Cardio Speed: Pick Up The Pace

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Cardio Speed: Pick Up The Pace

If you want to win a race or transform your physique, slow and steady will not be the case. Of course, the sessions, even pace on the elliptical or treadmill can strengthen their contribution and help you relax. But these exercises do not necessarily make it easy to compress your jeans or smoking competition at its next 5-K.

While the logic behind "the miles I log, the more weight I lose or faster, I'll get" may appear healthy, there is a clever loophole Most people do not consider. Your body is a master adapter. When he gets used to the routine, it becomes more efficient, so it uses less energy. Translation: You burn fewer calories and gains in speed and endurance levels outside.

"When you start to exercise, to challenge your body and answers," said Janet Hamilton, running coach and clinical exercise physiologist based in Atlanta. "If you continue to see results, you need to push your body regularly outside their comfort zone."

The best way to do this? Speed ​​training, which is more than accelerate its pace. It set up a slow metabolism, helps burn fat, build muscle, prevent plateaus and increases endurance. And this is the reward of physical training throughout the body quickly. Also busts boredom, builds confidence and improves mental strength, gives him the strength to keep going when the body wants to stop, said Jenny Hadfield, a coach and personal trainer in Chicago.

As valuable as speed drills are, you do not want to OD on them. "A little goes a long way," said Hadfield, who is also the author of Running mortals. "Speed ​​Exercise more than once a week can increase the risk of injury." So drag one of these fat burning workouts into your weekly routine. While race is a natural choice, you can apply these tactics to any cardio activity. Try them on the elliptical, bike or stair.

Tempos

If there is a workout worth adding to your routine, most of the coaches said to be tempos (maintaining a comfortably hard pace for an extended period of time).

"Tempos are the little black dress of fitness," said Hadfield.

"They are classic and benefit everyone. Teach your body to use oxygen more efficiently and run faster before fatiguing." This is because the tempos increase your lactate threshold or when your tired body at a given speed. This means that you can go harder and burn more calories before feeling like you need to call it a day. The trick is to work outside your comfort zone (or whatever your pace Hadfield called "happy"). On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being easy, 10 being killer), you should feel like you're a 7 or an 8. You are breathing hard but not so hard you're panting or having to stop.

Try: After 10 minutes of heating, increase your tempo pace and keep it for 15-20 minutes. End with a cooldown of 10 minutes. If maintaining a stronger stress than normal for 20 minutes is painfully punishes return scale: Keeping pace for five minutes, then recover at an easy pace for two minutes. Repeat three times, then cold.

Intervals

When activated high-intensity exercise (September 1 on that scale 1-10) with periods of recovery, you send your heart rate up and torch tons of calories, says health and fitness expert Kim Juarez, owner Team LOLA in Mill Valley, California. This is a great strategy when you are pressed for time. "You get the benefits of a training session of 60 minutes in 30 minutes," said Hadfield. In fact, a study published in The Journal of Physiology found that short bursts of intense exercise can produce the same results as traditional exercise.

Try: After 10 minutes of heating, to speed everything possible for 30 seconds, then jog for a minute or two to recover. Work to repeat this cycle of four to eight times, and cooled. Or try a ladder drill, increase (running increasingly longer intervals) or down (running increasingly short intervals) as well: Run a difficult time, two minutes easy, difficult, two minutes, three minutes easy, three discs minutes, four minutes easily, and then work down.

And Overs

Hill workouts not only increase his speed and power, but also improve your strength, to prevent overuse injuries (coupling different muscles), and give you a great set of gams.

Most people have an attack and conquer approach hills, but hitting as hard as possible you can burn rapidly, Hamilton said. A better strategy: Put yourself in the same perceived exertion (instead of rate) as run-flat terrain. Down the hill, keep an effort, even accelerating. Just do not choose a super-rigid doozy warns Hadfield. "If you go directly to a 5 percent incline on the treadmill, I hate you and I never want to do again." Start with a slope of 2-3 percent (if you are outside, find a hill or gradual slope that challenges you but does not require you to take a break from walking), Hadfield said. It should feel hard but manageable.

Try it: After 10 minute warm up a hill at a faster rate, then the base. Work up a total of four to six times before cooling. On a treadmill, you can follow a training session scheduled hill (choose the level two or three) or create your own: Once you are in heat, run for a minute alternating one percent of grade 2-3 minute recovery jog with no slope. The accumulation of repeat this eight times and then end with a cooldown of 10 minutes.

Perfect Paces

If your task list (or desire) includes a career, incorporating rhythm tracks to help you get an idea of ​​how fast you can go even complete a certain distance in a given period of time, Hamilton said. If your goal is to finish at 5 K in 25 minutes, so you need to practice running at this rate to ensure that it is feasible on the day of the race. Bonus: These sessions are run repetitions will burn more calories than a regular task.

Try it: Pace workouts are based on the line you have in mind, Juarez said. For a 5-K, doing repetitions of 400 meters: After 10 minute warm-up, run 400 meters (one lap or a quarter mile) to your target pace. Then run or walk for 45 seconds. Build up to 10 repetitions comfortably before finishing the race day.

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