Full Body Cardio

Have you ever ran a marathon?  I sure haven't.  Although, I probably have moved more boxes than the average person.  I met a guy about a year ago.  "What do you do for working out?" I asked. 

He replied with, "I am training for a marathon."  I was quite surprised!  He has a pretty amazing story to tell.  He turned his life around.  He became passionate about running.  This was him impact, and it all started with a simple treadmill.

Now, I have the pleasure of working with him.  Trust me, I am not out there helping him go the distance, running along the side of him.  Rather, we are working on adding a bit of diversity to his training routines.

He told me that he knows how to pace himself for those five mile runs.  He also talked about losing his excellent stride that he had when he was a few pounds lighter.

I told him about cardiovascular training.  He said his cardio was good.  He meant for jogging.  His aerobic endurance is quite impressive actually.  I suggested we step it up a notch.

There are several variables that you can alter to increase the intensity of a work out.  Speed, intensity, amount of muscle used, and rest intervals.

In his current training program, he uses a slow speed, that is at a moderate intensity (he is maintaining a decent pace), he uses his legs in short strides, and doesn't stop.

However, you need to change the whole training philosophy. We leave his house and head to the park with a slow jog. I warm him up with climbing a rock wall. Then the park is the obstacle course. It is my goal to get the intensity of the training up. Use more muscles, circuit the training. Let certain muscles recover. However, you can increase your cardio training by having active recovery. Use explosive movements, slow paced cardio (such as a jog), and the whole body to get the job done.