Get Stronger With The Heart Racing Cardio Workout
Cardio workouts can help your body become stronger but also provide relief from day-to-day life. Incorporating more cardiovascular exercises into your workout routine can help strengthen your heart and lungs, encourage weight loss and also reduce stress and provide you with a better night’s sleep.
Exercise Goals
The goal of this workout is to increase your heart rate and get blood flowing throughout the cardiovascular system by using simple body weight movements. During the workout you will be using varied intensities and times which should provide an experience similar to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT is a style of training where you burn a maximum amount of calories in minimal time. By the end of this workout, your legs will likely feel fatigued.
Tips Before the Workout
To begin, make sure you complete a proper warm up before starting. For this workout, a sufficient warm-up could consist of some stretching or foam rolling. Then, when you reach “High” intensity, push yourself as hard as you can for one minute.
Remember to pace yourself so that you won’t tire right away, but keep your effort at a maximum.
This is a great workout to complete with a partner because both of you can run side-by-side on treadmills that are next to each other. Keep in mind; you may not be able to talk during the entire workout because of the varying intensities. At low intensity you should have no problem carrying on a conversation. However, at medium intensity it should more difficult to complete a sentence, and at high intensity you should only be able to say a word.
To adjust this workout for your skill level there are a few things to consider:
- For a Beginner user: Follow the workout as stated, but go slower on the high intensity sections.
- For an Intermediate user: Follow the workout as stated, but increase your sprinting speeds.
- For an Advanced user: Follow the workout as stated and your sprinting speeds should be at maximum intensity. Try not to rest during the whole circuit and then repeat the workout after 5 minutes of rest.
Proper Forms To Remember For This Workout
Before starting this workout, please remember to keep proper form when exercising to prevent injuries and maximize your workout.
- Treadmill
- To accommodate treadmills that don’t offer an incline, substitute for faster sprint speeds. Make sure you have room to move around near your treadmill to make this work out effective.
- Squats
- Start with your feet shoulder width apart and toes pointing out about 30 degrees. Keep even pressure from heel to toe when lowering to the ground, you should feel the weight being distributed in the middle of your foot. Bend your knees and hips at the same time, while pushing your knees out to lower yourself into the squat. Keep going down until you are below the height of a chair (lower than you want to go). When standing back up, push your hips to the ceiling then stand up straight.
- Pushups
- Begin lying on the floor with your hands just outside your shoulders at armpit level. Tighten up your legs and core, and then push away from the floor. At the top, push as far away from the floor as you can until you feel like your back is flat. Then, slowly lower yourself back down, tapping your chest to the floor and repeat the movement for more pushups. To modify, leave your knees in contact with the floor.
- Burpees
- With a Burpee, you will start at a standing position and end in prone position, or lying on your chest, then go back to a standing position. To do this efficiently, drop yourself to the floor using slight resistance as to not hurt yourself or smash your face on the floor. Once your chest touches the floor, immediately push yourself up, jump your feet underneath you and stand back up to a normal standing position. That entire movement is considered one repetition.
- Plank
- Like a pushup, begin by lying on the floor and put your forearms flat on the floor, keeping your hands apart and elbows underneath your shoulders. Keeping your legs and core tight, pick up your hips. You should be in a straight line from your head to your feet. Don’t push your hips too high (like an arch) and don’t let your hips sag toward the floor.
- Sit-ups
- Start by lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor, knees bent and your heels as close to your glutes as possible. Place your hands on your chest, flex your abs and curl your shoulders off the floor. Once the middle of your back is off the floor, safely lower back down to the relaxed starting position and repeat.
The Workout
Final Thoughts
It is vital that you cool down and stretch after this workout because of all the running and reps accrued. Afterwards, your lower body will likely be tired, especially your hamstrings, but don’t worry because this is normal after such an intense workout!
Log the speed you ran and sprinted at and repeat this workout in a week or two to see how much you have improved. During your training, make sure you stretch, remain consistently active, eat enough food, hydrate and sleep enough – all of these factors will help you recover faster.