This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Must Try Cardio Workouts

This blog covers innovative methods for cardio training that produce big results

I get the question often. Should I be doing cardio? While my personal belief on long duration cardio training is that unless you are running from a wild animal or you are training for an event (half marathon, triathlon, cycling competition, etc...) long bouts of cardio training are not particularly advantageous I do know that there are plenty of cardio junkies out there. 

There are some specific types of training that I love for their very obvious cardiovascular benefits but they tend to get overlooked for more traditional methods. These workouts are great because they don't take much time and can offer big benefits when striving to improve endurance, focus, performance, and above all burn some SERIOUS calories.

 

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

1. Run Stairs

Stair running is not only an incredibly efficient method of cardio training but it has plenty of other additional benefits that pack a big punch as well. Now I can sit here and tell you about how stair running will be less stressful on your joints than pounding the pavement in a repetitive running stride (which it will) or how you can prob burn the same amount of calories in 30min that you would prob burn in an hour of running (which you will) but what I really feel to be best part of stair running is two fold.

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Running stairs requires immense FOCUS. This is something I feel to be a lost art in the modern technology driven world of exercise.You can't watch tv, or tune out, or get lost in your music while you run stairs otherwise you will fall on your face. Therefore running stair requires you to ENGAGE heavily in what you are doing. It demands all of your attention and the more you invest mentally while you are training the more you will get out of it physically!

Secondly, running stairs combines 2 very important aspects of human movement.

The ability to accelerate and decelerate. In other words when you explode up the flight of stairs you are training the ability to produce speed and power, conversely when you descend back down you are training the ability to absorb load and force under control. The first is essential for improving performance and the second is crucial for preventing injury.

2. Jump Rope

Jumping or "skipping" rope is one of the oldest forms of cardiovascular conditioning around but just because it is old doesn't mean it can't deliver an incredible workout with tons of benefits.

Like stair running jumping rope requires focus and commitment to what you are doing. The other thing jumping rope teaches is footwork, athleticism, balance, coordination, and body awareness. There are endless combinations of drills such as 2 legged hops, single leg hops, lateral hops, skips, high knees, staggered jumps, double unders, etc.... This not only adds variety and challenge to your training but it develops multiple movement capabilities instead of just one singular repetitive motion. 

3. SAQ

What is SAQ you ask? It stands for speed / agility / quickness. This training involves some very specific characteristics including the ability to properly accelerate, decelerate, and change directions effectively. The other incredibly beneficial aspect of speed & agility training is the use of multiple planes of movement. Most agility work will include lateral movements, rotational movements, linear movements, and components of plyometrics. 

Using simple devices like an agility ladder, cones, and hurdles can create a platform for a workout that will build cardio-respiratory endurance as well as teach highly coordinated sports specific movement patterns. 

While stair running and jump rope training are pretty easy to self teach it is always a good idea to spend a few sessions with a qualified speed coach to learn the fundamentals of speed and agility training. Whether you are an endurance athlete or someone looking to add variety to your current fitness routine it will be WELL worth the investment.

To wrap up my goal is not to convince you to completely dismiss your current cardio routine that you may love. In fitness it is highly important to do what you LIKE doing as that will lead to a lasting program. This article is meant to simply offer additional options for cardio-respiratory training that can serve as a substitute, an addition, or a replacement to what you may be currently doing. These are methods that have immense benefits for their required time investment and as a strength coach one of my jobs is to offer fitness solutions that deliver the most "bang for the buck".

Good Luck and Keep Training! 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?