Improve Your Cardiovascular Endurance and Fitness With This Workout

Here’s a challenging, efficient cardio circuit for you to try.  Basically, it’s a one-mile run consisting of progressively longer distances and rest intervals.  Please note this workout is not meant to be done at a “light jog” pace.  Push yourself to maintain as aggressive a pace as you can manage for each interval.

After an appropriate warmup, do the following:

8 x 50 yards — 15 second active rest interval (keep moving; walk, light jog, etc.) between sprints; 30 second rest interval upon completion of all 8 sprints

4 x 100 yards — 30 second active rest interval between sprints; 60 second rest interval upon completion of all 4 sprints

2 x 200 yards — 60 second active rest interval between sprints; 2 minute rest interval upon completion of both sprints

1 x 400 yards — cool down until breathing normally

You’ll notice I’ve described all the runs as “sprints.”  That may or may not be realistic, depending on your typical cardio routine and fitness level.  You’ll probably be able to maintain a faster pace running the 50 yard intervals than you will running the final, 400 yard distance.  That’s okay, as long as you’re challenging yourself to do your personal best.

Your thoughts?

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Improve Your Cardiovascular Endurance and Fitness With This Workout

Here’s a challenging, efficient cardio circuit for you to try.  Basically, it’s a one-mile run consisting of progressively longer distances and rest intervals.  Please note this workout is not meant to be done at a “light jog” pace.  Push yourself to maintain as aggressive a pace as you can manage for each interval.

After an appropriate warmup, do the following:

8 x 50 yards — 15 second active rest interval (keep moving; walk, light jog, etc.) between sprints; 30 second rest interval upon completion of all 8 sprints

4 x 100 yards — 30 second active rest interval between sprints; 60 second rest interval upon completion of all 4 sprints

2 x 200 yards — 60 second active rest interval between sprints; 2 minute rest interval upon completion of both sprints

1 x 400 yards — cool down until breathing normally

You’ll notice I’ve described all the runs as “sprints.”  That may or may not be realistic, depending on your typical cardio routine and fitness level.  You’ll probably be able to maintain a faster pace running the 50 yard intervals than you will running the final, 400 yard distance.  That’s okay, as long as you’re challenging yourself to do your personal best.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Lift Weights to Burn More Fat

If you want to get lean, weight training is the way to go, according to a recent University of South Carolina study.

In the study, researchers concluded that weight training may work better than cardio, to burn fat.

Over the course of a year, overweight people who lifted weights lost more body fat than those who ran.

Additionally, the weightlifters experienced an increase in “functional capacity” (the ability to perform everyday tasks), which may have led to a surge in their daily activities and calories burned.

Compound movements – those that engage multiple joints and muscle groups – yield the best return on your exercise investment, as compared to isolation exercises.

Try to get in the weight room 2-3 times a week.  You don’t necessarily have to eliminate your cardio training altogether, but you can train smarter by incorporating more high-intensity interval cardio training and reducing the slow, steady stuff.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Improve Your Cardiovascular Endurance and Fitness With This Workout

Here’s a challenging, efficient cardio circuit for you to try.  Basically, it’s a one-mile run consisting of progressively longer distances and rest intervals.  Please note this workout is not meant to be done at a “light jog” pace.  Push yourself to maintain as aggressive a pace as you can manage for each interval.

After an appropriate warmup, do the following:

8 x 50 yards — 15 second active rest interval (keep moving; walk, light jog, etc.) between sprints; 30 second rest interval upon completion of all 8 sprints

4 x 100 yards — 30 second active rest interval between sprints; 60 second rest interval upon completion of all 4 sprints

2 x 200 yards — 60 second active rest interval between sprints; 2 minute rest interval upon completion of both sprints

1 x 400 yards — cool down until breathing normally

You’ll notice I’ve described all the runs as “sprints.”  That may or may not be realistic, depending on your typical cardio routine and fitness level.  You’ll probably be able to maintain a faster pace running the 50 yard intervals than you will running the final, 400 yard distance.  That’s okay, as long as you’re challenging yourself to do your personal best.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Purposeful, Goal-Oriented Training

One of our first action items, at ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE TRAINING CENTER, is to request that our new clients complete a questionnaire.  In addition to the usual, basic demographic information, I like to understand his/her past and present sport(s) participation, and level of athletic and training experience.  Most importantly, I ask them to list their training goals and objectives:  What do they want to accomplish as a result of their Strength and Conditioning training?  You should be asking yourself the same question.  Developing strength, speed, agility, and athleticism is great, as long as it helps you improve your performance in your sport(s) of choice (or, facilitates your “functionability” in your activities of daily living).  Additionally, understanding my clients’ goals is an important consideration in the development of their Strength and Conditioning plan.  Your training plan – including intensity, frequency, volume, exercise selection, nutrition, and rest & recovery – should be aligned with your goals.

It All Starts With Your Core.  It doesn’t matter what sport you play or, for that matter, if you even participate in sports at all.  A strong core is essential for virtually all functional movement.  And when I use the term “core,” I’m not just talking about abs.  I’m referring to the area between your shoulders and hips.  Rotational and Core Strengthening exercises should be an integral part of your Strength and Conditioning program.

Develop Strong and Powerful Legs.  Want to run faster?  Jump higher?  Throw the ball harder and farther?  Improve your bat speed?  Core and lower extremity strength and power is the key.  Whether you’re running, jumping, throwing, or hitting, your hips and legs initiate and generate the power.  And a stronger core and legs can also decrease the amount of torque on your shoulder when executing the throwing motion.

Be Smart With Your Cardio.  I work with a lot of athletes, teams, and programs whose idea of cardio training involves jogging a mile or two, a few days per week.  How do they think this approach is going to help them reach their goals?  I have no idea.  I won’t argue that every sport has an endurance component, but how many sports are played at a slow steady pace, without any intermittent bursts of strength and power?  Even distance runners benefit from incorporating High-Intensity Interval Training into their conditioning regimen, according to volumes of data.  Your training plan should include alternating intervals of high- and low-intensity cardio.  Generally, we use a 3:1 ratio (low:high) in most of our cardio training.

Be Wary of the “Boot Camp” Approach.  Training to the point of exhaustion/fatigue has become fashionable in some workout programs, even though there is no data that supports training to the point of exhaustion.  In fact, Sports and Conditioning research indicates that full muscular activation can be achieved before you reach the point of exhaustion.  Additionally, as fatigue sets in, technique tends to suffer.  Poor technique has been shown to compromise training results and increase the potential for injury.

Have a plan.  Follow your plan.  Your training should reflect the demands of your sport.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Add Interval Training to Your Routine

How would you like to cut your cardio training time in half, yet actually yield better fitness results?  (I think that’s referred to as, “having your cake and eating it, too!”)  Here’s how – and why – adding interval training to your cardio routine can be an efficient and effective approach for you.

You’ve probably heard of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).  This type of training involves alternating high- and low-intensity exercise over a pre-determined period of time.  I like a ratio of 1:3, high-intensity to low-intensity.  The beauty of HIIT is that it doesn’t matter how you get your cardio.  This approach applies to walking, running, biking (stationary or otherwise), treadmill, elliptical, etc.  The next time you do your cardio training, instead of 20-30 minutes at a slow, steady pace, try this:

For your first session, plan for 10 minutes of training, not counting your warm-up (about 2 minutes, at a light-to-moderate pace).  Trust me, this will be more challenging than you think, and you can always add intervals, as you are able.

• After your warm-up, divide 10 minutes into five (5), two-minute intervals.
• For the first interval, go as hard as you can (keep as aggressive a pace as you can manage) for 30 seconds.
• For the next 90 seconds, maintain a moderate, steady pace.  (but don’t stop!)  This is your active recovery phase.  You’ve completed one (1) interval.
• Repeat, immediately, four (4) more times.

HIIT is effective because, physiologically, short bursts of vigorous exercise (exertion) help to get fat out of “storage” and into the bloodstream, where it can be used as energy.  Additionally, the body’s energy system that fuels low-intensity, cardiovascular exercise (the slow, steady pace I referred to, earlier) works at the expense of the energy system that fuels Strength training.  High-intensity cardio won’t compromise your Strength training (muscle-building) results, and it will help to accelerate your fat loss.

Challenge yourself!  Give Interval Training a try!

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?