It’s easy to get distracted from our exercise routines, especially during this time of year. But we are getting closer to spring and maybe you’re carrying a few extra pounds or inches. Here is a way to tune up your body, get rid of extra pounds and increase your cardio endurance.

There are many types of cardio and I’m using the treadmill for an example here, however any cardio equipment will work. I am also using two basic forms of cardio workouts: steady state using heart rate parameters, and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). By combining these we can develop a cardio routine that will burn calories and fat fast.

Workout 1 Cardio – The steady state walk (30 Minutes) Steady state cardio offers a low impact workout that builds muscle mass and protects your joints. In steady state you want to achieve “the fat-burning zone.” This zone is determined by your heart rate which for most people is 65% of your maximum heart rate. During this zone your body is burning fat and not depending on sugar for energy.

•Begin by warming up on the treadmill or on any cardio equipment for five slow-to-moderate minutes.

•Start walking faster. Your incline is at 2 and your speed is between 2.5 – 3 mph. Continue for 5 to 10 minutes.

•Begin to push yourself a little by raising the incline to 3 or 4. Increase your speed to 3-4 mph. This is steady state and the point for most healthy adults to remain in for the rest of the walk. Stay here for apx. 18 minutes.

•Lower your incline gradually and reduce your speed for a 3-minute cool-down.

Workout 2 Cardio – HIIT (15-20 minutes) HIIT workouts will push you to your optimal level of training. The workout consists of periods of fast intervals with short recovery. HIIT will burn lots of calories fast, but remember fat and calories are not the same thing. HIIT is shorter than a steady state walk and fits in well for a tight schedule. These walks will continue to boost your metabolic rate for a short time even when you are at rest. You can make this workout whatever length of time you like. I am using 20 minutes in this example. Remember each workout can be adjusted to suit your current fitness level by changing the amount of time in each phase and add more recovery phases if needed.

•Begin by warming up on the treadmill or on any cardio equipment for 3 minutes moderately and low incline. Total time 3 min.

•Phase 1: walk for 2 minutes. Increase your incline by 2 levels, which means if you are at a level 1 then increase to a level 3. Also increase your speed by approximately .5 mph. Total time 5 min.

•Phase 2: walk for 2 minutes. Keep your incline at the same level put pick up the speed so you are walking as fast as you can, safely. Total time 7 min.

•Recovery Phase: walk for 1 minute moderately and low incline.
Total time 8 min.

•Phase 3: Walk for 2 minutes. Walk briskly and increase your incline by another level. The increase will be determined by your individual fitness level. Total time 10 min.

•Walk for 1 minute at phase 1. Total time 11 min.

•Walk for 2 minutes at phase 2. Total time 13 min.

•Walk for 1 minute in recovery phase. Total time 14 min.

•Walk for 2 minutes at phase 3. Total time 17 min.

•Walk for 2 minutes at the maximum incline and speed that you can safely.
Total time 19 min.

•Start slowing down and decreasing the incline. Walk moderately for 1 – 3 minutes. Total time apx. 20 min.

During week one do two days of Workout 1 and one day of Workout 2. Switch out the next week doing two days of HIIT and one day of Steady State. Keep this pattern going for as long as you like. I do not recommend doing three HIIT workouts in the same week as the body needs time to recover.

Accompany each workout with gentle stretching as part of your cool down.

Always check with a medical professional before starting this or any exercise routine.

Live healthy, be happy!