Cardio can be boring, especially the long, slow, mindless, low-intensity type that everyone seems to do. This coming week I am going to post a comprehensive article designated entirely to the nuances of cardio. I plan on talking about high intensity versus low intensity, fasted versus fed, duration, frequency and more. Be sure to check back later this week to take a look at that.
Today is Sunday May 27th, 2012. I woke up, did a couple hours of client work and knew I had cardio to get done. I was debating on what I was going to do. My options were to go down to the alley and perform sprints, pack my weight sled in my Jeep and head to the park for sled runs, or stay home and perform a circuit. I decided to go with the circuit. In doing so I came up with one hellish workout.
Here is what I did…
– Foam Rolling: I always start off with my foam rolling series. Basically it just gets everything ready to work properly.
– Warm-up: Light treadmill work, 20 body weight squats, 20 full sit-ups, 20 pushups, 5 pull-ups. In total the entire warm-up encompasses about 5-10 minutes
I started the workout off with a couple of Tabata intervals. For those of you who have an Iphone check out the GymBoss Interval Timer app. It is great! It has Tabata intervals already programmed in and you can program any type of interval sequence you want. Best of all it is free!
– 3 Tabata Intervals: 20 seconds all out – 10 seconds rest and repeat for 8 cycles
- I used mountain climbers and squat jumps for the exercises.
After that, I began playing with 35lb kettlebell full swings, kettlebell high pulls, and kettlebell squats, burpees, pull-ups, and pushups. After doing a few rounds of those exercises I decided to put them together and make a challenge out of it. I am a very competitive person. My best performances always come out during some form of competition. My life is basically just one big challenge. I challenge myself at almost anything, I swear some days that’s all that keeps me progressing. I hate to let myself down.
The 100 Rep Challenge:
Note- a 35lb kettlebell was used
– 10 Kettlebell full swings (bell goes from swing to directly overhead)
– 10 Kettlebell high pulls (bell goes from ground to just under chin)
– 10 Kettlebell front squats (hold bell at shoulders, descend into a FULL squat)
– 10 Burpees (pushup at the bottom, jump at the top)
– 10 Dead hang full pull-ups (no kipping)
– 50 Pushups
Make sure you time the circuit. Your goal should be to beat your time each attempt.
After everything I had done up until that point in my workout my goal was to get under 2 minutes. I achieved my goal; my first attempt came in at 1 minute and 54 seconds. So, my new goal is to beat that time.
Let me tell you that it was tough. I have to try it again fresh because it could just be a product of me being pre-fatigued, but I don’t think so. That is going to be one of my new “go-to” cardio circuits from now on.
As always if you have a question about anything fitness, nutrition, or lifestyle, contact me at KyleHuntFitness@gmail.com
Kyle Hunt