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experiencelifemag.com
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Customize Your Cardio
Cardio workouts are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Here’s how to make
your program work better for you.
By Bob Condor |
December 2008 |
Routine No. 1
Routine No. 2
Routine No. 3
What's Next?
Look around the gym and you’ll see some fairly typical patterns
of how people work the cardio machines. Some folks chug along at a moderate pace
for what seems like forever, while others speed through a fast-paced workout in
less than 15 minutes. Still others take it pretty easy and hop off the
elliptical looking practically as fresh as when they started. Your approach
to cardio fitness should be based on your unique health goals and priorities,
says Len Kravitz, PhD, coordinator of exercise science at the University of New
Mexico in Albuquerque. There are, however, certain components that virtually
every cardio program should include. In each of the typical cardio routines
that follow, we point out what’s working well (especially in the context of
specific preferences and fitness priorities), and what types of customization or
variety-promoting tweaks would be likely to produce even better results.
Routine No. 1
Light cardio on the elliptical three times a week.
You do 20 to 45 minutes and don’t often break more than a slight sweat. What’s working: “If you were sedentary a month to six weeks ago, you’re
doing exactly what you should be doing,” says Melinda Sothern, PhD, a professor
and researcher at Louisiana State University’s School of Public Health in New
Orleans. “You’re on your way to becoming more metabolically fit [burning
more calories and more fat], a process that will take at least six to 12 weeks.
You’re building a base that will allow you to go longer or harder.” Kravitz
concurs. “The benefits of this kind of program include management of blood
pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and overall prevention of coronary
disease,” he says. “People following this routine will begin achieving some of
those benefits, which is to say, they’re on the road to better health.” If
your fitness goal is just to get moving, this routine is great. A steady-state
workout like this can help you build a foundation on which you can become even
more active. (For more on fitness progressions, see “Small Victories” in the
April 2008 archives. What might work better: If you’ve been following this routine for more
than 12 weeks, your body will become accustomed to your exercise output,
and your fitness gains will begin to stall. You can continue to make strides by
increasing the frequency, intensity or duration of your workouts. That is, you
can add another workout session to your routine (or two, ideally), push your
pace with interval training (start by simply interspersing several short bursts
of speed lasting 10 to 30 seconds) or add time to your existing sessions (no
more than 10 percent per week). “We know from training research that to
improve at all levels of fitness you must change the stimulus,” says Kravitz.
“Mix it up with slow days, fast days, interval-training days, and training on
different pieces of cardio equipment, such as the elliptical, treadmill,
stairclimber and bike.” Gary Miller, an exercise science professor at Wake
Forest University, suggests also adding weight training to your regimen. “Even
one day a week can be sufficient for a beginner to experience a lot of
improvement,” he says. Why? Because strength training, like interval training,
improves the function of mitochondria (“power plants”) in cells, meaning you’ll
burn fat and calories at higher rates.
Routine No. 2
Daily, hourlong treadmill workouts.
You work at a moderately high intensity the whole time. What’s working: “One major benefit of this program is endurance,” says Paul
Robbins, the metabolic specialist for Athlete’s Performance, a training facility
in Tempe, Ariz. “If you want to run a race at the speed you run on the
treadmill, you’ll be able to.” Some other positives: This level of challenge
and impact helps ward off muscle and bone loss, and keeps your fitness level
high enough for pickup basketball games and 10Ks. What might work better: You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect the
same results. Your muscles become more efficient at handling the work output,
which means your heart rate stays lower and you burn fewer calories and less
fat. Plus, the burnout potential — both physical and mental — associated
with this routine is high. “Try different types of training that don’t work your
muscles in the same way,” suggests Kravitz. “That might include rec sports, rock
climbing, lifting weights or swimming laps. Cross-training solves the overuse
injury problem.” As with the first routine, adding a couple of interval-training
sessions a week can help vary your heart rate. And working very hard for short
bursts will help you build a higher tolerance for lactic acid and train the body
to reuse it for energy, thus improving your cardio endurance. (For more on
heart-rate training, see “A Better Way to Burn Fat” in the January/February 2007
archives.) Finally, taking at least one day a week off
for recovery might net you better fitness gains.
Routine No. 3
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or Tabata workouts three times a week.
You rarely spend more than 20 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike. After
warming up, you alternate between going at max or near-max pace and grabbing
brief recoveries. What’s working: This type of workout has a lot going for it. First, it’s
incredibly time efficient. Second, it can produce dramatic fitness gains,
triggering mitochondria development and metabolism-boosting effects: For hours
or even days after your workout, you’ll burn more calories and fat than usual.
What’s more, you’re training your body to perform better and longer, at both
aerobic and anaerobic capacity. You’ll feel less tired and winded during any
activity. What might work better: Three words: Less is more. Overdoing it with any sort
of high-intensity routine is a sure path to overuse injuries and overtraining.
For the Tabata Protocol, once or twice a week is ideal; more can produce
diminishing returns or even set you back because your body may not fully recover
between workouts. (For more about Tabata, check out “The Tabata Tune-Up” in the
March 2008 archives, and for more about HIIT, see
“HIIT It!”) Robbins recommends balancing this sort of
super-high-intensity work with moderate- and low-intensity days, as well as
weight training. He says an optimal cardio week includes two low-intensity days,
two moderate-intensity days and two interval days, with slower-paced sessions
lasting about 40 minutes, and faster sessions no more than 20. If you also lift
weights, the slower cardio sessions can last closer to 20 minutes. For his
part, Kravitz says he can make good arguments for any of the previously
mentioned routines — just not in isolation from each other. That’s why he does
workouts mimicking all three of them (easy, moderate and intense) each week.
“Don’t narrow your options,” he advises. “Varying your stimulus and
intensity will offer the greatest benefits — whatever your fitness goals.”
Bob Condor is a Seattle-based health and fitness writer.
What's Next?
Not sure whether it’s time to push your cardio efforts forward or dial them
back a bit? Here are some resources from the Experience Life archives to help you plan the next phase of your fitness journey. If you’re just starting out:
It’s important to celebrate even the
smallest fitness victories, and to seek out activities that will motivate
you to move. If it’s been a while since you’ve worked out, try a slightly more
vigorous version of activities you already do — Nordic walking vs. regular
walking, for instance. And then start savoring the gradual shifts in your energy
levels and moods that accompany improved fitness.
If you’re ready to step it up:
Eventually, your body will adapt to your
same old workout routine. When you stop seeing results, you might consider
kicking your intensity up a notch, mixing up your activities and getting more
organized about your goals. Fitness testing can be helpful for setting
benchmarks, and working with a personal trainer to periodize your routine can
ensure that you keep making strides.
If you’re looking for a serious challenge:
Applying techniques such as
high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or the Tabata Protocol further ups the
ante on your workout intensity. Why should you push your pace and explore your
body’s limits? Doing so can lead to impressive aerobic and anaerobic fitness
gains — not to mention greater fat loss.
If you’re on the edge of burning out:
Remember that it’s during your
recovery period when your body reaps the rewards of all the hard work you’ve
done and repairs any damage you did in the process. Backing off your cardio
intensity — or taking a more varied approach to your workout routine — might
net you better fitness gains than just working harder.
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Customize Your Cardio
Cardio workouts are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Here’s how to make
your program work better for you.
By Bob Condor | Form & Function Department,
December 2008 |
Routine No. 1
Routine No. 2
Routine No. 3
What's Next?
Look around the gym and you’ll see some fairly typical patterns
of how people work the cardio machines. Some folks chug along at a moderate pace
for what seems like forever, while others speed through a fast-paced workout in
less than 15 minutes. Still others take it pretty easy and hop off the
elliptical looking practically as fresh as when they started. Your approach
to cardio fitness should be based on your unique health goals and priorities,
says Len Kravitz, PhD, coordinator of exercise science at the University of New
Mexico in Albuquerque. There are, however, certain components that virtually
every cardio program should include. In each of the typical cardio routines
that follow, we point out what’s working well (especially in the context of
specific preferences and fitness priorities), and what types of customization or
variety-promoting tweaks would be likely to produce even better results.
Routine No. 1 (Back to Top)
Light cardio on the elliptical three times a week.
You do 20 to 45 minutes and don’t often break more than a slight sweat. What’s working: “If you were sedentary a month to six weeks ago, you’re
doing exactly what you should be doing,” says Melinda Sothern, PhD, a professor
and researcher at Louisiana State University’s School of Public Health in New
Orleans. “You’re on your way to becoming more metabolically fit [burning
more calories and more fat], a process that will take at least six to 12 weeks.
You’re building a base that will allow you to go longer or harder.” Kravitz
concurs. “The benefits of this kind of program include management of blood
pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and overall prevention of coronary
disease,” he says. “People following this routine will begin achieving some of
those benefits, which is to say, they’re on the road to better health.” If
your fitness goal is just to get moving, this routine is great. A steady-state
workout like this can help you build a foundation on which you can become even
more active. (For more on fitness progressions, see “Small Victories” in the
April 2008 archives. What might work better: If you’ve been following this routine for more
than 12 weeks, your body will become accustomed to your exercise output,
and your fitness gains will begin to stall. You can continue to make strides by
increasing the frequency, intensity or duration of your workouts. That is, you
can add another workout session to your routine (or two, ideally), push your
pace with interval training (start by simply interspersing several short bursts
of speed lasting 10 to 30 seconds) or add time to your existing sessions (no
more than 10 percent per week). “We know from training research that to
improve at all levels of fitness you must change the stimulus,” says Kravitz.
“Mix it up with slow days, fast days, interval-training days, and training on
different pieces of cardio equipment, such as the elliptical, treadmill,
stairclimber and bike.” Gary Miller, an exercise science professor at Wake
Forest University, suggests also adding weight training to your regimen. “Even
one day a week can be sufficient for a beginner to experience a lot of
improvement,” he says. Why? Because strength training, like interval training,
improves the function of mitochondria (“power plants”) in cells, meaning you’ll
burn fat and calories at higher rates.
Routine No. 2 (Back to Top)
Daily, hourlong treadmill workouts.
You work at a moderately high intensity the whole time. What’s working: “One major benefit of this program is endurance,” says Paul
Robbins, the metabolic specialist for Athlete’s Performance, a training facility
in Tempe, Ariz. “If you want to run a race at the speed you run on the
treadmill, you’ll be able to.” Some other positives: This level of challenge
and impact helps ward off muscle and bone loss, and keeps your fitness level
high enough for pickup basketball games and 10Ks. What might work better: You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect the
same results. Your muscles become more efficient at handling the work output,
which means your heart rate stays lower and you burn fewer calories and less
fat. Plus, the burnout potential — both physical and mental — associated
with this routine is high. “Try different types of training that don’t work your
muscles in the same way,” suggests Kravitz. “That might include rec sports, rock
climbing, lifting weights or swimming laps. Cross-training solves the overuse
injury problem.” As with the first routine, adding a couple of interval-training
sessions a week can help vary your heart rate. And working very hard for short
bursts will help you build a higher tolerance for lactic acid and train the body
to reuse it for energy, thus improving your cardio endurance. (For more on
heart-rate training, see “A Better Way to Burn Fat” in the January/February 2007
archives.) Finally, taking at least one day a week off
for recovery might net you better fitness gains.
Routine No. 3 (Back to Top)
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or Tabata workouts three times a week.
You rarely spend more than 20 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike. After
warming up, you alternate between going at max or near-max pace and grabbing
brief recoveries. What’s working: This type of workout has a lot going for it. First, it’s
incredibly time efficient. Second, it can produce dramatic fitness gains,
triggering mitochondria development and metabolism-boosting effects: For hours
or even days after your workout, you’ll burn more calories and fat than usual.
What’s more, you’re training your body to perform better and longer, at both
aerobic and anaerobic capacity. You’ll feel less tired and winded during any
activity. What might work better: Three words: Less is more. Overdoing it with any sort
of high-intensity routine is a sure path to overuse injuries and overtraining.
For the Tabata Protocol, once or twice a week is ideal; more can produce
diminishing returns or even set you back because your body may not fully recover
between workouts. (For more about Tabata, check out “The Tabata Tune-Up” in the
March 2008 archives, and for more about HIIT, see
“HIIT It!”) Robbins recommends balancing this sort of
super-high-intensity work with moderate- and low-intensity days, as well as
weight training. He says an optimal cardio week includes two low-intensity days,
two moderate-intensity days and two interval days, with slower-paced sessions
lasting about 40 minutes, and faster sessions no more than 20. If you also lift
weights, the slower cardio sessions can last closer to 20 minutes. For his
part, Kravitz says he can make good arguments for any of the previously
mentioned routines — just not in isolation from each other. That’s why he does
workouts mimicking all three of them (easy, moderate and intense) each week.
“Don’t narrow your options,” he advises. “Varying your stimulus and
intensity will offer the greatest benefits — whatever your fitness goals.”
Bob Condor is a Seattle-based health and fitness writer.
What's Next? (Back to Top)
Not sure whether it’s time to push your cardio efforts forward or dial them
back a bit? Here are some resources from the Experience Life archives to help you plan the next phase of your fitness journey. If you’re just starting out:
It’s important to celebrate even the
smallest fitness victories, and to seek out activities that will motivate
you to move. If it’s been a while since you’ve worked out, try a slightly more
vigorous version of activities you already do — Nordic walking vs. regular
walking, for instance. And then start savoring the gradual shifts in your energy
levels and moods that accompany improved fitness.
If you’re ready to step it up:
Eventually, your body will adapt to your
same old workout routine. When you stop seeing results, you might consider
kicking your intensity up a notch, mixing up your activities and getting more
organized about your goals. Fitness testing can be helpful for setting
benchmarks, and working with a personal trainer to periodize your routine can
ensure that you keep making strides.
If you’re looking for a serious challenge:
Applying techniques such as
high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or the Tabata Protocol further ups the
ante on your workout intensity. Why should you push your pace and explore your
body’s limits? Doing so can lead to impressive aerobic and anaerobic fitness
gains — not to mention greater fat loss.
If you’re on the edge of burning out:
Remember that it’s during your
recovery period when your body reaps the rewards of all the hard work you’ve
done and repairs any damage you did in the process. Backing off your cardio
intensity — or taking a more varied approach to your workout routine — might
net you better fitness gains than just working harder.
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May 21, 2009
Rose says:
Cardio for muscle building is going to take advantage of high intensity interval training.High intensity interval training is a form of cardio in which you perform an activity at different intensity levels,from low intensity to high intensity and you cycle the levels throughout the cardio session.