When I design ?Cardio? programmes for my clients I normally have only about 20-30 minutes to cover so obviously the intensity needs to be quite high (providing that my client is fit enough to do 20 minutes of continuous activity, that is!).
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When it comes to cardio training, variation is the key ? you need to challenge yourself in many different ways to get the best results, and if you only do one form of cardio workout then you will very likely only maintain your fitness and see very little improvement. However, the funny thing is that what will work for one person will not work for another, so in the long run you will have to adapt your programme to each individual client. For example, one client might get very fit from hill droints, whereas another will improve more doing short intervals?.at the end of the day, everyone is different, with different capabilities, preferences and goals.
With this in mind, today I?m going to share with you a range of different workout templates that I use with my clients ? these templates form the foundation of my cardio training, and they can be used for a range of activities ? e.g.? running, walking, cycling, rowing etc. To a certain extent they can also be used with cardio machines, and in some cases the machines have these programmes inbuilt.
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Template 1: Intervals
- 2 mins ?Fast?
- 1 min ? Recovery
- Repeat 5 times
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OR
- 4 mins ? ?Fast?
- 30 secs ? Recovery
- Repeat 3 times
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?Fast? obviously depends on the ability of the client and also on the length of work and recovery time ? the shorter the work time and the longer the recovery time, the ?faster? / ?harder? you can work. Personally I like using the times given above, but there are unlimited ways that you can vary interval training by manipulating recovery time and interval length.
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Template 2: Pyramids
- 1 min fast, 1 min recovery
- 2 min fast, 1 min recovery
- 3 min fast, 1 min recovery
- 2 min fast, 1 min recovery
- 1 min fast, 1 min recovery
You can vary pyramids by changing the rest and work times, by doing the whole pyramid or doing an ascending pyramid (ending on a longer work time) or descending pyramid (ending on a shorter work time). Again, there are unlimited ways that you can challenge a person using a pyramid.
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Template 3: Fartlek
This template is essentially ?random? ? My clients will know that we are doing fartlek when I bring my dice! My dice has numbers on it such as 60 secs, 90 secs etc. and when I throw it, it will determine how long the interval (work and rest) will be. You can use a regular 6-sided dice for this and just assign times to each of the 6 numbers, or you can even use a 9-sided dice!
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Template 4: Hill Reps
This is basically running up and down a hill and is a brilliant way of building up your fitness.It is also actually a great muscular endurance workout because you will use more muscle running up a hill than when you run on the flat. Generally I normally see big improvements in my clients after getting them to perform hill reps!
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Template 5: Track
Using a running track is a way of performing ?intervals? that is based on distance rather than time, and is a great way of seeing progress. If you have access to a running track you can do unlimited variations, such as 4?400 meters, 2?800m, 1x 1000m + 1x400m etc. You can also do a pyramid on the track, e.g. 400m, 600m,800m, 600m, 200m. Recovery can also be done in terms of distance or time ? e.g. resting 1-2 minutes between runs, or walking the same distance that you ran, etc.
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Have Fun!
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By: Abdi-Karim Berleen/Personal Trainer in Loughton
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Source: http://www.fitnessnewspaper.com/2012/12/03/pyramids-fartlek-and-intervals-by-abdi-berleen/
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