Cardio training exercises change every couple of years. As more scientists, trainers and nutritionists learn about the human body, the need to optimize daily workout changes, too. Society as a whole continues to change, and the need for a faster workout has increased. Some of the new cardio trends may not work for the calorie counter, but they are excellent, quick exercises that can be added to any workout regimen.
Gibala Regimen
The Gibala regimen was created by Professor Martin Gibala in 2009. It is a high-intensity (HIT) workout that uses spurts of intensive training for a short amount of time. It includes a three minute warm up period, followed by 60 seconds of intense workout and then 75 seconds of rest. This is repeated for eight to 12 repetitions. The process helps to invigorate muscle tissue, which can increase its metabolic rate 100 times more during exercise than at rest.
In 2011, his group came out with another, less intensive workout. This new workout has its participants warming up for three minutes, bursting for 60 seconds and resting for 60 seconds. This is repeated 10 times and ends in a five minute cool down period. The bursts in this new version are at a lower intensity than the original version.
Timmons Regimen
Professor Jamie Timmons of Loughborough University in England wrote a brief article in Businessweek about his HIT workout. Do you have less than 10 minutes a day to work out? Then, this may be the workout for you. His team placed a British journalist on an exercise routine that had him pedal casually for two minutes, followed by a 20 second ride-as-fast-as-you-can period. This was to be repeated just three times. This exercise was repeated three times per week. Do the math; that is only three minutes of actual hard exercise per week. Not only did this have very positive results, but it also helped with insulin sensitivity in middle-aged participants.
Aqua Cycling
Spinning has been around for a couple of years now. It is an indoor cycling class that has participants move into various positions while cycling, giving them a complete workout. Well, now there is aqua cycling, which is essentially spinning while in a pool. This is a popular trend in Europe, but very new to the United States. According to the New York Times, this workout trend is so new to the U.S. that there is only one place you can do it: New York.
The workout can burn up to 800 calories, is impact free and there is minimal soreness after exercising, which would make it an ideal workout for those suffering from any form of arthritis. It's an old exercise with a new twist. The workout is done to music, while the participants are up to their chests in water. Because they can partially float during parts of the workout, more arm exercises are added to the routine than in regular spinning.
Whether you want a rigorous workout like the Gibala regimen, a quick and effective workout like the Timmons regimen or an alternate way to play in the water with aqua cycling, there are plenty of new cardio training programs available to you if you look for them.
