Ellipticals, Treadmills and Bears.... Oh My!

Ever belong to a gym for a few years and notice that the people on the treadmills and ellipticals basically look exactly the same month after month and year after year? I've been there. Hell, I was one of them! When P90X arrived in the mail, my view on cardio changed forever and I've never looked back.

Plyometrics is the second DVD in P90X and certainly the disc that changed everything for me. No more would I ever go for 45 minutes of steady pace on that elliptical or treadmill and have ankle/knee pain due to the repetitive motion of the machine. Never again!

Plyo is 30 seconds of a cardio move, then a new move. 30 seconds, then a new one. Think you get bored of cardio? Think again, when the moves change every 30 seconds. What I love most about Plyo is the scalability of it though. After more than 2 years of doing this workout, I could be right beside someone who hasn't worked out in 2 years and get an equal workout.

How? I can jump higher, while they step instead of jump. I can go double speed and get my knees up to my waist, while their feet barely leave the ground. It is the PERFECT WORKOUT! (Take THAT silly Perfect Push-Up toy)

However, sometimes life throws a big ass elliptical in your path. For me, it's if I'm on tour and one of the guys just wants to do the elliptical in the hotel gym instead of a Beachbody dvd (I ALWAYS have my laptop and dvd's on tour!) So, look, I'm no party-pooper - I'll go along with it, but I won't go quietly into this night.

There is no rule on the treadmill that says you have to just shuffle along at 5.5 mph for 45 minutes and quit. Instead change it up. Variety is the Spice of Fitness! Try this routine next time you're on the treadmill.

5 min warm-up - nice and easy
Stretch!
1 min run
1 min run high knees
1 min sideways run
1 min other side
30 sec all out max speed
90 sec walk backwards
1 min highest incline hands straight up in the air
1 min arms out to side
30 sec all out max speed
90 sec walk backwards
1 min high knees
1 min walk highest incline
1 min sideways
1 min other side
1 min max speed run
- cooldown

That's a 20 min workout that will bust your ass harder than just going the normal relaxed pace for the same time. Repeat it if you want, but I would then switch to another machine and do a similar thing. Elliptical/Stairmaster/Swimming/Bike - whatever, just keep changing it up every minute. That is the absolute key to keeping cardio working not only physically, but also mentally. If you get bored, you will eventually quit. Change things before you hit that point, it's crucial.

The workout we did at fit club tonight has 20 different moves, 30 seconds each, then repeated. I defy you to get bored on this workout! By the time your brain starts thinking about anything other than the new move you're doing, the next move already started.

The thing I love about it is every single move targets your core. We did Ab Ripper X from P90X after the workout and it was BRUTAL because we already just worked our abs DURING CARDIO!!!! How freaking sweet is that!?!?!?

The DVD we did tonight is called Tony Horton One on One Core Cardio Intervals from Season 2 of the One on One series and it is available by clicking the banner below.