I'm having a bit of a problem and wonder if any of you more seasoned at this might be able to offer a suggestion.
I would like my clients to do at least 2-4 days of cardio a day (at least two of those to be intervals, for those in need of weight loss). But I find that time is my enemy. Instead of working M-W-F with clients, I have considered just working the major muscles groups all in one routine, just two days a week -- but the clients, by and large, don't want that. They want want to work a different muscle group each day. After warm up, stretches, and cool down and stretches, there is no time left for cardio.
suggestion... you can do cardio during the rest phase in between sets. for instance say you are doing curls(just an example)you do one set then for your rest period say 60 sec you have them ride a bike or walk on a treadmill then do another set and repeat. The main upsides to this training is it is an efficient use of time and the rest intervals are strictly timed by timing the cardio(so there is no cheating by taking longer breaks), there are some downsides to this type of training such as if you can keep a treadmill running between sets or keep a bike ready without someone getting on it. this is a very thorough workout and the intensity during the cardio need not be high as it is more taxing than percieved.
The concept is metabolic training by keeping your metabolism high without completely resting between sets, also by making the main blood flow move around the body I believe is called peripheral training(don't quote me on that though). like in the example above upper body-resistance then lower body-cardio causes the heart and body to work harder for a better overall training effect.
with the peripheral training you can also save on time by doing upper/lower body super sets. this also keeps the heart rate elevated by not allowing the heart to rest and at the same time allowing the working muscles adequate recovery for the next set.
here is another suggestion also...I don't know if you have ever heard of Tabata training, but it is basically interval training that can be done with weight training. here is a example given by ISSA's Patrick Gamboa-
Izumi Tabata and his colleagues at the Japanese Institute of Fitness and Sport designed an experiment to measure how two different types of interval training sessions taxed the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems ('Metabolic Profile of High-Intensity Intermittent Exercises', Tabata, I, Irishawa, K, Kuzaki, M, Nishimura, K, Ogita, F, & Miyachi, M, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 29(3), 390-395, 1997).
The conclusion was that with high-intensity bouts and very short rests, is a very intense workout that maximally stresses both aerobic and anaerobic systems. While longer rest periods, does not stress both the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems as much, and so more work can be done until fatigue.
The results of this research by Tabata et al clearly show that two different intervals workouts have different demands and therefore training effects. I1, with 20-second bouts with 10 secs rest at 170% VO2max places the aerobic and anaerobic systems at peak stress. Therefore it would be a fine session for improving both aerobic and anaerobic capacity. Events where both aerobic and anaerobic demands are high are, for example, 400m, 800m and 1500m running, sprint cycling, canoeing, rowing and speed skating. This kind of workout would be great for these sports. Games players may also want to use the I1 workout as an intense training method for improving aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
The I2 workout doesn't put either system at peak stress. However, it does allow more high-intensity work to be done in total.With the longer recovery, I2 has a greater contribution from the PCr energy stores. So this kind of session will be better for developing the PCr system, improving maximal power. In addition, by allowing greater rest periods, the session can help improve recovery mechanisms.
Based on his findings, we recommend that for anaerobic training, both types of interval sessions are used, one with very short rests, another with long recoveries. However, the athlete's sport will determine which type of session is most important. Incidentally, if you want to use interval training, remember that to get the kind of benefits described you must perform the workouts to exhaustion. Interval training is about setting a demanding intensity level and working at that level for the prescribed work/rest ratios until you cannot continue. If you do that, you have reached overload and the training will be effective. Without overload, there is no adaptation.
"Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats."
hope that this gives you some options....
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If a person wants something that they have never had, they have to do something that they have never done. - Shawn Fears, CPT
Very intriguing, thank you very much! Doesn't sound like something you could do with the very deconditioned, however (the people I'm currently working with are middle aged and real couch potatos!).
the metabolic training on the treadmill can be done with the deconditioned as long as you only have them walk at like 2.0-2.5mph a little more if that is too easy at the end of the session. then it becomes a form of active rest.
or go 1 day upper body and cardio then the 2nd day lower body and cardio. don't forget to give them homework such as take a walk most days of the week on their own.
realistically you can not effect enough change in 2 hours per week so homework is absolutely necessary and they need to understand that. Most people expect miracles in an hour while they go home and throw it all away for the next 23 hours left in the day that is not a realistic expectation and will lead to giving up if they don't understand it.
__________________
If a person wants something that they have never had, they have to do something that they have never done. - Shawn Fears, CPT
Akyoda's got it right. It's actually called peripheral heart action, or "PHA." It keeps the blood shunting between the upper and lower body. It should be performed like super sets, with no rest in-between the upper and lower portions, except for how long it takes to change stations. By doing it with no rest, your client should be able to stay at a constant submaximal heart rate in a productive aerobic mode.
The down side is that it's an agressive way to train. As such, there's not a lot of lattitude for alternating high-intensity training with some low-intensity days. Also, because you want your client to maintain a productive heart rate, there's not a lot of opportunity for discussion and demonstration.
Perhaps the real solution is to sit down with your client(s) for a progress vs. goals review, leading to a conclusion that there is a needed cardio component that's missing.
For whatever it's worth, I stopped doing PHAs in favor of a split program, alternating days between upper, lower, cardio.
