If you really insist on doing cardio, try this :o)

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This one is for my Muse and Tom, again :)

Hello Readers :)

Yes, I know it’s been a while :) Everything is good, almost perfect even, at this end and I trust these latest ramblings find you all in a similar position :)

This week’s post sees me venturing off onto exciting new territory for this blog – cardio  - in response to this charming request that I received from My Muse; henceforth referred to as MM.

“Hmmmm….blogggg!!!! I await patiently for ones wise words….please….maybe based on cardio? I don’t like cardio…the thought of being stuck on something for whole 20 mins bores me to death.. :) ”

I’ll be honest with you all here; I’m not exactly a huge cardio fan myself. I don’t think I’ve done any at all this year, hence the somewhat tongue in cheek title :) I don’t go running for fun and neither do I have any urges to participate in mass cardio gatherings thinly disguised as long obstacle courses, fun though I am sure they are :) For me cardio is currently reserved for when I am trying to lose body fat. That said a quick glance back to my post from last October shows that the last time I did that I only did 3 sessions :)

The Boredom Factor

After promising last post that “Blog requests will be honoured” and receiving such a polite message from MM I don’t really think I can get away with leaving it there though so I’ll start by addressing the boredom factor :)

My first recommendation is quite simple. Just do it :) I’ve employed this approach myself quite successfully; for my first bodybuilding show I did 45 minutes steady state, twice a day. The first session was usually a run on a treadmill, the second was a walk, just before bed – my girlfriend would drop me off 45 minutes away from home and I’d walk back :) This regime was so far beyond boring it was bordering on soul destroying, but I wanted to get in good shape so I just did it anyway :)

You’ll now understand why 20 minutes cardio isn’t a big deal to me :) 20 minutes should fly by, especially if you’re doing intervals. If you’re doing ‘em right you’ll be far too busy feeling exhausted to be bored :) Music helps a lot here and, perhaps unsurprisingly to readers of my last post, Motorhead are my interval training favourites :)

Just add weights :)

There are other ways to make cardio interesting too; ways that don’t involve “being stuck on something for whole 20 mins” :) The most exciting way I can think of is to throw weights into the mix :) There are lots of ways to do this, the only limit is your imagination really but I’ll share some workout ideas to get you going :) These are not easy by any means, but they’re not boring either :)

Giant Sets = Good :)

This is what I’d recommend MM to do. Use Giant Sets; a group of 4-6 exercises performed back to back with minimal rest between exercises for the uninitiated.

MM’s Giant Set :)

Start with the lower number of reps and build up to the higher one.

  1. Bodyweight Squat x 8-12
  2. Press Ups x 8-12
  3. Plank (15 secs)
  4. Lunges x 8-12 (4-6 each leg)
  5. Hip Raises x 8-12
  6. Burpees x 5-12

Rest for a minute and then do another Giant Set. Do 3 Giant Sets to start with and build up to as many as you can do in 20 minutes.

Including a warm up, cold down and stretch you’ve got a 45-60 minute workout that will allow you to maintain muscle mass, shape, tone and strength, burn body fat and it’s not boring :)

In the case of MM I’m recommending doing this routine 2-3 times a week, with no other training.

You may have noticed that I’ve included all bodyweight exercises in MM’s Giant Set. You don’t have to do this of course but I know that MM uses a very busy gym and getting hold of multiple pieces of kit might be challenging. Using bodyweight exercises solves this problem rather well :)

Want more variety? :)

I said that there were lots of ways so here’s another, courtesy of my mate Tom Robertson of GymAddict.com :) Unlike me Tom actually does cardio and I watched him smashing himself in the gym with this little number recently which he later posted on his FB page.

Tom’s Tantalising Thursday Training Plan – “Ass ‘n” Abz”

Warm Up

  1. Rower: 350m steady + 150m sprint x 2 = 1000m
  2. Circuit x7 rounds
  3. Kettlebell Swing x 30 reps (10 x double hand swings + 10 single arm swings (5 each arm) + 10 x double hand swings)
  4. Knee Grab Sit Ups x 15
  5. Mountain Climbers x 30 (15 each leg)

Cool Down

Again this is a pretty tough workout but I challenge anyone to find it boring :)

So there you go MM. Hopefully this has solved your boredom issues and revitalised your workouts too. I’m actually quite pleased with how this post has turned out :) If you’ve enjoyed it please ‘Share’ it, ‘Like’ it and ‘Tweet’ it :) Actually please do this even if you didn’t enjoy it :) Until next time …. :)