Effective Cardio Training Series: 3 Steps for Effective Cardio Training and a Sample Program

I do not want to bash cardio and I am not a member of the anti cardio tribe.  As a matter of fact, I love cardio training for the endorphins and I think it’s necessary for cardiovascular health.  Plus endurance is important for life!

Cardio is a TOOL in your fat loss but not the be all end all for fat loss.  As a matter of fact,The purpose of Cardio is not fat loss.  It’s purpose is to strengthen your heart and improve blood flow.

Cardiovascular - Cardio = Heart Vascular = Blood Vessels

I want to teach people how to effectively use cardio to their advantage whether they want to lose fat, gain weight, or just get into better cardiovascular condition.  

This all happens within the context of proper Programming.  Here are 3 Tips For Effective Cardiovascular Training

Stop Taking the Path of Least Resistance

Answer this question:  Which is tougher?

A 20 minute High Intensity workout or staying on the elliptical for 60 minutes.

The 20 minute High Intensity workout is harder which is why most people choose to do the elliptical for 60 minutes.  Is it better than doing nothing?  Yes.  Is it the most effective for fat loss goals?  No.

Your goal in your training program is to improve your recovery time and to improve your limits.  Most people never get to this point because they do the same steady state workout whether it is on a machine or on a class. There is a place for steady state training in a Cardio Program but you must add variety to your cardio workout schedule

Add Variety to your Workout Schedule

You should constantly be challenging yourself by varying your cardio workouts.  If you have a favorite Group X Class, then continue to take that class 1-2x per week and then the rest of the time mix it up with circuit training, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and anything else that challenges you.

I wrote a blog post for my fellow group Fitness Instructors about why Instructors put on excess body fat even while teaching strenuous classes several times per week.  Read here and this may give you more perspective into why utilizing Cardio training only is ineffective when wanting to lose body fat.

Develop a Cardio PROGRAM

You cannot do High Intensity Interval Training every day and if you are, then you are not doing it right. I normally recommend 2 times per week.  The other days you need to do a medium intensity workout and there also needs to be a lower intensity workout to recover.

Case Study

Leah is a 35 year old woman who wants to lose about 15 more pounds of fat.  She’s started eating a diet incorporating fresh foods and she just started working out at the gym.  She really enjoys attending Zumba 3x per week.  Unfortunately she hasn’t seen much change for doing this.  She’s even added in running for an hour but seen minimal change.

What should her Cardio Program Look Like?

My recommendation is to start with 4 days so that she can have something to build on.  Here’s my recommendation for Leah.

1. Find her Maximum Heart Rate.  Runners web has an easy way to find this
2. Encourage her to buy a HR monitor for objective measurements
3. Set up her Cardio Training Program

• Since Leah is new to HIIT training, I want her to build a base first. This most likely will be very challenging and also uncomfortable.  It takes time to get the rhythm together
• This program will last for about 6 weeks and then I would make changes such as using strength training complexes, interval workouts, and other modalities to switch things up.

Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
Rest	HIIT Training 20 mins :30 ON/ 1 minute off	Recovery Workout	Rest	HIIT 20 mins :30 ON/1 Minute Recovery	Medium Intensity Workout: Steady State Cardio 30 mins-45 mins	Active Rest 30 mins - 60 mins of activity
	Treadmill or Bike	Zumba Class		Treadmill or Bike	Eliptiical Zumba  or Workout Video	Zumba Class Easy Jog
	85%-90%	65%-85%		85%-90%	70%-85%	Have FUN!

Bottom Line:

Programming is CRUCIAL in order to see results.  The issue I see with most gym Goers is that there is no Programming.  There’s just throw things together, work up a sweat, and go from there.

Next we will discuss what some call “Cardio Strength Training”