My Cardio Medley Session…

For some, a 30-minute jog or “ride” on the stationary bike is a way to clear the mind.  It’s a way to escape for a brief period, and “get away.”  Not for me!  Twelve seconds into it, here’s what my mind is saying; “I can’t believe I still have 29 minutes and 48 seconds to go.  This is the worst, someone kill me!”  My ADD is way too strong.  I need change, and I need it quickly.

If you are anything like me, I suggest performing cardio “medleys.”  A cardio medley is a great way to prevent EXTREME boredom.  Medleys are also beneficial because they help prevent overuse injuries.  For example…

-Running 30 minutes straight is extremely repetitive.  This can be very hard on the joints… especially if you are carrying a few extra pounds.

-30 minutes hunched over a bike reinforces the posture that many of us are in all day while we are sitting on our butts at the computer; sitting for hours on end at work; driving in a our car; watching TV; etc. etc.

Anyway, to reduce the chance of these issues, and for all of us ADD people, medleys are great.  I know I won’t be performing “traditional” cardio anytime soon.  Here is what my cardio medley looked like yesterday…

That was:

-8 Sumo Deadlifts

-3 Chin-ups

-8 Hang Cleans

-8 Push-ups

-8 Jump Squats

Breaking it down: Deadifts with 135 pound is very easy, IF that is all I did.  But it is a enough to get my heart rate up going into the next exercise… chin-ups.  3 chin-ups are very easy, but become a little more difficult after doing deadlifts.  I then went onto hang cleans with 95 pounds.  This would usually be an easy weight, but is quite a bit harder after doing deadlifts and chins.  Next I went onto push-ups and finished with jump squats.  Once again, 8 push-ups and 8 jump squats are easy as a stand-alone, but as the 4th and 5th exercises in this medley, not so much.  My heart was pounding through my chest after that last jump squat.  Health and fat loss made a little more fun (still kind of miserable, but not as bad as usual ).

I then rested 60 seconds, and repeated as many sets as possible.

I purposely chose a weight that would jack my heart rate up (and make this very difficult), but not a weight that would make this session serve as “interference” for my weight training sessions.  If I had performed any slow, grinding reps due to a heavy load (on the deadlifts for example), this session would just have made recovery tougher for my weight training session tomorrow.  It’s all about seeing the big picture – even know I incorporated weights into this CARDIO session, it was NOT a lifting session.

So there you go.  Incorporate medleys into your cardio plan.  And if possible, try to mix both upper and lower body movements into the session.  This will ensure that a particular body part does not become the limiting factor (and will help prevent soreness for that body part), rather your heart & lungs will be reason that you have to stop, when the time comes.

Finally, Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there.  I am very happy to be apart of this group!