I do not show you how to run on the treadmill for a sustained period of time, because everyone’s aerobic level is different and do not want to skew your thinking with the speed I run at. This is different based on individuals and should be a feeling and monitored based approach).
Squat jumps 10 x 5-8 with a period of rest.
Assault Bike 10 x :30 secs( speed is dictated by heart rate).
