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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Workout: Spring Cardio Extravaganza

I don't run to burn calories. I used to, back when I counted calories for 3 months, and it worked decently well. But nowadays, I just like to run and train for goals, so it's become a hobby for me.

In fact, running is probably not even the best way to burn calories, unless you were doing speed work every single day. Steady state cardio work doesn't have anywhere near the lasting impact that more intense cardio does. 

Now, like I said, I love running. I am not discouraging you from running. Everyone should run! But when you're looking for some calorie burn, there are other things that work a bit better.

So, in honor of it being springtime (I think? It got cold again here in NYC! Brr!), when we all want to peel off the layers and bare a bit more skin, I'm sharing a cardio extravaganza. This is the kind of workout that will leave your heart pounding, your hair drenched in sweat, and it will also lead to a jumped-up metabolism that continues for much longer than if you ran a slower pace for an hour.


This one is pretty self-explanatory, I think, so no youtube videos needed! Star jumps are jumping jacks where you actually jump off the ground instead of stepping your legs out.

If you do each set three times, doing each exercise for 1 minute, it will be 27 minutes. I promise you'll feel plenty worked out by the end of those 27 minutes, but if that's not enough, you could add my ab-tastic core workout for an extra abs blast!


What's your favorite form of cardio?

4 comments:

  1. Funny you mention running to burn calories: When I was home, every time I came back from a run, one of my sisters would ask how many calories I burned; I'd simply respond, "I don't know, and that's not why I run." I'm all for people staying active to lose weight, but that's not my motivation for working out. I am, however, totally addicted to training, working hard, and pushing myself--and the exercise endorphins!

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  2. Pretty sure it is no secret that I would choose running every.single.day.

    Once upon a time I also ran to burn calories and lose weight and well I mean I did a lot in fact. But that turned to race training. Now my focus is on the why and how a workout will benefit my goals.

    In fact, reason my weight crept up during marathon training was all the steady state runs where my heart rate was barely breaking 130! May have been running high mileage but not taxing enough.

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  3. I honestly just like running to prove I can, I LOVE when I add extra miles in and the feeling that comes with. Butttt this is awesome to "tone up" too. I love how it keeps things interesting by switching it up too!

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  4. LOVE this. I have got to do squat jumps and stuff to get myself ready for the summer (and wearing shorts again haha).

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