Cardio Secrets...

Someone recently asked me if I had any "secrets" to give them based on my experiences in the gym.

Here's some of what I divulged:

Interval Training
An absolute necessary in the gym and on any of the cardio equipment. Running on on the treadmill or using an elliptical for 40 minutes is probably one of the most useless ways to spend your time in the gym. If you want to spend LESS time in the gym and get MORE out of your work out, start replacing one old gym workout with some intervals.

Magic Formula
1. Pick a cardio machine
2. Warm up for 5 minutes at your own pace, make sure you at least start sweating
3. Pick an "active rest" pace and interval length (between 45 seconds and 1 minute)
    a. Elliptical = lower the resistance
    b. Treadmill = lower the speed to a walk
    c. Bike = lower the resistance
4. Pick a "sprint" pace and interval length (between 15-30 seconds)
    a. Elliptical = increase resistance, you should feel like you are struggling a bit (but that's the idea)
    b. Treadmill = pick up that speed, you should be running (if you can't run, then at least jogging)
    c. Bike = increase that resistance
5. Alternate between "active rest" and "sprint" for 15 - 30 minutes
6. GO! Try your best to stay accountable in terms of really sprinting for your chosen amount of time. If need be, write down the time interval break down on a piece of paper and bring it with you. It should start looking like this...

0-5 Warm Up
5:00-6:00 "active rest"
6:00-6:30 "sprint"
etc

There are ways to make this fancier - keep an eye out, I'll start adding little tips!

GOOD LUCK!