Advice for higher intensity cardio plz!

G

Granto

0
Hey guys..

I was just after some advice about improving cardio fitness, strength and stamina..

Now what i've been doing for the last 6 months or so has been to go jogging for about 5 k (3 miles or so) every 2nd or 3rd day (sometimes I get a bit lazy, but that's life :D) i'm pretty consistant.

I've gone from having trouble to making it past 700 meters, and now I can usually go the whole 5k at a rather slow pace (25 minutes) my question is what other activities can I do to work in to a roster to improve cardio endurance, cardio fitness, and cardio strength?

I'm 5'10-5'11 or so, and I used to weigh 109 kg (240 lbs) and am down to 93 kg (to 205 lbs) (last measured a few weeks ago, prolly down more ) I found jogging really hard at first, but over time I've improved and have learned to pace myself better.

What I want to do is incorporate some kind of higher intensity exercise into my routine, however, I'm not sure how to go about this. With the jogging it was pretty simple, go out, jog for 700 meters and get puffed out and walk the rest, every week I could jog further. Sprinting or running seem to be a totally different ballpark to me, so any advice or experienec on the matter would be greatly appreciated, Thanks.

Grant.
 
Sprints? Try some straight up sprint work, however you want. You know, spring for 100 meters, break for 25 seconds, spring for 100, break. etc.

Or you coould do some interval runs. Jog at your normal pace for so long, then spring for anywhere from 20 seconds to 60 seconds, then jog for a bit again, spring again. etc.

What has helped me quite a bit in a short period of time is running up hills. I have a hill just around the corner that is long and steep, and running to the top of it then back down has done quite a bit of good for me. Try that out.
 
Thanks for the advice.. with the sprints, did you mean, say, sprint 100 meters, (or as far as I can) stop, stand still catch breath, and repeat over and over?

if so, for about how long should I break, and how long should I do it for all up? (Till I can't anymore, for a baseline?)

Thanks, Grant.
 
Hi there,
I think sprint intervals would be a wonderful idea. They work great on a track. Sprint as fast as possible for 100 meters, then walk 100 meters, sprint, repeat. The sprints are killer. Very tough workout, but you'll feel great after. Oh and don't forget to do a good warm up and cool down.

Sarah
 
Hills are great for high intensity workouts, and if you can get on a track, ladders or broken 400 meter runs are excellent. Ladders are running 8 100's, 4 200's, and 2 300's, then back down. You sprint each, then walk back. Broken 400's: You find your 400 m time, then run a 300 m and shoot for a little slower than 3/4 of your 400 time. You won't be able to consistently hit your max for the whole workout, obviously. I try to hit 42 seconds. When you hit the 300 mark, you stop, wait ten seconds, then sprint the last 100 m. 6-12 of these is a good workout after you warm up. I ran these with the track team, so it's probably a little intense for the average person, so you can either run less reps or distance, or run at a lower intensity and build up until you're sprinting the whole workout.
 
Thank you for the replies..

Sarah, how many sprint intervals should I do? Like, try and keep doing it continuously for 20 minutes? I doubt I can do that yet, heh, or just as long as I can?

gbpackerfan I kind of don't really understand the ladders? the rest sounds great and i'm going to have to try it.

but with the ladders, is that, 8 100 meter.. means, run 100 meter then walk 100 meter and so on? or sprint 100 meter, rest, sprinter 100 meter, rest x 8 then do the next?

Also, since my last post i've lost another 3 kilos! (or 7 or so lbs!) so down to 90 kg/ 198 lbs .. and I'm getting running shoes for my birthday this saturday!

Thanks again for the advice, do you think I should do jog one day, rest, sprints the next day, then rest, then jog and so on? With the martial arts I do, and work, I find my body can get over-tired, but I know you have to push it to improve..

so thanks again.

Grant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top