Have you been on the rat wheel for so long you just simply dread cardio?
Hopefully you are using cardio to supplement your strength training, but it is still important to keep your heart and lungs in condition no matter what your goal.
As I start prepping for photo shoots I have to up my cardio once again.
Of course, having a good music playlist is paramount to getting a good session in!
Take the time to download some new tracks!
Here are a few "GAMES" to keep your cardio interesting.
#5 - INTERVALS (Speed + Incline)
1 Min ON (Ramping up from 7-12)
1 Min OFF
Repeat for 1 mile then turn the incline all the way up.
30 SECONDS ON (Ramping up from 7-10)
1-2 Min OFF
Sprinting on that incline is brutal and can be dangerous if you aren't used to this type of intensity.
I reserve this format for my athletes.
#4 - MIX IT UP
Get off the treadmill …
and try some of the other forms of cardio in your local gym.
My gym has a row machine, a heavy bag and some battle ropes.
One of my favorite tests for my clients to gauge their progress is 1000 Meters on the Row Machine for as fast as possible. This can be accomplished usually in the 3-6 minutes range so this is a great start.
Then I like to move on to some 1:00 Rope Drills.
1 Min ON / 30 Seconds OFF doing various rope exercises such as:
Single Arm Waves, Double Arm Slams, Jump Squat Slams, and Seated Twist Slams.
Do another 10 minutes here then move on to the Heavy Bag.
Here, try for 3 Minutes ON / 1 Minute OFF of various forms of combos such as:
Jab, Jab, Hook (1, 1, 2)
Jab, Hard Hook (1, 2)
Jab, Hook, Body Shot L, Body Shot R (1, 2, 3, 4)
Body Shot L, Body Shot R (3, 4, 3, 4)
#3 - STAIRMASTER SPRINTS
Put the stair master on MAX and run for 1 minute
ride it down to the bottom and either let your buddy go next or rest for 1 minute
REPEAT 10-15 times :)
Sweat!!!!!
(Stairmaster Sprints are at the end of this video)
#2 - BIG BEN CHALLENGE
This is one that I have yet to master. A past roommate of mine, Ben Neal showed me where I stood one day when I decided to do cardio with him.
Start on Level 9 and run for a full 1/4 Mile
Up the speed to 10 and run till 1/2 Mile is completed.
Up again to 11 until 3/4 is done,
then up to 12 and sprint out the last of the mile!
Get ready to get gassed!
#1 - HR INTERVALS
My new favorite way of doing cardio lasting 30 minutes or more is a variation of intervals but using Heart Rate instead of Speed or Incline.
This can be performed on any piece of cardio.
Start by doing 1 minute at a warmup speed.
Then turn the speed or intensity up until your Heart Rate (HR) hits 140
This should take a minute or 2 to get you warmed up.
Drop back down to your rest speed and rest for 1 minute.
Next, put the intensity back up and keep it up until you hit 145.
1 minute Rest
150
1 Min rest
155
1 Min rest…..etc.
I keep going up until I hit 175.
By then you should be dripping sweat!
The last few round may take 2-3 minutes or more and the 1 minute rest to follow once you hit your mark is your incentive to really crank it up so that you can indeed take a rest.
I find this to be a really effective way of burning some serious calories!
BONUS - I can't wait to try this one!! ;)
For a complete guide on getting into the best shape of your life, check out the link below.
Got 3 hours of sleep but Im up....headed towards the starting line of the Peachtree Road Race....totally not my sport but whatever, Im not scared!
I figure this is a good way to get my morning cardio out if the way.
Will prob have a nice meal afterwards and take a much needed nap !
.............
RACE TIME!!!
Once I got to the starting line I forgot about being tired and just got fired up! All the people surrounding you motivate you and I went out of the gates hard, picking out people I wanted to catch up and pass up!
Me being a bigger guy not really build for running, I found it fun keeping up with people wearing track shirts and logos. (I never did catch the skinny track guy in the cut off blue shirt lol)
Once I hit the halfway mark my headphones started slipping out (wish I had my apple iPod ones) so I just put them in my pocket.
I was surprised to find myself more motivated by the crowd and the corny songs they were playing along the way. I have to admit, when
"Proud to be an American" came on and they started blasting confetti, I got a second wind! :) Almost made me feel like Rocky! I've never really gave any thought to being patriotic but for some reason that song did the trick!
Man, my hips started hurting bad from an old squatting injury where I torn a hip flexor and I almost stopped to rest for a second on one of the first hills....but, again the random people cheering to keep it up and telling everyone they were doing great took that thought away pretty quickly.
I had my Polar Heart Rate monitor on and was encouraged by the calories I was burning as well. That kept the fight alive. Once I learned to find a good pace and control my breathing my legs pretty much went numb and I got in the grove, feeling pretty good about my time.
Wearing my Colony Square TRAINER shirt made me feel like I had to push a little harder too, knowing that plenty of people were probably thinking, "what does this meathead think he's doing???" LOL. I saw a few big guys there running the race but only a handful. One in particular had me switch the burners on for a second as he flew by me like running was no big deal. Dude had to be 250 jacked.
Well I finished the race and felt like I got hit by a truck for a few days after but I'm glad I did it. Now I know my body can do it and I look forward to running again next year when it will not be raining hopefully!
I have been prepping for this for way too long. The last photographer I had booked had his camera knocked off of the bench during the shoot prior to mine. He was very professional and apologetic about having to cancel and offered to do a free 2 hour shoot for me when he comes back into Atlanta in Feb.
THANK YOU!
I will gladly take that offer and look forward to it!
However, I have been dieting and doing 2 a days for longer than expected and I'm ready to EAT! (more on that later hahahaha)
We scrambled for a new photographer at last minute since I was already cut down and didn't want to waste the opportunity. I honestly don't like being this light in weight. Yeah the abs look good but with that you must sacrifice some size. My next go around I'm going to tweak things to try to minimize this....
I am still learning a lot about this business and how to manipulate my body for different looks...
Anyway, we were able to get a hold of Damian Aching to shoot in a week and come in on Sunday.
I checked out his website and was impressed by his work so I was very happy to get him...
Once Damian and Amanda arrived and began setting up for the first shot, I knew I was in good hands! AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHERS!!!
The shoot was split half and half for my personal shots and shots for Stimrx.com and their products.
We finished the stimrx shots first. Man, I hope my smile wasn't too cheesy in these pictures! After awhile, your lips begin to twitch from holding it! lol
I couldn't help but see my girl... ahem ... FRIEND laughing in the background! (Long story :)
You might have seen me in previous Stimrx ads. Here is an ad they are about to run in Muscle & Fitness. LOL...Yeah I know... laugh all you want!
Here is a picture of Chris and Tara Garvey, the owners of Stimrx.com and Colony Square Athletic Club. (The coolest bosses you could EVER want!!! I feel blessed to have the job I have!)
As the shoot progressed I was really impressed with their work! These 2 knew how to get some amazing shots and had some really awesome ideas for angles and lighting! I got to see some previews on their camera and I could already tell I was going to be very happy with the end results. These pictures here do no justice at all, I promise! I felt a little weird doing the chain shots since I'm not a big guy right now but I think I can use a few. Mostly this shoot was to capture my conditioning, which should show really well in the boxing and tug a war pics we got.
Should be 4-6 weeks before I get the final pics....Stay Tuned!
NEXT UP....GET SOME WORK AS A FITNESS MODEL!!!!!
LMAO!!! Here is an ooolllllldddd clip of one of the units in action!
