27
Apr 2017
Episode 42 – The quick cardio cheat sheet
Episode 42 – The quick cardio cheat sheet
Cardio training is a must for everyone in health & fitness. While cardio usually connotes images of 2-3 hour long runs, biking up mountains, or even swimming dozens of laps early in the morning, it doesn’t have to be that strenuous. Let’s explore the five different types of cardio methods on this cardio cheat sheet to help you find the right cardio for you.
A quick refresher on cardio though
Cardio, or cardiovascular training is basically physical movement that stimulates the heart and circulatory system to work more effectively. When undergoing cardio training your heart rate will rise, the body temperature will increase and blood will start to move around the body to supply oxygen and other key nutrients for metabolism. At the same time, the cardiovascular system will remove toxins from the cells and organs such as carbon dioxide and other waste products created in metabolism. The more you train this system, the more efficient it becomes. Now you know why it’s important to train this system, how do you train it?
5 cardio exercise methods
H.I.I.T
High intensity interval training is a type of training that is quite popular now. It balances periods of highly strenuous work with periods of fixed rest. A usual ratio of work to rest may be 1:3 or 1:2. An example of H.I.I.T may be this sequence of cardio:- 45 seconds of running followed by
- 90 seconds of rest
- Repeated for 10 reps
Fartlek
Fartlek training is a type of training that is based on the principle of working when you feel good, then resting or stopping when you need to. It is totally feeling based and can be quite random. This is a great way for beginners to get into fitness without the pressure of doing a fixed distance, speed or time. It also allows you to become more aware of your own capacity.
An example of Fartlek training may go like this:
- I start running for 1 minutes 37seconds and realise my breath is getting out of control so I stop and walk.
- I noticed I walked for 28 seconds before I started to jog again.
- 5 minutes 12 seconds later I feel great so I run for another 12 minutes 59 seconds before deciding to finish the session.
Wanna know the other cardio methods? Continue reading my cardio cheat sheet below.
Tabata
The Tabata protocol was designed by a scientist in Japan. He that found that if an individual trained intensely for short periods of time, followed by short rest, they could achieve better cardiovascular fitness when compared to normal steady state training. He also found that this style of training is great for those who are quite busy and only had short amounts of time to exercise. A very specific style of H.I.I.T, Tabata training follows this method:
- 20 seconds of intense exercise (eg. rowing or cycling machine)
- 10 seconds of rest
- Repeat for 8 rounds over a total of 4 minutes
Ramping
Ramping is a simple way to organise your cardio training. Ramping refers to the way you can systematically increase your intervals so that you can continuously challenge yourself. This is also a good way to “trick” your body into working at high intensities for longer. An example of ramping your cardio may be:
- 10m sprint, jog back
- 20m sprint, jog back
- 40m sprint, jog back
- 80m sprint, jog back
- 120m sprint, jog back
- 200m sprint, jog back
- [Ramp to as high as needed].
Pyramids
Pyramids is another great way to organise your cardio training. In this style of cardio you will start off with small distances, times and/or intensities and then build up to a maximum. Once at the session maximum, return back to the beginning. A good example of pyramid training may go something like this:
- 100m on the rower
- 200m on the rower
- 400m on the rower (peak of pyramid)
- 200m on the rower
- 100m on the rower
- Repeat as many as possible
Carve up your cardio!
It’s time to carve up your cardio. Cardio training doesn’t get any easier than these five cardio exercise methods. Give one or more of the exercise patterns on this cardio cheat sheet a try today and you’ll be on your way to being fitter & healthier!
–
Need extra help?
- My PURITY Protocol is an amazing resource packed with 6 secrets to detox your life and supercharge your energy. It’s my personal wellbeing philosophy. Check it out here.
- The First Five Fitness program is a complete 35 day guide to nutrition, mindset, and fitness for beginners and intermediates AND it only takes five minutes blocks to start. Click here for details.
- Don’t know what or how to cook and prepare food?! Check out My Meals & Recipes book here. It’s packed with loads of practical, healthy and simple to make breakfast, lunch, dinner options as well as snacks and drinks.
- Want live coaching? Click here to contact me. I look forward to working with you soon.
–
-Martins Zemlickis thank you for the photo
Bibliography
- Chek, P. (2009) How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
- Cooley, B. (2005) The Genius of Flexibility: The smart way to stretch and strengthen your body. Fireside
- Erhman, J. Gordon, P. Visich, P. Keteyian, S. (2003) Clinical Exercise Physiology. Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
- Porth, C. (2002) Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States (6th Ed.) Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
- Scientific Publishing, Ltd. (no author) (2006) Scientific Publishing’s Anatomy Chart Book. Scientific Publishing Limited
- Sherwood, L.(2004) Human Physiology: From Cells to Systems (5th Ed.) Thomson, Brooks/Cole
Chris Everingham lives and breathes health & fitness.
Hi, I’m Chris Everingham.
I’m sharing the holistic performance secrets that I both personally used to overcome racial scrutiny, escape poverty and depression, AND taught others so that they too could bring proven success and happiness into their lives.
Learn more about my time competing in international sports, in front of media and speaking with live audiences of thousands of people to discover my high performance secrets. Click here to grow your mindset, rewire your habits and transform your life.
