Cardio Training

Sprint intervals.

The key word here is intensity. Running at a moderate to slow pace will burn calories mind you, but if you throw sprinting into the mix, you will without a doubt excel your fat loss results.

Sprinting taps in to fast-twitch muscle fibers- the more of this you have the more fat-burning ability your body has. Intervals can take place on a treadmill. Perform an easy jog for 30 minutes. Every 2-3 minutes, muster up 20 seconds of a higher intensity sprint, or close to it. Then bring it back down to a jog. Your heart rate will be through the roof by the end of this session, and thus fat burned will be off the charts. To mix it up, hit a track or field at your local high school or college and run free.

Sprint Hills.

Sprinting on flat ground will yield some great results, yes. Think of hill sprints as a supplement to an already ultra-effective physique builder. Professional sprinters have arguably the best physiques on the planet.

Safety: Due to decreased limb speed and range of motion (from the hill) the chances of pulling a hamstring or quad are minimized. In addition, the shorter distance with each step the legs will travel reduce the pounding on the joints like ankles and knees. Yet, the posterior-chain muscles like the lower back, glutes, hamstrings and calves will gain an incredible strengthening effect. It’s running with weight, but the weight is the hill.

Technique: Sprinting hills also virtually coaches you to become a better sprinter, because it’s impossible to sprint up a hill or out of the blocks without leaning forward for maximal acceleration. Further, hill sprinting will ensure full aggressive engagement of arm and shoulder action which is also imperative for speed. Lastly, hills will make it easier to land on your toes for a more powerful sprint. This is a must for anyone trying to get faster and more powerful when it comes to sprints. There are limitless ways to set up hill sprint workouts, start with these examples. It’s intense, so be prepared to feel it. You may want to start with a couple reps of what feels like half speed to gage how to turn up the intensity. Bring a stopwatch and get to sprinting!

5 x 10 yards (rest 15 seconds in between)
4 x 20 yards (rest 30 seconds in between)
3 x 30 yards (rest 60 seconds in between)
2 x 40 yards (rest 90 seconds in between)

As you get more proficient, add the amount of reps and lessen the rest time in-between by a few seconds. You’ll be amazed at the effects hill sprinting has on the appearance of your physique.

Climb some Stairs Stair climbing is an awesome low-impact alternative for a cardio session. What’s more, you don’t need to belong to a gym or own stair-climber machine to do them-start looking for stadiums or tall buildings. If you work in a building with a few floors, you can do some cardio virtually any time of the day; take the stairs instead of the elevator.

The caloric consumption just by doing this will slim your waistline. Much like hill sprinting, stair climbing is an ultra-efficient workout that uses your own bodyweight against gravity as resistance so you train your muscular conditioning and cardiovascular endurance in one activity. The muscles of the quadriceps and glutes are the primary movers and can burn a huge 300 calories in just 30 minutes, depending on your pace and bodyweight. Just make sure to follow these simple safety guidelines before you begin.

Wear shoes with good support, cross-training shoes are best
Make sure the stairwell is unobstructed and well-lit
As with any workout, have enough water on hand
Alternate stair-climbing with other forms of cardio to avoid overuse injuries (impacting the same joints and muscles over and over again)
Going down is more stressful on the knees than going up due to the “putting on the brakes” sensation and impact of downward force of each step. If you are new to it, you may want to take the elevator back down.
Have the proper stance- lean forward at the hip and keep the back straight. Never slouch while doing stairs.
Place the near entire foot on each stair, each step to get a firm planting for balance, and prevent pulling an Achilles tendon. As you get more proficient, safely inch toward to ball of the feet for each step. This will increase speed and power of each step- specifically when you pick up the pace for intervals, it makes sprinting easier.
Always climb where someone could hear you in the unexpected event of an accident or fall.

Happy climbing and be prepared to see results, fast! Studies have revealed that stair climbing can hold its own against more established activities like running or biking by concluding that it the most vigorous activity one can do in the shortest time possible.