subject: How Real Athletes Get Ripped [print this page] If you want to lose fat fast and get a ripped body- forget about long, boring cardio sessions, unless your goal is to be a marathoner. Then go right ahead. However if you want to start getting ripped like a sprinter then you need to think about cardio differently.
Take a look at the world's best sprinters, these people are ripped to shreds and have the lowest body fat I've ever seen. What is it they do to look like that? Well, they sprint (or) they perform the physical activity of running in bursts of exertion followed by recovery, here lies the answer.
Here are a few reasons why training in bursts/interval training is a good cardio choice:
Stop and go movements
Physical variability is what adds 'oomph' to a workout, because human beings are built to perform physical activities in bursts followed by recovery; this is where you can see why marathoners look under fed while triathloners and athletes who play football, volleyball and most other sports where there are constant bursts of movement are in top physical condition.
Steady state (vs) variable state
Variable/interval training has been scientifically proven to improve cardiovascular health, increase anti-oxidant protection, increase anti inflammatory response, reduce muscle wasting and increase metabolic rate following exercise (this is why you will lose fat). Variable training will also train the heart to adapt, making it less likely to fail when you need it, in a stressful situation for example.
Steady state endurance training on the other hand can cause muscle wasting, reduced immune function and keeps heart rate at a regular level, hence: not training it; you can check if you are at a regular heart level from the monitor on most gym machines or if you're not panting like crazy.
Fun and interesting
Variable training / interval training has lower dropout rates because it is more fun than regular long boring cardio and can be used anywhere. I personally gave up my 60-70 min cardio sessions entirely and now only spend a maximum of 15-20 minutes on cardio whether it be on a treadmill, a hill, a pool or a bike.I even do intervals while climbing stairs. I get amazing results while freeing up the best thing in life: which is time (to meet friends, travel or simply workout some more)
This is a sample cardio session that I use regularly (18 minutes)
Warm up with a slow jog/fast walk for 3-5 minutes (5 minutes)
jog at a moderate speed (5-6) on the treadmill for 2 minutes (7minutes)
sprint all out (12-14) on the treadmill for 1 minute (8minutes)
Repeat moderate and all out session for a total of 3x (14 minutes
Cool off with a slow jog/walk for at least 4 minutes after (18 minutes)
Please feel free to try this out if you'd like. It should get you sweating like crazy and feeling real good when you're done.
