Interval Training is simply one of the most efficient forms of cardio you can perform, if not the most efficient. You can get pretty much ALL the benefits of longer-duration cardio but without the long duration. Moreover, you don’t get bored, you don’t spend all your time doing it, and you don’t have nearly the risk of overuse injuries.
Let’s take a look at how we can choose from the most efficient forms of cardio to elevate conditioning while working towards strength goals.
Athletes have become bigger and stronger and are in better shape nowadays, and the trend to build endurance through specific training has only accelerated this phenomenon. Athletes are getting leaner and more ‘ripped’ than ever, in nearly every sport.
It used to be that a baseball player, for example, would focus on exercises specifically designed to improve the specific skill set that they needed to succeed on the baseball field. The same sport-specific training was true for every sport. But as people began to see the broad-spectrum benefits that came with endurance training for events like the triathlon, it became evident that an individual with greater strength and endurance in any sport could benefit from a more well-rounded circuit of exercises.
It didn’t take long before regular people started to realize that they could benefit from endurance training, too, and it quickly became more and more popular. Today, its appeal is at an all-time high. Even weekend athletes, as a result of endurance training, are becoming almost indefatigable.
Achieving an ideal body or having a total body transformation is more than just physical; it’s about overall wellness. By integrating cardio, strength, and flexibility training, individuals can attain full-body fitness.
Cardio workouts elevate heart rate, enhancing endurance and burning calories.
Strength training builds muscle, boosts metabolism, and promotes fat loss.
Flexibility exercises improve range of motion, preventing injuries and enhancing performance.
This overall approach ensures balanced development with proper food, promoting overall health and vitality. Whether aiming for weight loss, muscle gain, or enhanced wellness, integrating these components fosters a well-rounded transformation. Embracing this multifaceted approach is a way to unlock the full potential of one’s body and achieve lasting results.
High-Intensity Interval Training, often represented by the acronym HIIT, is really a big deal. HIIT training is the ideal and most effective replacement for underachieving endurance cardio. High-intensity interval training has been regarded for years now as one of the best ways to burn calories and maintain muscle mass while encouraging a long-lasting metabolic effect post-workout.
As a matter of fact, in studies, HIIT is 9x more effective at burning fat than endurance cardio.
More often than not, I have talked about HIIT workouts made up only of interval sprints. Today I would like to discuss HIIT training with resistance machines, but not to be confused with High-Intensity Resistance Training, or HIRT, which I will write about shortly.
HIIT Provides the Following Benefits
Burn more calories than endurance cardio
Burn more fat than endurance cardio
Increase power
Increase speed
Increase muscle density
Improve anaerobic endurance
Improve aerobic endurance
Speed up metabolism for more than a day and a half
Strength training has so many benefits, from giving you the physique you’ve always dreamed of to reducing your risk of many health problems. A lot of people who are serious about weight training will often opt for either free weights or machines, believing that one is better than the other. However, incorporating both into your workout routine offers the most benefits, and that includes the often dreaded cardio machines.
“Should I try CrossFit or cardio?”, “should I be doing 5 reps or 4?”, “should I be doing Insanity to get my muscles in shape before summer?” these are all valid questions that every gym goer and fitness enthusiast ask even after months of working out. Picking the right routine can be incredibly confusing for anyone. Even the celebrity fitness trainers have a tough time selecting fitness regimes for their clients after dedicating the better part of their day to their fitness and health.
Asking these questions shows that you are serious about your health and fitness. It also shows that you are finally ready to take the next step and take matters into your own hands. For most fitness enthusiasts the next step involves taking their fitness regime back home with them. In fact, today, gyms go wherever the fitness enthusiast goes. You don’t have to pay a fortune to buy the membership of a fitness boutique and drive there four times a week to exercise. Health and fitness mean a lot more than sweating it out on the stationary cycle or power rower with crowds of strangers.
You have to remember that you can start to really change your life when you are working out and trying to build muscle as fast as possible. Someone who is trying to build muscle needs to have a plan, and it is much easier for you to start following a plan. This plan helps you get the best chance to have the muscles you have always wanted, and you can do this if you are young or old. You look your best, and it all happens in about 90 days.
Follow these steps, make a plan, stick to it, and live healthy for 90 days. When you see what you accomplish and how you feel, you might never stop.(more…)
There are several types of workouts which you can do at a gym. Some of the most effective and useful workouts for weight loss and overall health are cardio exercises. You will find several workout machines and pieces of equipment that can help you get a proper cardio workout. Two of these include a treadmill and an elliptical trainer.
These machines can help you get a solid cardio workout within just a few minutes. You will hear several myths about these two types of exercise machines. However, the truth is that if you use them the right way they can both be highly effective for your body. Elliptical trainers and treadmills are especially beneficial for those of you who are interested in losing excess body weight while putting minimal stress on their joints.(more…)
Working out without music would be miserable. Workout playlists make time pass faster and help you pump yourself up for the next rep! If you’ve ever tried to workout with the wrong pair of headphones, you know just how frustrating it can be. Whether you hate dealing with a cord in your face or you sweat all over bulky over-the-ear headphones, you know you need something that can handle your level of workout.
It turns out not all headphones are created equal! Some headphones are best used for certain types of workouts, and that’s why you need to learn more about what kind is right for you. Here is a guide to the best headphones for every type of workout! Take your workout to the next level with these tips.
When it comes to cardio, there’s one thing no one can deny: cardio is the ideal stress relief after a hard day of work and stress. Whether you prefer riding the stationary bike or running on the treadmill, cardio can make all your worries go away, at least for some time.
Cardio is also great for your heart, which is how it got its name in the first place. But the reason people most frequently turn to cardio is to burn those pesky calories and excess weight. And while most of the benefits of cardio exercise cannot be denied, there are a lot of myths and false truths that if you believe too blindly might lead to disappointment in the end.
The thing is, there are a variety of different classes and exercises you can enroll in at your local gym, and the best one is usually the one that makes you feel most comfortable. That said, even if you enjoy doing cardio the most, you need to know the truth about these 5 persistent myths if nothing just to adjust your expectations accordingly. (more…)
Running can help achieve that fit body you’re aiming for. Today, we will explain to you how running can be good in the battle for weight loss!
Many people strive to have a body that will impress. However, the path going there isn’t a simple battle. Many challenges will hinder you from making progress. The first thing that you should ask yourself is, are you up to the challenge?
Although running sounds like a simple exercise, its benefits will amaze you. Running has many advantages including better health, uplifted emotions, weight loss, and improved focus. (more…)
I get plenty of questions in various comments throughout the website, but I also get comments and questions via the Project Swole Contact Form.
Generally I address those questions through e-mail, but often I do not have the time to reply to each and every question personally.
The category Your Health Questions attempts to take a more proactive approach to answering your questions so that everyone can benefit from the Q & A.
Scott wrote:
“First off very good site, very informative.
I am 33 5-11 170lbs. I just went from a split where I was doing 30 min low intensity cardio after the work out. I have been enjoying the full body workouts; I feel I get more out of it.
I am trying to maintain the muscle I have and get more ripped toned. Should I keep doing a low intensity cardio session after my work out or should I move to HIIT or some sort of other interval training on the off days?
I always read cardio after lifting or in the am is the best. So will I still burn fat doing cardio on the off days? Help!!”
Response:
First off, thank you for the kind words. I’m glad I can help someone with my babbling.
Second, I agree with you about full body workout routines. I find full body training to be far more effective at stimulating all kinds of gains than a traditional split routine.
Now, regarding your cardio questions, I have a couple responses and then I will discuss my reasoning:
My opinion is that you should focus more on high intensity interval training (HIIT) than on aerobic cardio.
If you insist on doing aerobic cardio at the same time as weight training, then it should be performed after weight training, but then you have to accept the drawbacks of doing cardio after weight training.
If you insist on doing aerobic cardio, not at the same time as weight training, but on the same day as weight training, it should be performed in the morning, on an empty stomach.
If you insist on doing aerobic cardio on a non-weight training day, then you have 2 choices:
in the morning on an empty stomach – to maximize fat loss
any other time of the day – used as active recovery
If you plan doing HIIT, it should not be performed before a workout.
Cardio in general works best when performed 8-10 hours before or after weight training, or on a separate day.
If you’re looking to keep your cardio fitness levels running high throughout the year regardless of weather conditions or other hindrances, then the incline treadmill workout is the best training option.
Incline workouts offer many benefits.
For starters, it’ll help you simulate hill running, thus burn off colossal amounts of calories without having to go outside and stomach the bad weather. In addition, incline workouts are great boredom busters, hence if you dread indoor cardio training, use the incline to your advantage and make your workout more challenging and fun.
As a result, if you’re not doing an incline workout—at least once per week—then you’re doing yourself a big disservice.
In cold weather climates, many runners log a large number of kilometers on the treadmill, and most of them complain that treadmill workout is rather boring. If you have the same problem and want to beat boredom while running on a treadmill, try the following tips. They will certainly make your treadmill running more fun.
Run with friends
If you have a friend who also trains on the treadmill in the same gym, you need to get her/him next to you. This way you will likely motivate each other as well as provide distraction in order to make your workout more efficient and faster. You do not have to run at the same pace with your friend(s).
What is High Intensity Resistance Training (HIRT)?
High Intensity Resistance Training (HIRT) is essentially resistance training for fat loss, and like HIIT, it really is a big deal. HIRT training is the most effective way to increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), increase your Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), and burn calories at the same time.
When using HIRT you will execute several exercises together (sometimes called a super-set or giant-set), for a certain number of reps per set, for a certain number of minutes, without rest.
Along with HIIT, HIRT is a useful tool when avoiding endurance cardio while trying to lose fat, and it actually increases muscle mass more effectively than HIIT. HIRT training will give you the following benefits:
Increase metabolism for up to 36 hours post-workout
Outperform aerobic exercise in fat loss studies
Maintain muscle mass on a low calorie diet
Build muscle mass on a moderate to high calorie diet
HIRT workouts help maintain muscle mass when following a low calorie diet
HIRT workouts outperform diet and aerobic exercise in fat loss studies
HIRT workouts increase metabolism for up to 36 hours
The principles of HIRT are:
Full body workouts using sets of 5 to 15 reps
Pushing through the lactic acid burn
Utilizing a variety of combo-sets (super-sets, tri-sets, giant-sets, etc…)
Utilizing compound exercises
Focusing on the largest muscle groups
Most important, we have to stay true to the two rules of HIRT:
Rule #1 about HIRT: Don’t talk about HIRT. er… no, that’s a rule for a different club I attend on Saturday nights… ah, I’ve already said too much…
Seriously though, HIRT is all about maximizing intensity – you will get out of HIRT what you put into it.
You must maximize the intensity of each set. That means pushing it until you collapse or complete the drill. No resting or slowing down before the time limit is up.
You must maximize the intensity of each workout. Use all the time available to you, to complete as much work as possible. This is the only way to realize the maximum metabolic and muscle retention benefits of HIRT.
BMR and EPOC
As I mentioned before, along with burning calories through exercise, two of the most important factors in exercising to lose fat, are increasing BMR over the long term, and increasing EPOC per workout. Let’s learn a little more about BMR and EPOC, shall we?
Why do we care about BMR?
Your BMR describes the base metabolic rate for your body. It tells us how many calories your body burns at rest. Burning more calories at rest means you will lose fat faster or gain fat slower (if your daily calorie intake is too high). Improving BMR is simple: when you have more muscle mass, your body has a higher BMR.
Increasing your BMR will help you burn more calories over the long term.
Why do we care about EPOC?
Your EPOC describes how quickly your metabolism returns to your BMR after exercise. Because it deals more with the aerobic energy system, HIIT is more effective at increasing EPOC than HIRT, but not by very much. When targeting fat loss, we want to focus on workouts that increase EPOC as well as BMR.
The higher we can pump the EPOC after each workout, the more calories we will burn in the short term.
Who Can Benefit From HIRT
Anyone who wants to lose body fat while keeping all of their hard earned muscle mass, or anyone who wants to minimize fat gain while attempting to gain muscle mass. Alongside HIIT, HIRT should be a vital component to any serious fat loss plan.
HIRT would be useful for people who:
are looking to elevate their metabolism (BMR) long term
are looking to maximize short term fat loss through resistance training
are looking to keep as muscle as possible during a cutting phase
are looking to minimize fat gain during a bulking phase
are looking to increase aerobic endurance
are looking to increase anaerobic endurance
are looking to burn more calories on a daily basis
are looking to supplement their HIIT workouts with additional fat burning exercise
are athletes who participate in a sport such as boxing, MMA, soccer, basketball, football, wrestling, etc…, who need to increase muscular endurance in 5-10 minute bursts, while minimizing body fat
Who Should Avoid HIRT
Unlike HIIT, there are virtually no people who should avoid HIRT. Grasping at straws, the few people for whom HIRT might not be the best solution include those who:
are not cleared by their doctor to begin a high intensity exercise routine. Check with your doctor before starting HIRT.
are overzealous. You can’t use HIRT 3-4 times a week, and strength training or HIIT 3-4 times a week. Even though HIRT is not neurologically as taxing as HIIT or strength training, you still must rest between workouts.
are looking to maximize strength gains. Excessive HIRT and HIIT workouts will slow down strength gains.
are looking to increase speed. Because no sprints or max effort attempts are included in HIRT, speed will probably not be affected.
Designing a HIRT Training Routine
HIRT can be used for either cutting or bulking, usually maintain muscle mass while decreasing bodyfat, but also to minimize fat gains while increasing muscle mass. HIRT is also somewhat effective at improving aerobic endurance and even more effective at increasing anaerobic endurance.
As always, your diet is still 75% responsible for determining how these goals are achieved. Manipulate calorie intake and macronutrient ratios to gain muscle or lose fat according to your goals.
These are the guidelines I will use for creating a HIRT workout:
Each HIRT workout must be a full body routine.
Sets of 5 to 15 reps will be used. Lower reps to focus on muscle gain, higher reps to focus on muscular endurance.
Each HIRT workout will use super-sets, tri-sets, or giant-sets.
Each HIRT exercise will be a compound exercise focusing on the largest muscle groups.
Each super-set should last 8-10 minutes.
60-90 seconds rest between super-sets.
No rest within a super-set.
All exercises should be executed explosively – meaning as fast as possible while maintaining good form.
Three Sample H.I.R.T. Training Splits
There are thousands of ways you can integrate HIRT into your workout routine. You can use full body workouts, a 5 day split with HIRT at the end of your strength training, you can go HIIT-less to avoid sprinting, you can focus solely on HIIT and HIRT for max fat loss. You are only limited by your own imagination.
You can choose to implement several kinds of HIRT splits:
Priority: fat lossDay 1: 45 minutes of HIRT goal – maximal intensity resistance and endurance trainingDay 2: 25 minutes of HIIT goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular trainingDay 3: 45 minutes of endurance cardio goal – anaerobic recovery and aerobic endurance training
Day 4: 45 minutes of HIRT goal – maximal intensity resistance and endurance training
Day 5: 25 minutes of HIIT goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Priority: fat loss, but maximize muscle retentionDay 1: 45 minutes of full body resistance training goal – maximal strength resistance trainingDay 2: 30 minutes of HIIT goal – maximal intensity interval trainingDay 3: Off goal – recovery
Day 4: 45 minutes of HIRT goal – maximal intensity resistance and endurance training
Day 5: 30 minutes of full body resistance training plus 20 minutes of HIIT goal – maximal strength resistance training and maximal intensity interval training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Priority: gain muscle and attempt to lose fat at the same timeDay 1: 45 minutes of full body resistance training goal – maximal strength resistance trainingDay 2: 30 minutes of HIRT plus 20 minutes of HIIT goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular training and maximal intensity interval trainingDay 3: Off goal – recovery
Day 4: 45 minutes of full body resistance training goal – maximal strength resistance training
Day 5: 30 minutes of HIRT plus 20 minutes of HIIT goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular training and maximal intensity interval training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Priority: gain muscleDay 1: 45 minutes of full body resistance training goal – maximal strength resistance trainingDay 2: 30 minutes of HIRT goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular trainingDay 3: 45 minutes of full body resistance training goal – maximal strength resistance training
Day 4: 30 minutes of HIRT goal – maximal intensity interval training
Day 5: 45 minutes of full body resistance training goal – maximal strength resistance training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Three Sample H.I.R.T. Workout Routines
Sample HIRT workout #1
For this workout, you will have to change equipment and/or stations to move to each new exercise, so your best bet will be to plan ahead and keep all the equipment you will need for the super-set at one station. This will keep rest down between sets.
Execute each super-set for 10 minutes without rest. Rest for 180 seconds between super-sets. The workout should take 45 minutes including a 5 minute warm-up and stretching after the workout. Super-set A:
For this workout, you will have to change equipment and/or stations to move to each new exercise, so your best bet will be to plan ahead and keep all the equipment you will need for the super-set at one station. This will keep rest down between sets.
Execute each super-set for 10 minutes without rest. Rest for 180 seconds between super-sets. The workout should take 45 minutes including a 5 minute warm-up and stretching after the workout. Super-set A:
5 push ups
5 inverted rows
5 jump squats
5 cable crunches
Super-set B:
5 chin ups
5 pistol (or one leg) squats
5 Russian twists with a medicine ball
5 push ups on the medicine ball
Super-set C:
10 skipping lunges
5 ab wheel roll outs
5 dumbbell or kettlebell swings with each arm
5 neutral grip one arm dumbbell or kettlebell rows
Olympic HIRT Workout
For this workout, you will move from one exercise to the next without any rest at all, since you won’t have to change equipment. Each movement will set you up to transition to the next movement, so that you are only executing one rep of each exercise per set and then flowing directly into the next rep of the next exercise.
This workout mainly utilizes Olympic lifts. Use really light weight or you might die, but you will probably puke anyway.
Execute each super-set for 10 minutes without rest. Rest for 180 seconds between super-sets. The workout should take 45 minutes including a 5 minute warm-up and stretching after the workout. Super-set A:
I don’t HATE endurance cardio. I’m trying to give it a chance, albeit a slim chance.
It has its purpose in workout routines, especially for those who are untrained, obese, or have health complications that make high intensity training dangerous. But I can’t just blow off the continually mounting evidence (for the past 15 years) that high intensity interval training is optimal for fat loss and for developing speed, power, muscle, and even endurance!
For many years now, hardcore trainers have been touting the superior effectiveness of high intensity intervals for fat loss. But still, trainers, athletes, housewives, couch potatoes, televangelists, martial arts instructors, teachers, doctors, and pretty much anyone outside of the ‘hardcore trainer’ group suggests that if you want to lose weight you have to either walk everyday or jog for at least an hour a day 4-5 times a week. Wake up people!
How to ramp up the speed for better fat loss and fitness gains
If you want to run faster, then you need to start running faster. This may sound as a cliché but because it’s true.
Speedwork—in all its forms—is key for unlocking your full potential as a runner. Not only that, speedwork will make you fitter, enhance the range of movement in your joints, boost power and drive in your lower body, and it will eventually help you to run harder for longer.
Furthermore, Speedwork is key for weight loss. According to many studies, interval running—a form of speed work— burns up to three times more calories than sticking to a steady and easy pace. Of course, long runs at a low intensity have their benefits, but when it comes to burning the flab, speedwork wins the race.
One of the first places the average adult body stores spare fat is around the belly, and this can be a real nightmare for anyone trying to trim down their midsection.
You might think that you’re doing everything right when it comes to your diet and exercise regimen, and yet, for some reason you just can seem to shed the unsightly padding around your abdominals.
If this is the case, you could find that doing everything right is actually all wrong. Your lifestyle might be sabotaging everything.
Here are just a few tips and tricks that could help you to finally melt away the belly fat that’s been plaguing you for years. Sure, they say diet is responsible for 75% of your progress, but if you are doing everything else wrong, your lifestyle could derail 90% of your progress.
Many people like the energy boost that they get from exercising early since it stays with them throughout the day and leaves them pleasantly sleepy at night. But if you’re not an early riser, you might find that you prefer working out during your lunch break or in the evening, despite the fact that it can leave you pumped up and unable to snooze when your head hits the pillow.
Of course, you may find that exercising later in the day presents you with myriad problems. Perhaps you’re too tired or demands on your time inevitably pop up, preventing you from getting in your workout.
In any case, you might end up deciding that starting your day with a workout is the best way to go. However, it can definitely be difficult to roll out of bed an hour earlier than usual, even if you’re committed to making it work.
So here are a few strategies that should help you find the motivation you need to exercise first thing in the morning.
If you’re committed to your health and fitness, then you’ve probably got a regular routine worked out already. But you may have found that over time, your targeted regimen begins to deliver fewer returns in the way of results.
This is not such a terrible thing when you’re merely maintaining your level of fitness. But when you have to look your best for an event like a wedding, a body-builder competition, or even a stroll down the red carpet, you may be keen to up your game where your workouts are concerned.
The process starts with assessing your current state, determining your goals, and then figuring out the steps needed to get you where you want to be within a set time limit. So whether you have several months to prepare or just a couple of weeks, here are some tips that will help to get you in peak physical condition before the big event.
