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All roads to get the perfect body necessarily lead to a good cardio workout, a fact that is largely overlooked by many gym fanatics. Face It, having the perfect body isn’t of any use if you hide it beneath a hefty layer of fat for safe keeping. And the only sure way to get that muscle tone you’ve dreamed about is to, well you guessed it; cardio.
In the context of working out cardio is either overdone or underdone and almost never done right. The reason being that cardio in excess is disadvantageous and cardio when inadequate is just fattening. As is the case with any strenuous workout when done in excess cardio eats into the muscle masses of the individual working backwards if your final goal is to achieve a dream body. On the other hand if you’re an athlete preparing for competition please continue your current training levels, there’s no such thing as too much cardio for an athlete but for a bodybuilder it’s a different story.
Here are a few tips on achieving best results from your cardio workout.
It’s an uphill battle
One of the best possible cardio forms is the age old act of running. Running helps to burn calories at a high rate while providing a full body workout. While interval training and sprints are beneficial ways of increasing running intensity adding hills to your run will add variety and excellent results.
Running hills or increasing the elevation on your treadmill is a brilliant way to cause greater strain on lower body muscle groups. Find a pace your comfortable running at and enjoy the amazing cardio experience while working lower body and lower abdominal muscles
Introducing Circuits
Circuits are an excellent way of achieving a highly intensive workout in a very short time. The highlighting factor of circuit training comes in the form of your ability to pack a weight training routine into a cardio routine, maximizing the benefits of both simultaneously.
A circuit usually consists of weights based sets performed without a break in between but why not switch things up a little by adding a cardio workout to your weight routine. Do a set of squats and go immediately into a 5 minute run. Circuits should be used sparingly due to the high demands they place on the body.
Skip tip and lift
Another severely understated cardio form is skipping. Skipping gives a great calorie burning workout while working the leg muscles very effectively.
Superset your upper body weight sets with a 5 minute skipping session to incorporate an effective cardio workout to your weight training. Make sure you don’t use this super set when working your lower body with weights to avoid hindering recovery time.
Are you game?
The biggest setback in doing cardio is the boring motion of running, cycling and other similar workouts. Why not switch it up with a game of squash or a friendly game of tap rugby? Basketball also happens to be a very good option even though a high level of skill is necessary. Badminton on the other hand is a game that is easier to pick up.
A weekly game of your choice will give you the added benefit of performing a very complex cardio routine and the enjoyment of engaging in a game. High intensity sports like Squash are known to burn an immense amount of calories in short periods of time, plus the explosive stamina necessary to play the game will provide the added benefit of upping your stamina levels.
By Dilshan Senaratne
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