Want to see your heart rate soar? Of course your do—if it means you’re sweating, too. Here’s a way to raise it without getting bored of the same old stuff.
The expert: Tom Holland
C.S.C.S. Ironman triathlete; owner of TeamHolland; coach and exercise physiologist in Darien, Connecticut; and author of The Marathon Method
Why he made the cut: If you find cardio about as fun as a Pap smear, Holland has your fix. “The key to staying motivated is variety,” he says. “Constantly mixing it up during a single workout session keeps your body guessing, changing, and improving.”
His Fix: A 30-minute cardio session with half of it spent near your anaerobic threshold, or AT. “That’s the point where we begin to have trouble breathing and our bodies can no longer clear lactic acid from our bloodstream,” Holland says. “Runners call this a tempo workout—which means increasing your speed until you hit and sustain a ‘comfortably hard’ pace for a set period of time.”
Do It: Jog for 5 minutes at an easy pace. Pick up your speed—you should still be able to hold a conversation—for 5 minutes. Bust a nut (if you had one) for 15 minutes at your “tempo” pace—so you can speak only in 3- to 5-word spurts. Jog easy for 5 minutes to cool down.
If You Want to Speed Up:
“Tempo runs can make you faster, but shorter, harder intervals at or above your anaerobic threshold will really improve your speed and race times,” Holland says.
His Fix: Pyramid Intervals “Training hard with these will actually improve your AT, which means you’ll be able to run faster without losing your breath.”
Do It: Warmup jog or walk, 5 minutes. Go hard (a bit faster than your average pace), 5 minutes. Sprint, 30 seconds. Go hard, 1 minute. Sprint, 45 seconds. Recovery jog, 1.5 minutes. Sprint, 1 minute. Recovery jog, 2 minutes. Go hard, 45 seconds. Recovery jog, 2 minutes. Go hard, 30 seconds. Cooldown jog, 10 minutes.
Plus: The Cardio Workout You Can Do Anywhere
You don’t need a treadmill to get in a great cardio workout—you can burn flab and shape up fast with the simple mountain climber routine. Do as many as you can with good form, rest for 60 seconds, and go again. Continue in this manner until you reach 50 in a row.
How to Do It: Assume a pushup position with your arms straight and your body in a straight line from your head to your ankles. Now raise your left knee toward your chest and place the balls of your feet on the floor—as if you were in sprinter’s stance. Brace your abs and then quickly switch leg positions, so that you simultaneously kick your left leg back and bring your right leg forward. Alternate back and forth as fast as you can.
Source: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/cardio-workout-1