The Cure for Cardio ADD
By Nia Shanks
You don’t mind going to the gym and lifting heavy weights. You don’t mind
pushing yourself to reach a new personal record on the bench press, squat,
deadlift, and other various exercises. You also love the challenge of shattering
your personal records on assistance exercises every week. However, when it comes
to conditioning work or any form of “cardio,” going to the dentist can actually
sound like a much more appealing option.
Not only is conditioning work great for promoting fat loss, but it’s also
important for training and improving the health of the cardiovascular system
(heart, veins, arteries). While conditioning and/or cardio work may seem like
they don’t pay off immediately, it’s very important that everyone engages in
some form of it each week. After all, you don’t want to get winded just from
walking across the room when you’re 60 years old, do you?
While spending time on a machine is incredibly boring, many people just don’t
have access to the more entertaining (and effective) tools for conditioning work
and fat loss. The vast majority of gyms don’t have tires, sleds, Strongman
equipment, or Prowlers, and most people can’t put the money aside to buy those
tools.
In this article, I want to share some methods that you can use to improve
your GPP, lose weight, improve your cardiovascular health, or round out your
training program so your heart doesn’t explode ten years down the road. These
methods can be used either at home without any equipment or in the most basic
commercial gym setting.
Incline walking on a treadmill: I admit that I abhor most cardio
machines. However, I have found that walking on a treadmill with a generous
incline can be a great addition to your training program. Start out with ten
minutes at the highest incline you can tolerate with a brisk pace and work up to
20–25 minutes. Note: Make sure you don’t hold on to the handles when
you’re walking.
Burpee intervals: These are a personal favorite because they’re very
effective and don’t take much time to complete. If you aren’t sure how to
perform a burpee, all you do is squat down, put your hands in front of your
feet, kick your feet back so you’re in the top position of a push-up, kick your
feet back up to your hands, and then explode straight up into the air. Land and
repeat.
Start by performing 10 burpees and then rest for 60 seconds (90 seconds if
needed). Repeat that for a total of 5–10 rounds, depending on your experience
and current conditioning level. If you want to make this more challenging, you
have a few options.
· Decrease the rest periods.
· Perform more burpees.
· Add a push-up to each burpee (perform the push-up after you kick
your feet back).
· Perform the most advanced version, which includes a push-up and
chin-up. After you drop down and kick your feet back, do a push-up, kick your
feet back to the starting position and then explode into the air, grab the
pull-up bar and perform a pull-up. Land and repeat.
Ladders: To perform a ladder, choose 2–3 exercises and perform 10 reps
for each exercise. Then perform nine reps for each and then eight, all the way
down to one. If you really want to kick your butt, work your way back up the
ladder.
Two of my favorite exercises to use with this method are jump squats and
push-ups. Perform 10 jump squats, immediately perform 10 push-ups, and then work
your way down the ladder until you perform a single rep for each exercise.
You can also use exercises that can be performed with kettlebells or
dumbbells. For example, kettlebell/dumbbell swings and push-ups can be performed
in the same manner as explained above.
Jump rope intervals: These are another personal favorite of mine.
Start out by jumping rope for 30 seconds and rest for 60 seconds. Start out with
10 rounds in this fashion. To make things more challenging, you can:
· Increase the work period.
· Decrease the rest period.
· Use different foot work patterns such as alternating high knees,
butt kicks, single leg hops, and other techniques.
If you’ve never done these before, be prepared to be humbled.
Body weight circuits: When I design body weight circuits, I generally
choose two lower body exercises, a core exercise, and an upper body push/pull.
This way you engage every muscle in the body. However, the combinations and
possibilities are endless, so feel free to create your own.
Here’s a sample body weight circuit:
· Body weight squats
· Close grip push-ups
· Inverted rows
· Reverse lunges
· Side planks
You can perform each exercise for a specified number of reps, but I like to
perform each exercise for a set period of time. For example, perform each
exercise for 30 seconds before moving on to the next exercise in the list. After
you complete the circuit, rest for 1–2 minutes before repeating 2–5 more
circuits.
Kettlebell or dumbbell intervals: Two of my favorite kettlebell
exercises to use for intervals are swings and one arm snatches. If you’ve never
trained with kettlebells, stick to the swings because snatches have a learning
curve.
For the swings, you can perform them using both arms at the same time or use
one hand at a time and perform a set with each arm. When performing snatches, I
always suggest using one arm at a time and keeping the weight on the light side.
After all, this work is for conditioning, not strength training.
For example, perform 10 snatches (start with one arm before switching to the
other), rest 60–90 seconds, and repeat 2–5 more times. This same format can be
applied to the kettlebell/dumbbell swings.
Medleys: If you get bored easily with conditioning work, you might
prefer this style. Pick a few different methods mentioned above and string them
together. For example, walk on a treadmill with a high incline for 10 minutes,
perform 5–10 jump rope intervals, and finish with a couple rounds of body weight
circuits. This way you aren’t spending too much time on one thing, which is the
ultimate cure for cardio ADD.
If you haven’t been doing any form of conditioning, start slowly by
incorporating 1–2 days a week into your current training program. I prefer to do
these workouts on “off” days so I get more activity and can still put 100
percent into lifting days.
Nia Shanks is a personal trainer and author for Fit Girl World,
BodyBuilding.com, and EliteFTS. She has also contributed to TMuscle. Her
training philosophy focuses on getting individuals the best results in the least
amount of time. Her motto is, “revolve your eating patterns and training
around your life, not vice versa.” She strongly believes that diet and
exercise should be made as simple as possible. Nia graduated from the University
of Louisville with a degree in exercise science with high honors. She is the SPF
push/pull world record holder for her division with a bench press of 145
lbs and a deadlift of 300 lbs at a body weight of 122
lbs. For more information, visit
www.TheFatSolutions.com.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
