Cardio workout may require some serious commitment, however, the benefits that come along with it can keep you motivated for a long time.
There are numerous studies that speak about the benefits related to health and weight management of aerobic exercises. But performing these grueling exercises for 60 minutes can be more challenging than visiting your in-laws.
Low-intensity aerobic exercise, also known as Long Slow Distance (LSD) gives many benefits when incorporated into your workout. But sometimes we face time constraints and most of us want all benefits for the price we pay at the gym. This brings us the opportunity to capitalize on interval training.
There is scientific backing that suggests that high-intensity workouts have similar effects that long low-intensity exercises exhibit. This may sound as great news that the workouts take less time to finish. Though designed for a limited duration, these workouts are far from easy.
Going Distance
There are some days when you feel you have hit a jackpot at your gym and then there are days when you feel like a sloth moving up a tree. This workout focuses covering the most distance instead of setting goals for time.
Workout
Set distance mode on your treadmill. Decide on how much distance you want to cover – quarter mile, half mile or a mile. Once you are set, run as fast as you can to cover that distance. Now take active rest by slowly jogging the same period.
Your workout would be as follows: Half a mile quick run, half a mile jog. And then all that is left is to drag yourself to the shower.
Follow The Clock
Timings is a key factor that makes interval trainings extremely effective. Tabata is an important interval based workout that is only 4-minute long and is divided into 20-second activity period followed by 10-second rest interval. You need to groove as much as you can during the 20 seconds, and then rest for 10 seconds. Carry on with the cycle for 4 minutes. Since the intense portion is 170{317a7769e272dec17b69bda26c6a5a4c5e6799efcd8a85f72cb552b76862c2b9} VO2 that makes it 100 times harder than an all-out. To ease up and make it more manageable here is a workout that can assist you in gaining its benefits.
Workout
Each workout should be performed twice a week, each week.
Set resistance to all out on a spin bike.
Week 1-2: To begin the workout start off by reversing the workout; hard 10 seconds and easy 20 seconds. Continue the cycle for 4 minutes.
Week 3: Perform 15 seconds hard and 15 seconds easy. Complete the cycle for 4 minutes.
Week 4: Notch up to 20 seconds hard and 20 seconds easy workout. Complete 8 rounds. This will account for a little more than 4 minutes.
Week 5: Reduce the easy interval to 15 seconds while keeping it hard for 20 seconds. Perform 8 rounds
Week 6: And there you are! 20-second hard workout followed by 10-second easy period. Complete 8 rounds for 4 minutes to turn into a fitness beast.
Speedplay
Unstructured running or speedplay is an interval training method primarily used by triathletes. This type of training is a composite of fast and slow movements, but differs from other exercises since there is no structured way to perform it. You have to perform the workout without stopping in between until you complete your running time.
Workout
Choose a path where you are going to perform the run. Then set a time period for which you would be running, let’s say half an hour. You can change your pace whenever you feel like without cutting your run short. Try putting in as much effort as you can and enjoy a grinding run for half an hour.
