Spring Forward to Action - Day 3: Cardio Workout

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

Welcome to your third day of the Spring Forward to Action 30 Day Challenge! How are you feeling today? Are you experiencing any soreness from yesterday? How about your energy levels, are they lower or higher? Write down your observations in your journal or in the comments here.

Today, our focus is on cardio and flexibility. Once again, we're going to start out with a 21-minute cardio workout. I prefer to use the treadmill, although you can substitute the stationary bike, walking outside or riding your bicycle outside if you choose. The point is to elevate your heart rate for 21 minutes and to push the limits of your endurance gradually throughout that 21-minute period.

Yesterday, we focused on using an incline to increase the intensity of our workout. Today, we're going to use speed to do the same thing. Speed can be performed both on and off the treadmill. If you are choosing off the treadmill, lengthen your stride for the faster speeds and shorten it for the slower ones. When you reach max speed, you should feel some fatigue and the need to pant, try to maintain your breathing control. You can modify the speeds for the stationary bike, simply start at a comfortable speed that you can do without great deals of effort and then gradually increase over the course of 21-minutes.

Be sure to do some light stretching before you get started to limber up. You will be warming up on the treadmill, but stretching can help you to loosen the kinks of sleep before you get started.

Prescription: 21-Minute Speed Workout

Once again, we will start a speed of 2.5 on your treadmill. 2.5 is a comfortable pace that you should be able to perform with only moderate effort. Adjust upwards or downwards as needed, however - remember that this is a pace that you would be able to walk at for some time without exerting a lot of effort.

• Speed 2.5, for 2 minutes to warm up and to get your heart going.
• Increase to Speed 2.7 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 2.9 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.1 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.3 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.5 for 1 minute.

Once you achieve a speed of 3.5, you are moving at a very brisk pace, almost a light jog. Do not jog unless you want to. You should be working hard to maintain this and you should think that holding that speed for only 1 minute is going to be pretty hard.

• decrease to Speed 2.5 for 2 minutes and catch your breath
• Increase to Speed 2.7 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 2.9 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.1 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.3 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.5 for 1 minute.
• decrease to Speed 2.5 for 2 minutes and catch your breath
• Increase to Speed 2.7 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 2.9 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.1 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.3 for 1 minute
• Increase to Speed 3.5 for 1 minute.
• Decrease to speed 2.5 for 2 minutes of cooling down

This workout will take 21 to 23 minutes. The last two minutes are crucial for you to cool down, you should never stop at the higher speed as it can be a bit shocking to the system. Be sure that you have hydrated before, during and after your workout. The point of a cardio workout is to elevate your heart rate and build up heat in the body. If you're feeling hot, sweaty and mildly fatigued then you've likely done a pretty good workout.

So how are you feeling now?

Finish this thought: If I could change one thing about myself, it would be...

Up next today is a 20-minute flexibility workout.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger