Category — Cardio

When I first joined a gym years ago I made the mistake of doing cardio before I lifted. Not good. 

Cardio before weight training is counter-productive to your muscles. Think about it. If you run for 20 or 30 minutes on the treadmill your muscles are going to fatigue and the glycogen it has stored is going to burn out. So you’ll be lifting weights using less than 50% of your muscle’s potential.

You also lower your blood sugar when you lift weights, so when you start running you’ll immediately begin to burn fat. Obviously when you’re lifting you want to maximize your output so wearing yourself out on the elliptical first makes no sense.

Tip: It’s okay and actually recommended to do a light 5-10 minute cardio warmup before you being weight training.

Yo! Most boxers are amazingly fit and lean. Want to know how they get that way? It’s through an extremely disciplined exercise and eating regimen.

MensHealth.com has put together a boxing circuit for beginners looking to reap all of the physical benefits of a boxer’s workout without having to drink raw eggs.

The program combines shadowboxing, jumping rope, pushups, crunches, and various movements with light dumbells. However, the key is combining all of them into one non-stop session.

Bodybuilding.com lists the best types of workouts for football players. They feature two different programs contstructed by a couple of the site’s avid readers and amateur football players.

Being that most positions in football require short, explosive bursts rather than sustained ones, the first workout promotes the 5 x 5 routine (5 sets of 5 repetitions) allowing for 20-40 seconds of rest between each set. It also stresses the importance of a “total body” workout which can help prevent injuries by targeting every muscle group.

The workout incorporates weightlifting, plyometrics, running, and agility drills. This isn’t just a workout for prospective NFL players, anyone from weekend warriors to casual flag football players can reap the benefits!

Many of us who strive to lose weight and tone our muscles have heard of the term interval training but most people really don’t know what it is.

We’ve all been on the treadmill and elliptical machine continuously looking at the timer hoping that its magically going to turn to our desired time and we can complete our workout.

With interval training the focus is on alternating between high and low intensity bursts rather than a sustained 20 or 30 minute session. The purpose is to raise the heart rate, then quickly lower it. The energy that is required to do that burns calories in your body more effectively in a relatively shorter time frame.

You can really do interval training anywhere, on the treadmill, elliptical, pool, track, or a bike. The key is short 30-60 second bursts at full intensity. And then an equally amount of time at about 1/3 to 1/2 of full intensity. Give it a try!