In my last post, you learned about the best cardio exercise you should avoid.
Now (because Johnny Al never leaves you hanging!), I will share with you some cardio options that you should NOT avoid.
These exercises are some of my favorites; they are great for both fat loss and conditioning.
The truth is that the cardio exercise that is best for one individual may not be the most effective for another trainee.
That’s because the ideal exercise choice depends on many factors. Some of these factors are your specific goal, injury history, bodyweight, and equipment access, to name a few.
Instead of boring you with an explanation and recommendation for each and every possible scenario, I will simply hook you up with my five favorite cardio options for dramatically improving your conditioning levels while burning fat as fast as possible.
These options are for those with no current injures, no coordination issues, and no fear of hard work.
Alright, if you’re still reading, then this post is for you. Here goes…
Strong, lean, muscular, powerful and athletic. Nuff said
1) Sprinting- How many exercises can contribute to strength, speed, power, conditioning, fat burning and mobility, all at the same time? Not many, that’s for sure. But done correctly, sprinting is one of the few that can actually pull it off.
Exactly how to design your sprint workout depends greatly on your goals, training experience, and physical abilities. There are some things, however, that must be incorporated regardless of the above factors. These “must do” elements include:
a) A proper warm up- an effective warm up for sprinting includes dynamic stretches, mechanical drills, and accelerations.
b) Sprint at submaximal speeds- In other words, don’t sprint at 100% of your maximal speed. (The exception would be for experienced sprinters.) Sprinting at 90-95% will deliver great results while being safer and more conducive to developing better sprinting mechanics.
Click here for a video on how to warm up for sprinting and how to properly practice sprinting mechanics.
Walter Payton contributed his great success, in part, to hitting the hill with tenacity
2) Hill Sprints- This is an awesome alternative to sprinting on flat terrain. Some people even prefer hill sprints over traditional sprints because, arguably, there is less of a technical component, less of a warm up requirement and less risk of pulling a hamstring.
To do a killer hill sprint workout, find a hill by your home/gym. After a warm up, sprint up to the top of the hill at 95% of your maximal speed. Use a walk down recovery. Continue this pattern for 12 minutes.
3) Stadium Stair Sprinting- Stair sprinting is a fun, challenging and effective workout. Not unlike hill sprinting, you should sprint up to the top of the stadium stairs and walk down.
I prefer to change the running pattern throughout this workout. For a video on different foot patterns, click here: hill sprinting for fat loss and conditioning.
Ladies, do you really think that Zumba is more effective than this?
4) Sled Sprinting- I absolutely love both pulling and pushing a sled. With a relatively significant weight loaded on the sled, push or pull it for short distances. Use a rest interval similarly to one you would use during a weight training session.
Done correctly, a good sled workout can really help increase strength while increasing conditioning and fat loss simultaneously. Awesome stuff!
5) Brisk Walking- I know this doesn’t quite fit in with the other options, but we need at least one low intensity option here! I really prefer to walk in the morning for fat loss or recovery but feel free to go for a walk anytime.
As you can see, sprinting and sprinting variations are my favorite exercises for energy system (cardio) work. They each require hard work but the results are well worth the effort. Now get off that treadmill and get onto the path to real results!
Dedicated to your success,
John Alvino
one word…read Slow Burn by Stu Mittleman as well
@Alex: Hey Alex, I’ve never read Slow Burn but I know Stu is an ultra marathoner. With all due respect, he has achieved great success in this arena but this is not the type of training that I recommend
This post just put a smile on my face because since I am in the city for classes all week I’ve been bumming that I’m missing our workouts… and I am doing a lot of brisk walking (however I have to admit I am missing the sled pushes!!) Great post and such a good picture of you and Snowy
@Jess: Thanks Jess! An don’t worry, the sled will be waiting for you when you get back
Is it my imagination, or is the picture you used for “strong, lean, muscular” of Ben Johnson?
If it is… LOL (since we know what helped him look like that).
BTW, I know you know that sprinters look the way they do not just because they sprint, but because:
a) They also lift weights. A lot.
b) Selection bias. That is, it’s less that sprinting makes you look like that than people who have a propensity to look like that are the ones who become elite sprinters (and not, say, marathoners or swimmers or cross-country skiers).
@Steven Sashen: That is a pic of Ben. Although that may seem ironic, just about every sprinter on that level is on gear, therefore any pic could be called out. He just got busted. (And yes I had the inside info about the entire saga from a particular Canadian strength coach whom I was personal friends with).
a) And I never claimed that one could sit around and eat donuts all day, then hit a few sprints and become lean and muscular. Obviously this is one piece to the puzzle.
b) This is the classic genetic argument. Ok but this would be true with anyone from any discipline. For example, you could look at a bodybuilder and say, “the bodybuilding didn’t make him look like that, it was his genetics”. And you would be partially correct.
But put genetics aside for a second. Take a guy with average genetics who wants to look be strong and athletic. What would help him more, running marathons or weight training with some variation of sprint training? Wherever he is, the latter would shift him in the right direction, regardless of his genetic potential.
Although at times I feel like we split hairs, I do appreciate you sharing your views. Keep up the good work, Steve
Hi John, thanks for giving us more great content. I just wanted to get your opinion on rope jumping.
@Gina: Love it!
John, you know I agree with you… sprinting plus weights is INFINITELY better than marathons (or any other long slow aerobic work) for getting lean and fit.
And I never accused you of saying “sprint to the donut shop and you’ll be fine” (though that sounds like a workout I would enjoy!).
But, as you would (and did) agree… your genetics will determine what that actually looks like and, the odds are really good, you won’t look like Ben (for anyone who hasn’t read Speed Trap, about Ben’s training and steroid use, it’s a MUST READ).
@Steven Sashen: Hey Steven, we had a power outage in Jersey from Saturday until late last night. I was without any power at all so that donut diet became a way of life for me. And I must say, although I enjoyed the break from the norm, I’m happy to be back on track today!
Definitely agree with what you said.
Is Speed Trap still available?
Hey John, dig the post! Have a question regarding sprinting. I weight train 3 times per week. How often should I sprint?
@Tony: This really depends on many factors but for most people, 2 sprinting days per week is plenty
Nice post John. Great choices, and you make a fair point that one lighter cardio like brisk walking is a good choice to have, if you are already beat up from a previous hardcore session, or have limitations that prohibit one from the more intense options. I would like to add that one great form of conditioning that many with joint issues could attempt would be heavy bag striking. Most who have knee issues could easily do 5 rounds of 1-3 minutes of boxing on the bag to get conditioned while keeping their lower body safe.
Keep up the great work John.
@Arnav Sarkar: Hey Arnav, that would be a great alternative. Thanks for sharing
I love hill sprints they are the daddy when is comes to fat burning cardio for me. Will look further into sled training, the first time I became aware of sprinting while pulling a weight was watching Daley Thompson training in the very early 80′s pulling tractor tyres with no sled!
My question for John is how to fit sprints in with weights/resistance training – I do like whole body training sessions sometimes but doing a split routine will do me in for sprints for the next day or two. Can you give us a few examples of integrating sprints with resistance training-thanks again.
@Andrew Morris: Hi Andrew, I prefer sprinting in the AM on lower body days. (then lower body strength at night.
Full body routines complicate things a bit. Either do immediately prior to your strength training or in the AM of a training day.
I find it to be too much to alternate sprinting with full body workouts.
Hey John, love your work! I was wondering though if a stepper would hurt me as opposed to walking outside, its just because i hate walking when its raining outside, and i don’t really got much space, so i thought buying a little stepper would help me out for some fat loss in bad weather?
@Kristian Elten: Hey Kristian, any type of low intensity cardio could take the place of walking (biking would be another option). Just be sure not to beat yourself up during the low intensity workout.
Glad you enjoy the blog. thanks for your support!
Hey John, I am in recovery training from an accident and find my lower back suffers from the impact of sprints. I can kill it on the rowing machine though. Do you have an opinion on their effectiveness?
Rowing is effective but whether or not it should be used is a matter of goals. Rowing can create fatigue in the lower back. Because of this, I don’t recommend it for those who are doing a significant amount of pulling in their strength training routine.
But if you are just concerned with general fitness, rowing is a good option. Good luck
Cheers John.