Post: #1

I know cardio has a bad rap on the muscle-building aspect of getting your swell on, and I agree 100%. It is not good for building muscle. If you overdo it and don't strength train, you will catabolize your muscle gains. However, running is a useful skill that you should practice once every two weeks or so.

However I still do some cardio about three times a week in order to keep in some cardiovascular shape for rugby before the season. Rugby involves two halves that are 40 consecutive minutes of at least a decent jog, which can be very difficult for a smoker. While sprinting is also very useful for getting your VO2MAX to a good level, you have to practice running to some extent for just getting around the field.

Here's a very useful tip for guys who run maybe a mile or four at a crack. What you want to keep in mind is how efficient and gentle your stride is. Barefoot runners have basically figured out how to run without injuries. Here's a good link.

Al Kavadlo's Tips on Barefoot Running

Here's a useful video for showing the different between heel striking (very bad) and forefoot-style running (which is useful and efficient). For the sake of preventing injuries, you want to slightly butt-kick as you run as well as lifting your thighs to near-parallel, leading your running stride with your knee as opposed to leading your running stride seemingly with your feet.

You can see the difference here. One half of the video shows an inefficient heel-striking running style (the feet barely leave the ground) with long strides. The other half shows shorter strides that are less likely to cause injury.

Prevent injuries, use your forefeet!




One other useful read is the "100UP Method". I used to have the PDF but I lost it after an unintentional disk reformat. It's basically the best and most efficient way to run. The method was rediscovered in the 1800s or some damned thing. You can find the drills on Youtube. Very useful.

Post: #2

I'll bust out a 5 mile run on the treadmill about once every two weeks and make sure to make it under 50-55 minutes max. I did cross-country and track as a kid and learned how to pace properly. Basically you're going to feel like stopping after about 1.5 miles...then when you push through about 2.5 miles you feel like you can run for hours more. That's proper pacing and after that point I feel like I could bust out 10 miles if I wanted to, but I push myself to get 5 in under a certain time vs. sheer distance.

I would do more of it because endurance and a strong heart are important, but I'm an ectomorph so I'm focusing on bulking up.

Post: #3

I have tried so many shortcuts and easy way outs when it comes to getting good cardio. I bought heart rate monitors and bike machines, tried skipping rope. But nothing forces fatigue and works your willpower muscles like sprint interval training or high paced running.

I need to get in shape for my upcoming 3 years of fighting in south east asia. My cardio looks like this. I have 3 main sessions a week.

Monday i do hill sprints. My first lap takes me 30 secs to get up. The first time i did it i nearly puked and destroyed myself after 1 and a half sprints. I got it up to about 5 sprints but i want to be able to get it up to 12 and try to be hitting 30secs-35 secs for each time.

Wednesday i sprint lengths on flat ground about length of football pitch. I'm trying to replicate the energy i'll be using in a fight, i want to get to the point of being able to sprint length, rest 5 secs, and repeat 12 times, then 1 min rest, repeated for 5 rounds.

Friday i try and run about 1-2km as fast as i can. I found sprinting till a certain point then just going at high pace for rest of it. Each time increase the length of where you sprint upto. Perhaps one day be able to sprint the whole thing.

By doing these things i can actually see my progress instead of worrying about keeping my heart rate in a certain zone.

Post: #4

Rick you dont need any cardio training with all that fappin you do

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is awesome cardio an awesome to do...

Post: #5

Best thing I've found for cardio conditioning...soccer. If I play on a big field in an aggressive game it will beat the fuck out of me until I feel like puking or collapsing.

Post: #6

(11-05-2012 02:22 PM)Cr33pin Wrote:  Rick you dont need any cardio training with all that fappin you do

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is awesome cardio an awesome to do...

One of the main reasons I want to get back into BJJ.

I did it from Spring 08 to Summer 11

Post: #7

(11-05-2012 02:45 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  Best thing I've found for cardio conditioning...soccer. If I play on a big field in an aggressive game it will beat the fuck out of me until I feel like puking or collapsing.

+1 for soccer. I hate jogging.
Spin classes are good too. Sweat so much.

Post: #8

Is rollerblading good cardio?