Cardio_Without

Improve Your Cardio Without Running With These 3 Workouts

With warmer temperatures moving in, it’s time to get focused on cardiovascular fitness for spring, summer, and fall adventures. These workouts get the heart pumping and prime the legs for spring and summer adventures. No need to do all three workouts in a week: For the best results, pick one or two and stick with them for four to eight weeks before switching to another workout.
Loaded Pack Walks

Loaded pack walking is a great way to introduce a weighted pack into training sessions, and only takes 45 to 60 minutes to complete. For the workout, put on the pack or weighted vest with an additional 1 to 2 pounds added each week. This workout is great because you can leave for your walk right from home or head to a local park.
Start with a pack weight of roughly 10 percent of your body weight and increase your load by 10 percent each week. Gradually increasing your pack weight will minimize injury risk and build a strong strength foundation. The long term goal is to work up to a pack weight that is a few pounds above your anticipated pack weight for any upcoming trips. Much like strength training, incrementally exposing the body to heavier weights will improve muscular endurance and strength, not to mention make you feel more confident about carrying heavier loads. 
Tempo Training

Aerobic power intervals are purpose-built to boost endurance by ramping up intensity followed by a short period of a slower pace to recover. These intervals build up week by week, and during the working interval, you should increase the intensity slightly. It should be more of a brisk hike than a jog or run. Firefighters call this type of effort “walking with a purpose.” If you can’t speak in short sentences during this interval, reduce the intensity.
For the recovery walk, slow the pace but keep moving. After one minute at the recovery pace, move into the next interval. Each week, increase the working interval by one minute but keep the recovery time at one minute. Spend 45 to 60 minutes performing the intervals below.

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