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Hi Everyone,
You may have noticed that I like variety in my workouts, which is why I have shared over 300 different workouts with you in the past 16 months. The same is true of my cardio. I don’t repeat the same cardio routine day after day (boring!).
Many people swear by fasted cardio, and do their running or walking in the morning before having breakfast. I always eat something before working out. This is an individual decision, and you should take into account how your stomach reacts, and what your energy level is like during your workout. If I don’t eat something I feel like I have no energy.
When deciding what type of cardio to do each day I take into account any additional workout that I have done, how my body feels, and what I did the day before. For example, if my workout of the day is a high intensity interval workout (HIIT) I will most likely walk, or do steady state cardio at an easy pace on the treadmill. If the HIIT workout was particularly intense or consists of multiple rounds I count that as my cardio, and don’t add anything additional.
Walking:
I generally start with 1-2 minutes with no incline for all walking to warm up, and I keep the pace around 4.0-4.2.
Walk 1 (Total Time 35-45 Minutes):
-Minutes 1-2: No Incline.
-Minutes 2-10: Select a challenging incline that makes you sweat, increases your heart rate, and breathing.
-Minutes 10-12: No Incline.
-Minutes 12-20: Increase the incline challenge by 1-2%.
-Minutes 20-22: No Incline or very low incline (1.5-2.5%).
-Minutes 22-30: Moderate Incline.
Cool Down: 5 minutes at no incline, decreasing to a comfortable pace.
Walk 2: Incline Intervals (Total Time 30-45 Minutes):
-Minutes 1-2: Warm Up, no incline comfortable pace.
-Minutes 2-30: Alternate incline every two minutes, varying between very challenging, and easy paces.
-Cool Down: 5 minutes walking at a comfortable pace, allowing your heart rate to return to normal.
Walk 3: Incline Challenge (Total Time 20-35 Minutes):
-Minutes 1-2: Warm Up, no incline, comfortable pace.
-Minutes 2-15 (or 30): Maximum incline that you can maintain for an extended period of time.
-Minutes 15-20 (or 30-35 for longer workouts): Cool Down, no incline, comfortable pace.
Running:
For the purposes of this post I will stick to describing indoor running on the treadmill. In the warmer months I do 99% of my running outdoors.
Run 1: Steady State Cardio (30 Minutes):
-Warm Up.
-Minutes 1-30: Run at a comfortably challenging pace. You should be sweating, but should be able to carry on a conversation.
-Cool Down: 5 Minutes
Run 2: 3 Mile Pace Climber (Time varies depending on your mile pace):
-Warm Up.
-Mile 1: Comfortably Challenging/Conversation Pace.
-Mile 2: Increase the speed to a pace where you can still talk, but it is challenging.
-Mile 3: Race Pace speed.
-Cool Down: 5 minutes
Run 3: Treadmill 5K (Time varies depending on mile pace):
-Warm Up
-Cool Down: 5 minutes.
-Run 4: 3 Mile Interval (Time Varies):
-Warm Up.
-Mile 1: Comfortable Pace.
-Mile 2: Race Pace.
-Mile 3: Comfortable Pace
-Cool Down: 5 Minutes.
Run 5: 30 Minute Interval Variation (30 Minutes):
-Warm Up.
-Vary Interval every 1-2 minutes, alternating between easy, and challenging paces.
-Cool Down.
Run 5: Long Run:
*I typically do my long runs outside, even in the cold months, but they can be done on a treadmill.
-Run at a comfortable pace for desired distance or length of time. This can vary from 45-60 minutes for me on the treadmill. Outside I focus on miles and will do 8-13 miles.
Need Motivation:
-Sign Up for a 5K, 10K, or a Half Marathon in your area! Every time you run or walk you will know that you are training for something. It can be a great motivator to train and stay consistent with your cardio!
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