Cardio Interval Workout

One of the most frustrating creatures I see at the gym is the cardio-bookworm, recognisable by the book in their hands as the pedal ever so slowly on the recline bike, or meandering along on a treadmill while flipping through the pages of a magazine. You’d think they were on a stroll through the countryside instead of at the gym in the middle of a ‘workout’.

 Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s not much I love better than getting stuck into a good book (or pretty much any book for that matter) but there’s a time and a place for it. And – in my humble opinion – the gym is not that place. One of the excuses I’ve heard for this (kinda odd) behaviour is that cardio is ‘boring’ – and I won’t deny that for many people, pounding away on the treadmill isn’t exactly fun. But there is a very simple way to counteract this boredom, and that’s with interval training. Interval training is a hugely effective way to burn a lot of calories fast, and as a bonus, you’ll keep on burning them long after the session is over! You can read more about it here.

Anyway, I thought it was time I put together a new interval-style cardio session for all you gym-goers out there. Obviously it can be adapted depending on what equipment you’ve got at your disposal, but I’ve chosen the treadmill (my favourite) and the rower (least favourite – would prefer to gouge out my eyes than use it but know it’s good for me).

And the workout goes like this:

1. Rowing machine

10 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
20 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
30 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
40 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
30 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
20 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
10 seconds work – Finished

You’ll notice I’ve said ‘relax’ not ‘rest’ here. The idea is to keep rowing, but slow down to a speed that allows your heart rate to start falling.

2. Treadmill

(Round 1)
30 seconds work – 30 seconds rest
45 seconds work – 30 seconds rest
1 minute work – 30 seconds rest
1min 15 secs work – 30 seconds rest
1min 30 secs work – Two minutes rest
(Round 2)
Increase ‘work’ speed by at least 1km/hr
1min 30 secs work – 30 seconds rest
1min 15 secs work – 30 seconds rest
1 minute work – 30 seconds rest
45 seconds work – 30 seconds rest
30 seconds work – Finished

3. (Back to the) Rowing machine

10 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
20 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
30 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
40 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
30 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
20 seconds work – 20 seconds relax
10 seconds work – Finished

WORKOUT DONE

You can be in and out of the gym in 30 minutes – just leave your magazine at home.

Happy Monday! xx