Q and A: Cardio Work and Intervals
February 12th, 2008
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by Mike T Nelson · Filed Under: Uncategorized
A buddy of mine is looking to increase his cardio and you have talked about interval training as the way to go over slow, steady state cardio. What were the specifics of your recommendations again? He’s a muscular 202lbs and is looking to do some treadmill work to increase the strength of his heart and lungs.
Good question! Yes, higher intensity work is the way to go!
What is his main goal? Increased performance on a sprint or overall conditioning? What does he use to measure “success” –that will determine the exact proto used. Even the word “conditioning” is very vague.
Assuming he is looking for overall general cardiac health and to increase his speed a bit my first recommendation is to NOT use a treadmill. I will have a post coming up soon with all the details on why I believe this, so hold tight.
“It isn’t Cardio if it isn’t plugged in!” Geoff Neupert
If you have no other option (I even like bikes better) and still insist on doing the treadmill, a good starting point is about 30 seconds of all out running with 1:30 min at a fast walking pace for someone who is in pretty good “shape”. Total time about 6 minutes to start and work up from there. As you progress your total time and time spent running will increase and your low intensity time will decrease.
I also don’t recommend anyone do high intensity running without a gait analysis as running on “jammed/ poor mobility” joints will eventually cause issues. This is not a matter of “if” it is a matter of time and repeated impact. Think of landing from a jump without bending your knees to absorb the shock—same idea if the joints are not working correctly. If you are in the MN area and need a gait analysis, contact me and see this link for more info.
Other options are Kettlebells (hey, I do that too!–shameless I know), sandbags, DB intervals, car pushing, BW (body weight) drills, jumping rope, etc. I prefer all of them to the treadmill.
If you have access to a HR (heart rate) monitor, that is my preferred way to set up intervals since you can take the person’s actual biofeedback and use that to set up intervals instead of guessing at a time. You can also get fancy and record HR recovery times and new ones even use HRV (heart rate variability) to assess your ability to train that day. Most people can use just a basic one and even pick up a cheap one off ebay.
Hope that helps! Any comments, let me know.
Rock on
Mike N
Comments RSS 
Mike,
I agree 100% – get OFF the hamster-wheel.
Great idea about using a HR monitor during exercise. That way if you decide to workout on a not so great day, you can minimize the negative impact on your NS.
Good info as always!
Katie
Great stuff! So true. Especially the gait analysis. People don’t realize that they’re imprinting there brain with faulty movement patterns that are going to injure them down the road. It’s scary what a slight deviation can do.
My cardio of choice would have to be sled dragging.
Steve
Thanks Katie! Got to respect the nervous system.
Steve,
Yep, sled pulling is great! I am going to make a tire into a “sled” this spring; so that will be fun!
Rock on
Mike N
I agree that some incredible benefits can come from high intensity sprint e.g., Art De Vany or Sprint 8. At 202 pounds he is probably not a natural runner – so sprints or kettlebell work is the way to go. I don’t think he has to go all out. Aerobic intervals (up to 80% HR or Max Vo2) of 30 seconds on / 30 second off can accomplish great cardio effects.
Treadmill? Most runners at some point put some treadmill work in. Why? Weather or tough neighborhoods. It is not as good as running outside. I would recommend putting the grade at 1% to make up for wind resistance and natural grade. Running on a treadmill is better than no running at all.
dude that was really good read, could you write more about this please?
Thanks for the comment.
What particular question do you want addressed?
Rock on
Mike T Nelson