Cardio Conditioning
A lot of what you read these days has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It is difficult to believe what some coaches write, especially if your ideals are based around another sort of conditioning. Visit any big website and you will find forums full of people arguing the odds, it is unavoidable, no matter what you say someone will always know better.
Coaches, sports scientists, bodybuilders and freestyle performers will all argue about what is good and what’s not, they will argue their point until they are blue in the face, it is the way of the world. As an individual and to achieve your goals you have to try out new things and research the training tips you have been given. When I design programmes for people or I suggest a new exercise I always encourage that person to research my advice, to succeed it is essential that you do the right things, keep in mind your goals and reasons for training, it is the one and only way forward.
With that said I am about to offer my advice on superior cardio conditioning methods.
Cardio conditioning is all about getting fit, staying fit, toning up and getting the best from your workouts. Forget endless machine trips, forget meaningless training sessions and let’s focus on training superiority.
Circuits, yes they are ancient and yes they conjure up visions of huge moustached, hairy arsed military types barking at you. However they are a great way of training and achieving great results, the best thing about circuits is you can do them with limited space and kit, you can use bodyweight, a pair of dumbbells, a couple of weight plates a medicine ball, the list is endless. Circuits are the daddies of freestyle performance and they are my favourite form of training, more rewarding than a run and more effective than a resistance machine circuit at your local gym. They can be done in 30 mins and moulded to fit any sports specific programme or individual set goals.
Boxing, the sport of champions and the ultimate cardio conditioning component, this form of workout is demanding but well worth the effort. Rounds on a punch bag, rounds of skipping, hell, even rounds of just bodyweight work are hard enough. Time your rounds, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min even 5.
Five-minute rounds are particularly gruesome, for example choose 3 exercises, press-ups, dips and bag work and complete as many reps as you can of each exercise in 5 mins, rest until you have regained your breath and sanity and then repeat for 4 rounds, it is without a doubt, an absolute killer.
Roadwork, find a mile to a mile and a half route, jog it slowly and stop every 100 yards, knock out some press ups, dips, jumping squats, jumping lunges, whatever the terrain will allow. The idea with this approach is to be invigorated not incapacitated by the end, take your time (it is not a race) enjoy the scenery and test yourself, it may sound easy but prepare to be amazed!
Cardio conditioning offers endless possibilities, you could combine elements of each one if you wanted, set up a circuit of sledgehammer striking, bag work and bodyweight, time it, put reps to it, or just work to failure. Nowadays unless a client expresses specific running desires, I avoid endless miles, you just don’t need it. If you are not going to run a race and you don’t enjoy running, leave it to the people who do. Try out cardio conditioning and wise up to the benefits that yield from its use, the sooner people stop using cardio machines at the gym and use their brains the better off they will be.
Whatever you choose work carefully and correctly, research your ideas and coordinate them around your current programme, remember that to condition correctly, your programme must reflect the goals you desire, to be a runner you must run, specificity is an essential component of success, but lets all open our eyes to the benefits that can be gained from cardio conditioning.