 Vary intensity of your workout
When it comes to making changes in your cardio exercise program, there are three areas you can focus on:
Frequency – How often you exercise
Intensity – How hard you exercise
Duration – The length of each exercise session
Because most people find it difficult to get in the minimum amount of time for their workout, let's focus on increasing intensity. There are several ways to accomplish this.
You can make the entire duration of your workout a bit more intense. Examples of this would be:
Treadmill – increase the incline or speed
Elliptical machine or Stationary Bike – increase the resistance or rpms
If you like to take walks, you might want to find a hill, increase your speed, or add some small wrist or ankle weights.
If you workout in a pool, you can also add resistance by slipping water wings around your wrists, putting on aqua gloves or working more in areas where you can't touch the bottom and need to keep yourself afloat while you work out.
Another way to increase intensity is to try a different mode. For example, if you have been only doing the treadmill, you might want to give the elliptical a try. You can split your routine between the two, working up to longer periods on the elliptical over time. If you are already comfortable on the elliptical, perhaps you can start working the stair mill into your routine? For those that like the stationary bike, why not try a spin class?
Then there is interval training. This is a type of cardio exercise where you significantly increase your intensity for short periods of time throughout your workout. An additional benefit of interval training is that it helps to shorten your recovery time - the amount of time it takes your heart to return to normal after being pushed hard. A shorter recovery time equals a healthier heart.
With interval training you push yourself as hard as you possibly can for anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes and then slow down and "catch your breath." Once you have recovered, you push again. A good place to start would be 30 second intervals with a "rest" of two to five minutes for a total period of 15-20 minutes. Here is a typical example:
Start off on a treadmill at a comfortable pace for about 5 minutes to get warmed up. For 30 seconds, set the incline and speed to the maximum that you can do without falling off. You should feel winded pretty quickly. At the end of 30 seconds, go back to that comfortable pace for 2 to 3 minutes. Then back to the max for another 30 second interval. Continue the pattern for 15 to 20 minutes, or for as long as you are able.
So, if you are stuck in a rut and are looking for better results, you may just need to make some changes to get your workout working better for you. |
