Mention cardio and most people will run (LOL) a mile very fast…AWAY from you!
Cardiovascular training comes in different guises, different speeds and is a constant source of debate among fitness fans and sofa slobs alike.
Admittedly, the slob argument is pretty simple, straightforward and never takes very long…
Slob 1: “Why on earth would anyone want to deliberately do something that makes them tired, hot and sweaty and feel like they’re about to have a heart attack?”
Slob 2: “Yep, I agree; makes no sense to me whatsover – pass me some of that chocolate will you…?”
But for the fitness fans (FF)…
FF1: “I enjoy steady state cardio; there’s nothing quite like running at an even pace for an hour.”
FF2: “Nooo, riding a bike is the best way to do steady state cardio!”
FF3: “Walking is the best way actually, everyone knows that..”
FF4: “You three have got it all wrong! High intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best – steady state is a waste of time.”
FF5: “Actually, you ALL have it wrong; MAX interval training is the only way. Knock yourselves out with all that other stuff, but if it’s results you want then it has to be MIT every time.”
FF6: “Erm, FF5…that’s not right. You should alternate between steady and HIIT or MIT – THAT’S the best way to get results.
And so it goes on!
It’s no wonder some people don’t know what to do for the best and then end up doing nothing at all!
Well, there are valid reasons for both – it all depends on what you’re training for and what your goals, and final objectives, are. But for the purposes of our six pack challenge, we want to burn fat, we’re busy and need to be efficient with our time…so it’s HIIT for us and only 20 minutes of it, with a good warm up beforehand and cool down afterwards.
So on today’s six pack training menu was 20 minutes of High Intensity cardio.
I know it doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re doing a 40/20 second split on the bike with it maxed out for High…those Low seconds go by FAST.
I’ve been practising this particular form of speciality ‘torture’ for a while now, in between other HIIT programmes, and I still get off the bike with legs like jelly and feeling like I’m in the middle of some strange out-of-body experience.
At the end of those 20 minutes I have no control over my limbs whatsoever, and coherent speech is out of the question!
How many calories did I kill…? 139.
That level of masochism, effort and sweat for a stingy 139 calories! Good job cardio isn’t just about burning calories otherwise I’d be a bit miffed!
Day three tomorrow – the workout doesn’t LOOK too bad actually. But, as is often the case with workouts that don’t look too bad, those looks can be deceiving!
See you tomorrow 🙂
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