Cardiovascular Training

9:07 PM Remy Maguire - Manifest the Best 0 Comments

I can't believe the number of pages of notes and stick drawings I have from the conference! I'm going to do my best to review and report all the best stuff. The first class I took was all about Cardio Programming -- and how to develop a great routine that will really give you the benefits and results you want -- increased lung capacity, stronger stroke volume (how well your heart pumps) and faster more energetic cardio performance not to mention optimal calorie burning!

Firstly, let me say something I know I've mentioned before. I often hear people talking about the "fat buring zone" and have even had a client tell me she didn't want to sweat or get out of breath because then she wouldn't be burning fat. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Sorry to be tough but it's true. This is a long standing myth based on twisted facts. Truth is...If your goal is to lose fat you have to burn more calories which means you have to work a little harder. Harder exercise burns MORE calories in the same amount of time, however, it burns less fat per calorie. This is where the confusion comes from. More carbs, sugars, glucose is burned when you exercise at a higher level but absolutely more fat and calories are burned in total. So, go BIG, go HARD and you'll reap the benefits of fat loss, energy increase and cardiovascular improvement (in less time!) I promise it's only hard for awhile, maybe a minute at a time, and ANYONE can do it. And don't worry, you don't have to work this intensely all the time.

Second point: Switch it up. Don't do the same thing all the time or guess what- you get the same thing. And that won't get you too far. So try to balance your week's work. For example, if you take my Spin class on Monday night and work super hard intervals getting your heart rate and work load up to it's max, go easier on Tuesday, maybe go for a swim or longer slower jog. You only want to work at super high intensities once or twice a week.

What is super high intensity? About 80-90% of your maximum heart rate. Or a 7-9 on the RPE scale (rate of perceived exertion).

Best way to do these high intesity workouts is with intervals or "surges". Once or twice a week plan to go "full on" and push your body's limits. This can be done outside, on a track, on any cardio machine or in the pool. Warm-up, then increase your effort and intensity to a high level and then recover. This is an interval...work/rest. The time you spend in each place, rest or work depends on your fitness and your goals. This is the best way to improve speed, cardio capacity and a fast and efficient way to burn tons of calories. A novice or newbie to this type of training will see improvements of 20-25% in 12 weeks! An experienced runner about 5-10%. Every 1% increase in training means a 1/2% - 1% improvement in race performance. Awesome! Everyone will be buring more calories with this type of work. So, if your goal is weight and fat loss this type of training should be a part of your routine. Start slow and easy: warm up for a few minutes and then push your pace to a point where your breathing is labored and you don't want to talk for 15-30 seconds then take a minute or two to return your breathing to almost normal and do it again!

So what are you training for? A marathon? For time or just to finish? A 5k? A run in the park with your family? No matter what, we all want to perform at our best whether its a race or the pace of daily life.

Make a plan. Build a structure with your workouts. Train really hard sometimes. Rest. Listen to your body.

If you have any questions or would like help designing you own interval program or weekly cardio plan shoot me an email at remy@nwpersonaltraining.com I am more than happy to help!