Top Cardio Exercises For Fast Results and Tips On How To Make It Fun

The Best Cardio Workouts For Quick Muscle Toning and Weight Loss

You can get fit FAST by doing even basic cardio workouts. Here is what you can do to make it fun !

Cardio workouts can be rough, and most of us don’t always enjoy it. But here are a few things you can do to really get motivated and maybe even enjoy cardio. For starters, consider a training partner,and turn up the music !

Mix up your routine and find things you enjoy. Running and treadmill and be monotonous. Boxing (boxercise) and spinning classes are fun and high paced. If you choose to train with a partner, get competitive and run sprints.

Beginners – The main machines at the gym

Cardio exercise machine workouts are great and fun for burning excess body fat and building good cardiovascular health. When paired with a fat burning supplement, the results are amazing!

Step up stair climber – A common mistake for not getting the most out of the step up stair climber machine. Almost invariably, everyone when exercising with this machine will rest their arms on the railing.

By doing so, the railing now becomes sort of like a crutch as it will now support some of your body weight making the exercise less intensive. The stair climber should be added into your cardio workouts occasionally.

Treadmill – The treadmill is perhaps the most popular cardio workout machine in the gym. A careful observation will show that many treadmill users run with too much up and downs. This mistake will wear out the person’s ankle and knee joints over time. The correct method is to take long, smooth and purposeful strides during the exercise.

Stationery Bike – When exercising on the stationery bike, do adjust the height of the seat to a comfortable level. I really don’t understand why many stationery bike users adjust their seats to be either too high or too low.

I mean, why be uncomfortable when exercising when you can be comfortable. When the seat is too low, it adds strain to your knees and spine. When too high, your will butt will rock from side to side.

So besides not getting the best from your cardio workout on the stationery bike because your body weight will be involved when you peddle, you will also look weird.

Another common mistake is that I often see stationery bikers reading a book when exercising. That means that they exercise at a very low intensity level.

Elliptical Trainer – You use the elliptical trainer to tone your body and to exercise for your cardiovascular fitness right? Then why is it I often see people who use the elliptical trainer exercising at a high speed?

So what is the mistake? The mistake is that they have set the resistant level too low. You see, if you do not puff, pant and breakout in sweat, you are not getting the best out of your cardio exercises.

Is it any wonder then that people are not losing weight and not improving on their cardiovascular health even when they are doing their cardio exercises regularly?

Avoiding these cardio machine exercise workout mistakes, you can now head for the gym and get the best out of these exercises. In a very short time, you will see your body toning up nicely and lose excess body fat.

HIIT Workout – High Intesity Interval Training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves repetitions of intense exercise lasting 10-180 seconds, followed by rest or reduced exercise intensity.

While studies show increases fitness faster than traditional, moderate-intensity exercise. Also, effects on weight loss are proven positive.

Because few exercise techniques are more effective at improving fitness rapidly than HIIT. The four components of interval training include distance, repetition, intensity and rest.

1. Distance refers to either the distance or time of the exercise interval.
2. Repetition refers to the number of times repeating the exercise.
3. Intensity refers to the speed of performing the exercise.
4. Rest refers to the time spent recovering between exercises.

Researchers determined that six sessions of high intensity training intervals on a stationary bike increased muscle oxidative capacity by almost 50 percent. Increased muscle glycogen by 20 percent and cycle endurance capacity by 100 percent.

Subjects made remarkable improvements by exercising only 15 minutes in two weeks. Workouts consisted of four to seven repetitions of HIIT (each rep consisted of 30 seconds at near-maximum effort) on a stationary bike.

Follow up studies showed that practicing HIIT three times weekly for six weeks improved endurance and aerobic activity as well as training five times a week for 60 minutes for six weeks.

While combining high intensity training routines along with a fat burning thermogenic helps burn fat. Furthermore, sports supplements also help with endurance and muscle recovery.

Intense Outdoor Bodyweight Cardio Circut (HIIT)

Research has demonstrated that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) improves work capacity, glucose metabolism and fat burning. The most effective form of HIIT at improving fitness and performance may be supramaximal interval training (SMIT).

To perform this workout, choose one of the three following SMIT exercise for the parameters described. You’ll then perform the metabolic body weight circuit. You will be on your way to losing weight and getting fit in no time.

SMIT Option #1-Shuttle Run:
Set-Up: Place two cones 25 yards apart. Lengths are as follows: 200 yard shuttle run= four round trips between the cones,  250 yard shuttle run= five round trips between the cones,  300 yard shuttle run= six round trips between the cones…Between rounds use a work to rest ratio of 1:3 or 1:2, depending on your fitness level.

For example using a 1:3 ratio if it takes you one minute to complete a 300 yard shuttle sprint. Resting for three minutes before starting the next round. Perform two to five rounds depending on your fitness level.

SMIT Option #2-Gasser Run: Set-Up:
Place two cones 50 yards apart. Action: Jog up to the start cone then run as fast as you can back and forth between the cones. Unlike in shuttle sprints, you don’t touch the cones at the turns.

Therefore staying more upright. Use a work to rest ratio of 1:3 or 1:2 between rounds. Perform 2 to 5 rounds.

SMIT Option #3-Hill Sprint:
Set-Up: Find a fairly steep hill at least 20 yards long. If you’re lucky, you’ll find one that is 40 yards or longer. Action: Run up the hill as fast as you can. Walking down slowly to start up your next run.

Use work to rest ratio of 1:3 or 1:4 between rounds. For example-if it takes you 20 seconds to complete a hill sprint, rest roughly 60 seconds. Perform 5 to 10 rounds.

Bodyweight Circuit

For the metabolic body weight circuit, combining various crawling type patterns. Which we call “animal patterns”. Using various upright agility drills, you’ll alternate between animal patterns (on the ground) and agility drills (standing).

Performing each animal pattern and agility drill pair twice through before moving on to the next pair of drills. Which performed twice and so on. Each paired set is done for a total of 20-30 yards up and 20-30 yards back for a total of 40-60 yards per lap. Performing each of the animal patterns for roughly 10 yards.

Then standing upright and performing the agility drill for another 10-20 yards moving in the same direction. Then you’ll turn around and perform the same agility drill all the way back (20-30 yards) to where you started.

Once completing this sequence twice through in the same manner and so on. The main goal is to finish this entire circuit-all paired sets of animal patterns and the locomotion drills.

While in as little time as possible without sacrificing the quality of the technique demonstrated in any of the drills.

Animal Pattern 1: Tiger Crawl: On all fours, step off with your right foot and left arm, keeping your knees off the ground. Be sure to keep your hips and shoulders fairly level. Repeat on the other side. Continue moving forward, alternating sides.

Agility Drill 1: High Knee Skips: Stay tall, bend your knee and raise your upper leg until  it’s horizontal to the ground. Similar to jumping rope, the stride requires a double foot strike pattern, or right-right followed by left-left hops. You also have to coordinate the pumping of your arms to the double foot strikes.

Animal Pattern 2: Alligator Crawl: Starting in the push-up position, lower your chest slightly and bring your right knee to your right elbow. As you push up, reach your right arm forward and bring your left knee to your left elbow.

Drop back into a partial push up, and when you come up, reach forward with your left arm and bring your right knee to your right elbow. Repeat

Agility Drill 2: Backward Run: Take long strides as you run backward while maintaining a relaxed upper body and torso while you coordinate the pumping of your arms.

Animal Pattern 3: Rabbits: With your feet wider than shoulder width, squat down low and hinge forward at your hips, placing your hands in front of your feet. Lift your feet off the ground and drive your legs forward so they end up outside your hands. Repeat this action, continuing to move forward.

Agility Drill 3: Lateral Shuffle: Assume an athletic ready position with your feet hip width apart and knees bent with your weight back in your flexed hips. Shift your weight toward your right, picking up your right foot and explosively pushing your left foot into the ground to start moving your right.

Continue to move your right in this manner. Picking up the right foot and placing it to the right while pushing the left foot into the ground. Generating force and momentum for the sideways movement.

Your feet should remain parallel with one another with the toes facing forward. Then, reverse the direction by shifting your weight over your left let. Push off with your right foot and begin shuffling back to the starting point.

Animal Pattern 4: Spider Crawl: Assume a push up position and move laterally. Your arms can cross, but not your legs. Don’t let your hips sag and be sure not to lift your butt in the air higher than your shoulders.

Move 10 yards in the same direction. Then reverse the motion moving 10 yards back to the start.

Agility Drill 4: Carioca: Start with your feet a little wider than hip distance apart. Knees soft. Use your left foot to push off, crossing it behind the right foot and transferring your weight onto it. Move your right foot to the side until you’re back to your starting stance. Now cross your left foot in front, stepping onto it.

Move your right foot to the side. Continue moving to your right, crossing the left foot behind, then in front until you reach the end of your planned distance. Then reverse your direction.