Cardio Training

Cardio is a workout in which you are constantly on the move, but vary in intensity. You work in different heart rate zones: low, medium, and high. Power work is minimal. We have heard many times that cardio sessions should be paced like a 10K.

And of course, you should take breaks to stretch and even take a drink.

But if you follow these guidelines, you’ll do a lot of cardio without a great deal of effort.

Thinking about doing a cardio workout? A 10k walk, jog, or run could be a great stepping stone. But if you want to up the ante, you should consider these advanced cardio workouts.

RUNNING

“Just keep moving your feet. Don’t get fanny-in-the-seat. When you have a goal and you’re forcing yourself to put one foot in front of the other, it’s going to hurt. Keep running.”

In general, if you’re running at your race pace (11-minute pace), you can do this workout for a mile, and only need 30 minutes or so.

A. Intervals – Start running fast for a minute or so, then slow to walk. Do this 3 times, then walk one minute. Then repeat.

B. Periodization – One minute hard, walk one minute. Do this three times. Repeat, then walk one minute.

C. Loop – If you’re doing a marathon, cycle up and down the same 5 miles in your neighborhood until you can run 10 miles in under 90 minutes. Do this three times.

D. Speed Work – Do these workouts in your neighborhood, if possible.

E. VOICE.

“If you have some specific goals in mind, you can look up a pace that you need to keep you going for long distances. It’s like your long run speed, but you don’t have to go very far.”

Some people run out of gas halfway through a marathon. Others do a speed workout and just fall apart. Do these workouts at a slow pace, to get into the habit of pushing yourself.

RUNNING HILLS

Just because you can run fast at the beginning of a hill doesn’t mean you’ll keep that pace for the whole workout.

There’s a catch-22: if you run hills too fast, you won’t be able to do the recovery jog after a hill session, and you won’t be able to recover and maintain a faster pace.

So run hills at a slow pace, or as the athlete Brian Peterson of Boot Camps Unite says, “You have to pace yourself like you’re training for a half-marathon.”

Some folks have said that you should keep running up the hills until you feel tired, and then you should walk the hills. In general, if you have specific goals in mind, you can look up a pace that you need to keep you going for long distances. It’s like your long run speed, but you don’t have to go very far.

Walk the hills, and run the downhills, for a total of two miles, for this workout.

RUNNING STAIRS

If you don’t run outside, you can simulate hills by using stairs. Place a book or something heavy on the bottom step, and run up and down the steps as quickly as you can for one minute.

Then, walk one minute, and repeat 2-3 times. It’ll definitely increase your cardio. You can also start with a slower pace for the first half-mile, and then gradually speed up as you go along

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