Would you believe that today was my first time back on my bike since my race on the 19th? That's 14-days too long! As you may remember, my bike was out of commission for a little while following my race. Since getting it back, I have not had the opportunity to ride. I have been training...just not on the bike.
What does my training consist of when I'm not on the bike you ask? Well...in a recent post I shared with you one of my strength training routines, and today I will share with you a 'cardio' routine that I do when I'm not riding. First of all, I hate the term cardio. I hear people say things like, "Today is cardio day" or "I do cardio on Tuesdays and Saturdays", etc. I know this may tick some people off, but hang in there with me while I explain.
Exercise that focuses on improving cardio-respiratory fitness levels (i.e. improved VO2 max, and increased anaerobic threshold) should include high intensity exercise. Yet when I ask most people what they do for cardio, they say something like "I walked on the treadmill for 60-minutes" or "I was on the stepper or the elliptical for about an hour". That's great...don't get me wrong...I am happy that people are getting exercise. The problem however, is when these same people don't see any progress, and quit. I have explained the EPOC effect in a previous post, so I wont beat it up again today. All I want you to know is that greater caloric expenditure, and greater amounts of fat mass loss are gained through interval training that includes relatively high intensity exercise. Here's the real cool thing about it...it doesn't take anywhere near as long! In 15-minutes of interval training, I can burn almost as many calories as the person who walked or jogged on the treadmill for a hour...and I am elevating my metabolism and creating greater fat mass loss through the recovery process...and I still have time to get in a full strength training session, thus burning even more calories, and keeping my metabolism cranked up for even longer!
It's just more efficient...and there's a ton of research to support this!
So...the type of 'cardio' training that I do is often referred to as ESD or Energy System Development training. It is called this because this type of training actually serves to develop all three primary energy systems within the body...rather than just one. Yesterday's ESD session was done at the fire station, took about 20-minutes, and burned off 650 kcal of energy! Pretty amazing huh?
So what the heck does that kind of training entail? Check it out...
Versaclimber Sprint 1-minute
Rest 30-seconds
Medicine Ball Slams 30-seconds
Rest 30-seconds
Battling Ropes 30-seconds
Rest 30-seconds
Versaclimber Sprint 1-minute
Rest 30-seconds
Medicine Ball Slams 30-seconds
Rest 30-seconds
Battling Ropes 30-seconds
Rest 3-minutes, then repeat two more times
Total work time.............13:30
Total Rest........................7:30
I have attached some videos of these exercises for you to watch. Now remember...this is not your run of the mill cardio training! This will max out your heart rate, have you sweating like never before, and hurt a little. But its all over in 20-minutes, and you get 7 1/2 minutes of rest inside that 20-minutes of work! Obviously, this type of exercise should not be performed if you have health issues like, heart problems, respiratory illness, etc. A routine like this should be built up to. When I first began this type of training, I was only performing a single set...not three. I just wanted to show you the benefits of this type of training.
Check out these videos...
VersaClimber Sprints
Battling Ropes (Rope Undulation)
Medicine Ball Slams
By the way...today's ride...15.6 miles, 1hour 26 minutes, 854 kcal.
Thanks for reading!
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