I am not a big fan of doing cardio but I know that it is important. Over the last year (and more regularly, the last 3-4 months) I have been a 20 minute HIIT workout three times a week which has worked wonders for me. In this post I will show you what this workout entails and why I like it so much.
The 'exercise' you do may include some cardio, but it may not. My calisthenics training does not include specific cardio work, so I wanted to add some in. During my last body challenge I used a 20 minute HIIT cardio workout on a spine bike at home. The workout I used is from ‘Body for Life’ and they call it the ‘20-minute Aerobics Solution’.
According to their book, “This workout is self-regulating and evolutionary. That means no matter what your present condition, you’re ready for the ‘20-minute Aerobics Solution’, and you can never outgrow it”. It uses what they call the “Intensity Index”. This is a scale that goes from level 1 to level 10. Level 1 would be sitting on the couch watching TV (requires no intensity) level 3 may be walking, level 5 may be a fast walk (moderate intensity) and level 10 would be an all-out 100% effort sprint (maximum intensity). These levels will differ from person to person as everyone's level of fitness is different,
How to do the 20-minute Aerobics Solution workout
To do this 20 minute workout simply choose an exercise you like doing, such as a treadmill, jogging or a spin bike (like I did). You start by doing a 2 minute set-up phase at a level 5 intensity. After 2 minutes, your level should increase to level 6 for 1 minute, then level 7 for 1 minute then level 8 for 1 minute then level 9 for 1 minute. After the level 9 it goes back down to level 6 and we repeat the cycle 3 times. On the last cycle (between the 18th and 19th minutes of this 20 minute workout), we try to push it to a level 10. Basically, this is putting in maximum effort for the minute. Then for the last minute it goes back down to a level 5 to cool down. The table below shows the time and the intensity levels:
According to their book, “This workout is self-regulating and evolutionary. That means no matter what your present condition, you’re ready for the ‘20-minute Aerobics Solution’, and you can never outgrow it”. It uses what they call the “Intensity Index”. This is a scale that goes from level 1 to level 10. Level 1 would be sitting on the couch watching TV (requires no intensity) level 3 may be walking, level 5 may be a fast walk (moderate intensity) and level 10 would be an all-out 100% effort sprint (maximum intensity). These levels will differ from person to person as everyone's level of fitness is different,
How to do the 20-minute Aerobics Solution workout
To do this 20 minute workout simply choose an exercise you like doing, such as a treadmill, jogging or a spin bike (like I did). You start by doing a 2 minute set-up phase at a level 5 intensity. After 2 minutes, your level should increase to level 6 for 1 minute, then level 7 for 1 minute then level 8 for 1 minute then level 9 for 1 minute. After the level 9 it goes back down to level 6 and we repeat the cycle 3 times. On the last cycle (between the 18th and 19th minutes of this 20 minute workout), we try to push it to a level 10. Basically, this is putting in maximum effort for the minute. Then for the last minute it goes back down to a level 5 to cool down. The table below shows the time and the intensity levels:
The cool thing about this is that, as I said before, it is self-regulating and changes as you get fitter. I know from when I do this and put in full effort on the spin bike, my legs are jelly when I finish. I did this 3 times a week along with the 3 workouts that I did as part of my TRM exercises I discussed in the previous post.
If you haven’t been exercising much before, a small jog may be maximum effort. But as you get fitter, your speed will increase. When I do this on the spin bike I use the RPM as my guide for intensity level. When you are concentrating on what level you are doing, the 20 minutes goes by super fast.
I would encourage you to give this work out a go. Even if you already do cardio, try it and see what you think, then let me know. I would be interested to see your thoughts.
References
Body for Life, Bill Phillips, Harper Collins Publishers, 1999
If you haven’t been exercising much before, a small jog may be maximum effort. But as you get fitter, your speed will increase. When I do this on the spin bike I use the RPM as my guide for intensity level. When you are concentrating on what level you are doing, the 20 minutes goes by super fast.
I would encourage you to give this work out a go. Even if you already do cardio, try it and see what you think, then let me know. I would be interested to see your thoughts.
References
Body for Life, Bill Phillips, Harper Collins Publishers, 1999
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