80/20 Cardio

[OhioFutureProf]

I'm just curious if anyone has come up with a way, similar to Tim Ferris's post on how to maximize your weight-lifting (though I wish he had provided more detail), on how to do the same with cardiovascular exercise.

Or should I just refer to his post on swimming and do that as my cardio?

Just curious, thanks in advance for any tips!

[kamakiri]

You could do intervals, but you are probably better off doing 100/0 cardio.

[Lohkye]

You could always go tabata style. 20 seconds of maximum effort followed by 10 seconds of minimal effort for 8 cycles (4 mins). That's the short description of it. There is a ton of research on it on the web (crossfit and http://www.rosstraining.com/articles...intervals.html both have examples.)

Fun test to do at home? Do Tabata body weight squats. That should be proof enough that the interval works. Now apply it to everything else (jump rope, swimming, jogging, stationary bike, burpees etc). Enjoy.

[tbone2345]

check out www.musclehack.com

ive cut lifting down from 1hr 5/6 times per week to 45mins 3/4 times per week and get better gains than ever using his techniques

[webgal]

I found caffeine was wrecking my life, too. Still a lot of 'supplements' on that site, though. I don't take any of them. A good diet should do the trick.

[sub8hr]

Originally Posted by webgal

I found caffeine was wrecking my life, too. Still a lot of 'supplements' on that site, though. I don't take any of them. A good diet should do the trick.

Indeed. Cave man was far more physically active, taller, and fitter than modern man, and cave man consumed no supplements to achieve it--only natural foods. =) I've been on a Paleo Diet kick lately...

[Dantplayer]

What about those weights that you strap to your ankles? If you were to put two of those on each leg you would be increasing intensity and could then decrease time, right?

[Adam Steer]

As has already been mentioned, the most bang for your buck comes from "Metabolic Conditioning" (Metcon). CrossFit has made it famous, but there are many variations and iterations. This is a post about a type of Metcon called Tacfit.

The nice thing about Metcon is you develop both the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems at once, which is not the case in reverse (you don't develop the anearobic system through aerobic exercise). Conventional "interval" training also has this effect, but it is booring and involves repetitive action - which of course increases the risk of overuse injury.

Metcon, and other types of high intensity training, also boost what is known as EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Energy Consumption) - which basically means that you are burning calories for hours (some studies indicate up to 78 hours) after you stop exercising.

Finally, by using various tools and body weight exercises, you not only keep your training more fun and interesting, but you garner significant muscular development as you train your cardio.

Cheers,
Adam

[David_D]

Ah now this is something I am doing....

In April I will run the London Marathon.

I started training in December. I have not that much running before, but my general fitness is good as I train (when I'm in the UK) as a boxer and a kick boxer. I searched the internet for training plans. These all included hours of running (no way!) and strength sessions.

I tried this for a few weeks and my running has improved, but what with Skiing, muses, consultancy and everything else in my life at the moment, I could not meet the needs of the training plan due to time. So I started to re-think.

80/20

I am now running 3x a week which is only 2 hours of running...and I'm using an adapted version of Tims strenghth plan. (my training plan is a trade secret -maybe something for another muse) Plus when I was living in Brussels I met a Egyptian body builder who taught me quite a lot about nutrition, and that training in general in 80% what you eat and 20% training.
So I seriously looked at my diet too...

I'm confident it will bring good results- I'll let you all know after the initial 28 days.

[Jollala]

Swimming is the best exercise in the world. think of how much calories burnt during swimming....
Swimming, Backstroke, general--------------------------------------------------306
Swimming, Breaststroke, general--------------------------------------------------434
Swimming, Butterfly, general--------------------------------------------------459
Swimming, Freestyle, laps - fast/vigorous effort--------------------------------------------------459
Swimming, Freestyle, laps - light/moderate effort--------------------------------------------------298

It is often mentioned that swimming is one of the best exercises you can put your body through, using a combination of muscles throughout the entire body that few other exercises can match.
As we know exercise can help in growing taller naturally, this would naturally lead us to the question of whether or not swimming is a good exercise routine for increasing your height.