www.localfitness.com.au
I’m just going to put it out there – I detest cardio. But, on the other hand, I love what it does for my body!
I am putting in a lot of cardio workouts these days as I prepare for my upcoming fitness competitions. I want to share with you my top three cardio workouts that work for me.
Workouts
1. Step Mill
This is by far my favorite cardio machine! It works my legs and glutes, and I’m able to skip steps, run them, perform glute kickbacks, and even do calf raises. My time on the Step Mill flies by because I’m constantly able to change up my routine.
Word of warning: if you’re a beginner on this machine, make sure you hold on until you get comfortable enough to do it without holding on. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tripped. It’s funny and I just laugh, but if you’re the shy type, you might find yourself embarrassed should this happen to you.
2. Treadmill
I actually can’t believe I’m listing the treadmill as one of my top three cardio workouts, but I have developed a liking for it.
The maximum time I spend on the treadmill is 20-25 minutes, unless all I’m doing is walking, then I’ll go for 30 minutes. I’ll walk at the highest incline for 30 minutes and lean forward the whole time so I’m really targeting my legs and glutes. I make sure to switch up my strides every few minutes from long, slow strides to short, quick ones (sometimes I even throw some lunges in there just to mix it up). My speed varies from 3.0 to 4.0.
My other option is setting the incline at whichever height I want – depending on how intense I want my workout to be – and I’ll sprint for 30 seconds and either jog or walk for 1 minute. I repeat this for a total of 10 sprints.
3. Arc Trainer
The arc trainer is fun for me when I want something else besides the Step Mill and treadmill.
I’ll switch the resistance anywhere from 30 to 100 and do sprint intervals. The incline is always at 10 (the highest it can go) so it really targets my glutes and hamstrings. Again, I’ll sprint for 30 seconds and slow it down for 1 minute. Sometimes I’ll push myself to sprint longer depending on how I feel (I always listen to my body – this is a very important habit to get into!).
So, the next time you’re in the gym, try one of these workouts! Happy training!
