Smart cardio

If you're a typical guy who loves to lift big weights, but considers anything over 3 reps to be "endurance" training, you might not be interested in this article.  Look, we all do what we LIKE to do, but only the most successful among us find a way to also do what we NEED to do. If you think you're in the latter category, listen up. I've got a quiver full of fun, challenging, cardio workouts that help you lose fat without losing strength or muscle.

Why You Need Cardio: Don't fall into the trap of thinking that cardio will turn you into a wispy, estrogen-soaked shadow of your former self- too many guys use this mindset as an excuse to avoid what they know they should be doing. In fact, the benefits of smart cardio training are too numerous to ignore. They include:

• Cardiovascular Health: This might not sound so exciting, but believe me, a heart attack or stroke won't help you lift bigger weights, will it? Good health is the foundation of everything else, including your weight workouts. Think back to the parable of the farmer who discovered a goose who laid golden eggs- after a while, the farmer lost patience, and killed the goose to get all of the eggs all at once. Of course, when he opened the goose, there were no eggs inside. Don't kill the goose (your health) that lays golden eggs (a lifetime of productive workouts).
  
• Fat Loss: If I still haven't convinced you by using the health argument, then this benefit should catch your attention. While it's POSSIBLE to get super lean by lifting alone, it's a lot easier if you add a cardiovascular component to your program. Cardio workouts create a greater energy deficit, elevate metabolism, and initiate the secretion of important fat-mobilizing hormones. Don't worry, you won't lose muscle or strength, if you follow my suggestions in this article.
  
• Active Recovery: We've known for a long time that ANY form of "contrasting" stress promotes a faster recovery from your primary training activity. For guys who primarily lift weights, that means cardio. Now if you've tried this approach before and it didn't work, it's almost certainly because you failed to carefully integrate the cardio into your existing program. More on that later.
  
• Injury Prevention: Cardiovascular exercise mobilizes joints, increases blood flow to various tissues, and generally improves overall functioning. Really. Just trust me.
  
• Everyday Function: I hate to be the one to clue you into this, but there are some very important everyday functions that require more than the ability to exert maximum force for 1-2 seconds. Things like walking across the street, playing with your kids, taking a shower, stuff like that. Now, you might not have terrible endurance capacity now, but after a few decades of cardio avoidance, you will. So don't even go there- you really CAN have it all- impressive muscularity, scary levels of maximum strength, and a healthy heart to boot. Follow along...

Four Principles Of Effective Cardio Training: Before I introduce you to my favorite cardio tricks, I'd like to share a few general principles that will make your cardiovascular sessions a lot more fun and rewarding:

1) Variation Prevents Injury, Boredom, and Dropout: Here's a little analogy that I use with my athletes: unfurl a paper clip into a straight piece of wire, and then start bending it back and forth, eventually you'll break it. Think of your body that way. There's no need to use a single activity (such as running or biking) for your cardio workouts.

After all, your heart, lungs, and circulatory system don't know what exercise activity is taking place- but your joint sure do. If you use running for all your cardio workouts for example, your knees and feet take a heavy beating. But if you distribute the workout among 2-3 activities, such as running, swimming, and cycling, you'll be less prone to overuse injury, and you'll have more fun to boot.

2) Quality Before Quantity: We all pay lip service to this principle, but how few of us actually employ it! Make sure your exercise technique is consistent at all times, no matter what. Know your best times for the various distances you cover and then, in your workouts, always stay close to those times. Finally, a quality performance is a pain-free performance. If you're experiencing elbow pain during a swim for example, change gears until you determine what's wrong.

3) Challenge Yourself And Have Fun: I have a neighbor who's simultaneously fascinated and disturbed by my devotion to physical training. He'll often walk past my garage while I'm lifting and exclaim "Better you than me" or words to that effect. I always respond that I only train because I love it. Look- if you can't find some fun in your training, you'll never last. So if you hate cardio, you'll need to play some games with yourself to get in the mood. I think the best way to accomplish this is to challenge yourself. Keep a detailed training journal and record your PR's for everything you do. This adds purpose and excitement to your training.

4) No Fuss Gets The Job Done: I think the reason that a lot of people find exercise so tedious is because of all the pre-workout preparations- getting dressed in your "workout gear," waiting for the perfect weather conditions, and taking your pre-workout supplements, just to name a few. Try to adopt a "no preparation" attitude toward training. Don't worry what your hair looks like, if it's raining out, if you've got your running shorts on, or if you'll be sweaty while you're at the grocery store afterwards. People often tell me that they dread the thought of doing cardio, but once they're doing it, it's not so bad. If you can relate, try to minimize the pre-workout gyrations. Just get out and do it.

by Charles Staley