Cardio Routine in 30 Minutes!

You think you’re too busy to get a whole workout? Think again: If you work out 3 or 4 days a week for only 30 minutes a day, you will still improve your cardiovascular health, burn calories, and tone muscles. Remember, the harder you push yourself the greater the benefit, and the better you will feel when you’re done. Below are just ideas for a cardio routine on a rainy or sunny day.

1. Ride a stationary bike. Pedal with a medium and challenging resistance, increasing speed and resistance gradually. Do not pedal like a maniac! Doing so might seem like the best way to get a good workout, but you will burn more calories if you stay between 70 and 80 revolutions per minute (RPMs) with increased resistance.
2. Walk on a treadmill. Take rapid, long strides aiming for a pace between 3.5 and 4.0 miles per hour. You’ll burn more calories and get a better workout if you power walk instead of running at a very slow pace. Increase the incline on the treadmill 10 minutes into your workout, while maintaining the same speed.
3. Run on a treadmill. Warm up for 3 minutes, increasing your pace from a jog to a comfortable run. Following the warm up, run 1 minute intervals then recover at a slow run for 1 minute. Repeat.
4. Use an elliptical trainer. Set the machine to a medium or high resistance and ramp position. Try to reach 70 to 85 percent of your target heart rate. It can be tricky to get a good workout on the elliptical trainer if you don’t know how the machine works. You’ll burn more calories with increased resistance.
5. Use a stair climber. Use the “Aerobic Workout” setting that is programmed into most machines. Increase resistance so that you are breathing hard, but never sacrifice your form. Keep the body upright with hands lightly touching the machine, or for a greater challenge don’t touch the supports at all. Leaning heavily on the handlebars so you can go faster only decreases how hard the legs must work, cutting the calories expended.
6. Get a cardio workout in the house on a rainy day. Run up and down your stairs 5 times. Next, do 2 sets of 25 crunches and 20 push-ups. Then stretch for 1 minute and repeat the whole cycle.

Article by Jessy Hamawi, Club Fitness Nutritionist and Personal Trainer