A lot of girls will stick to the formula of cardio, cardio, more cardio, avoiding carbs and neglecting strength training.
Cardio is definitely a great exercise to condition your heart, lose weight and stay fit but its all about how you do it. When it comes to running – there are two general options. Steady state cardio, and HIIT.
Steady state cardio is prolonged durations of cardio – for example a 40 minute run around the neighbourhood, where you’re working at the same intensity throughout. Long duration cardio increased endurance (your cardiovascular fitness), burns fat and is great for the heart…however it can lead to injuries and it can also be quite boring and time consuming.
The other end of the spectrum is HIIT, which stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. Lasting only 15 minutes usually, it’s much more efficient as it recruits different kinds of muscles and burns fat faster than long-duration cardio does, in less time. It’s also more difficult, try sprinting 30 seconds mixed with running for a minute and you’re bound to puke everywhere.
There are other ways you can do HIIT, not just sprinting. Burpees are a whole body exercise that you can vary. I usually incorporate my HIIT days after an upper body workout or on rest days.
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