www.TurbulenceTrainingProgram.com

As I mentioned in a previous post, Craig and I don’t always see eye to eye on certain topics. I’ve become used to hearing him say, “long and boring cardio”, and although I can’t stand that phrase, I appreciate where he’s coming from.

I personally love long cardio sessions whether it be jogging, biking, walking, hiking, rowing, or whatever form of activity I choose. But I also have experienced first hand just how powerful the shorter and more intense cardio sessions are for burning fat.

That’s why I incorporate both long duration and interval training into my workout program. I understand that Craig’s philosophies and training regime is designed to appeal to the incredibly busy person who doesn’t have time for long bouts of cardio.

My stance has and always will be, MAKE THE TIME!

I’ve tried doing just interval training and I’ve tried doing just HIIT. They work well, but are never as effective as when I include long duration cardio into my program.

Lets face it we’re all different. From Craig’s experience he has found interval training to be the most effective at burning fat for himself and his clients. That’s why it’s so important to try different programs and give them 100% of your effort to see how your body reacts to them.

Try the cardio workout above and share how it felt to you. What form of cardio do you enjoy best? Do you mix it up and incorporate both HIIT and long duration cardio into your program?

I’d love to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Empower Your Mind… And Your Body Will Follow!

Scott Tousignant

I can hear you shouting at me already, “What, long boring cardio. I don’t want to do that!” Yep, that’s the voice of a brainwashed industry that is being constantly bombarded with emails from fat loss experts preaching that long duration cardio is the devil!

The best physiques in the world have been created by incorporating long duration cardio into their fat loss program. We’re talking about the people who achieve single digit body fat percentage and even the low range of under 4% body fat.

I honestly believe that it’s a grave mistake to completely avoid long duration cardio. And personally, I don’t think that it’s boring. 30 minutes of clearing my head, planning my day, visualizing my goals, and thinking of my future and past successes all while riding my bike along the edge of the river, hiking along a beautiful trail, or jogging through the forest, is heaven on Earth for me!

Hey, I love HIIT as well and I incorporate 9 to 15 minutes of it several times per week in addition to long duration cardio and resistance training.

There are just way too many examples of amazing physiques that have been achieved by including long duration cardio into the program to avoid it. And please don’t give me the lack of time excuse. You want to lose belly fat and get a flat stomach or even 6 pack abs don’t you? Well pull yourself up out of the chair and get your butt moving!

Do what the people who have 6 pack abs do. You’ve seen the abs on Angie and I haven’t you? We do long duration cardio and we don’t look like a frail Kenyan marathon runner.

If 35 minutes of cardio is good for LL Cool J, it’s good enough for me. He’s got a physique that I admire and aim to achieve.

Your 6 pack is calling you. Answer the door!

Scott Tousignant

Q: What is HIIT and how can you take action with it?

A: HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. An ‘interval’ is ANY span of time, such as 30 sec., 1 min., 2 min., that you choose to perform an activity within and at a certain degree of intensity (low to high).

In our book, The Fit Chic, we recommend that you perform HIIT as your cardio component a couple of times each week. If you have a bike, outdoor or stationary, you can interval every 30 seconds. So first you would begin biking for 2 min. to warm up. Then you would pick up the pace so that you are really pushing yourself for 30 seconds (go all out here!), then you slow right down for 30 seconds, then increase for the following 30 sec…then decrease for the next 30 sec…see the pattern?

Keep up this interval for at least 10 solid minutes. Cool down for 3 minutes afterward. This type of cardio training is quite intense. You can perform the intervals using other cardio equipment, or you don’t need any real ‘equipment!’

My favourite way to do this type of cardio is to change what I ‘DO’ for each 30 seconds of high intensity. Here is what I do:

SKIP – 30 sec.
march on spot- 30 sec.

Ride stationary bike (high speed) – 30 sec.
Ride nice n’ easy – 30 sec.

Burpees - 30 sec.
march on spot – 30 sec.

Mountain climbers – 30 sec.
march on spot – 30 sec.

Jumping Jacks - 30 sec.
march on spot – 30 sec.

Run up stairs – 30 sec.
march on spot – 30 sec.

** I will perform all 6 of these different moves at a high intensity and slow down in between. Once I go through all 6, I repeat it again. Sometimes I will go through it a third time! **

People like HIIT for a few reasons. It is quick and intense. You can get an effective cardio workout in a short amount of time. Your metabolism will be in ‘high gear’ long after your workout, so you are still burning calories at a higher rate even when you are done!

Personally, I like to incorporate a few bouts of this type of cardio into my training. I enjoy it. I also enjoy my 30 minutes of walking, biking, jogging, and rollerblading. So, if you have never tried this kind of training…give it a shot! It may just be that ‘change’ you are looking for in your routine.

Have an awesome workout!

Cheers to health,

Angie
ISSA – C.P.T.