12 Minute Cardio Workout Routine

  

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In the previous issue we discussed the importance of strength training and how to measure your strength using five tests focused on different muscle groups. This month we look at training to improve your strength in each of these five areas. By: Steve Roberts “How can you do a workout without weights” he asks? Since I started my Degree in 1998, the fitness and health world exploded with a massive increase in fad diets, exercise equipment, supplements, pills, workouts and places to workout. We all know that Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired the body building generation, Jane Fonda the Aerobic classes in tights and even Richard Simmons has helped melt away kilos of fat from thousands of American’s, but at what cost? Machines, dumbbells, tights and makeup cost money, as does the food and supplements that have gone into these bodies to get the kick-start or to be at the place. If you look at fitness industry leaders like; Frank Medrano, Mark Lauren and Ross Enamait who are all well-knowntrainers and athletes who walk the walk by training themselves and their athletes using the same machine – their bodies. Bodyweight training doesn’t isolate muscles like you will find when you use a machine. For example, when you do a Leg Press on an incline leg press machine, what position is your body in? Sitting! That’s right and when do you ever sit in an incline chair and push your legs back and forth? Never! Unless you find a sport or functional activity where you need to rest your upper body and not use your core, you’ll only get some leg strength benefit. Nine times out of ten, you need core strength and your upper body to also be strong. From a functional point of view, you are far better performing a squat jump to sculpt your legs and here’s why. You’ll use your feet to stabilize your body in a ready position, which will consume energy because of the balance required. You’ll use power to execute the movement with speed and you’ll use balance to land smoothly. You won’t belimited to restriction as you’ll find in a chair because your body is a maze of rubber bands (muscles) that lengthen and shorten whenever you more. The squat jump will incorporate more stabilizer muscles because of the balance required and to add some salt into the wound, the equipment is not in a gym and doesn’t cost you time and money. I had one client recently say to me, “Why are we doing this S#@$”! I just smiled and said “Because it’s better for you and doesn’t pollute the world”. He was puzzled, faintly convinced and probably living in the myth that many others believe in – weights give me the strength I need for a bigger chest. So he trundled off back to the bench press and worked his chest as many of them do. I’d challenge the monkey with shaved forearms who lives on the bench press to do 80 push ups in 60 seconds. They might be able to bench 150kg but what’s the good of that when your core is weak and you look like an upside down hanger. The best way to improve movement we usein everyday life such as walking, squatting, reaching, stepping and holding are better practiced using the same movements however within a concentrated time and emphasis. That’s why it’s sometime referred to as working out. You are working out your body in a specific time and it’s a time for self-improvement. Having said that, if you are already using a gym, then use some of these workouts as additional tools to your armour or to alternate to challenge your body.   So what can you do without equipment? The misconception is that there are only a few limited exercises for bodyweight. If I asked the average Joe Bloggs on the street who wasn’t a trainer or didn’t work out using bodyweight exercises how many exercise he/she could name that worked the lower body, you might get four or five. They might say “Squats, Star Jumps, Lunges, Box Jumps and Calf raises”. Okay now if you asked me, I could probably name you 5 different ways that you could do each of these five exercises plus add another100 exercises into the mix for variety. Here are simple ways to challenge yourself without using any weights: Use unilateral (one side) versus bilateral (work both sides of the body together) movements. Use an unstable surface Add pauses or pumps and the bottom, middle or top of movements Change the angle of your body to decrease leverage Do each repetition using a different technique, surface, limb or tempo. Use various objects such as chairs, benches, walls, steps and uneven surfaces to challenge the movement. Like being on the land and having no phones, gym equipment or gyms to go to, you need to be creative. There are ten different ways to do a push-up and that’s just from changing the angle of your grip or hands. My programs have exercises that can be performed by the; untrained, overweight, weak or elderly and are movement patterns mostly used on ever day life such as the basic squat. A variation or challenge from a basic squat is a jump squat that can be performed when you havereached a certain level. Progression from the jump squat is the one-legged squat. Doing a squat in a vertical position (standing) is not as hard as if you had to balance on pillows or start on your heel or one leg while the other is out to the side. You can challenge gravity to challenge your muscles and your body for the rest of your life. Here is one of my go-to workouts which can be done absolutely anywhere (even a toilet cubical) and takes you ten minutes. Upper and Lower Body Alternator Workout How to use this improvement program: Do exercise A followed by nil or up to 60 seconds rest. Then do exercise B. When you have completed the nominated sets, move on to the next workout pair. This training program could be used for four weeks before re-testing to see your gains. Boost your results: If you deliberately slow an exercise down during its lowering phase (lengthening of the muscle) it’s thought to tear more muscle, which subsequently assists in an increase in muscle size. To seethis training program’s video, just scan this code and watch.   ABOUT STEVE Steve Roberts, owner of Taurus Trainer, is an exercise physiologist and certified strength and conditioning specialist. He is launching his online programs: Fat Loss, Muscle Gain and Boxing Fitness in mid-2015. Steve welcomes your questions at . Keep an eye out for the revamped website , coming soon. In the meantime, like his handle ; or follow his blog: