If you have read my blog posts before you will know that I am not a big fan of traditional forms of cardio such as running, cycling, cross trainer, etc that most people tend to do.

However that doesn’t mean there is no place for cardio in your workout routines. But of you are going to to do cardio you MUST do it right.

Most people will do what I call ‘constant cardio.’  This means they will basically go to the gym, get on the treadmill or cross trainer, put it at a certain speed and leave it there for a set amount of time or until they have burnt a set amount of calories.

This really is the least effective way to workout and burn fat.

Here are some other far more beneficial options. But they all rely of one key, very important variable – changing the speed and intensity of your workout constantly.

I will use the treadmill as an example, but the same thing could just as easily be replicated running outside or on any other cardio machine. I will also base the following on a 20 minute workout.

Option A -2 minutes normal speed, then 2 minutes faster. So you walk/jog at a comfortable speed for 2 minutes then increase it so you are working harder for minutes. Change between the 2 until your 20 minutes are up.

Option B – 1 minute normal, then 1 minute faster. Same routine as above.

Option C – 2 minutes normal, 30 seconds sprint. But your REALLY have to go for it during those 30 seconds.

Today’s Takeaway – All of the 3 options above (and ideally you should doa  combination of all 3) are far more effective then ‘traditional cardio.’