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15 minutes, 200 calories: follow our minute-by-minute program to maximize your cardio in minimal time - Cardio Clinic - cardiovascular system - Brief Article

Men's Fitness, August, 2002 by Tom Weede

You've lifted weights for 45 minutes and you're more than ready to bolt the gym.

A long day at work, a spouse waiting at home, a 7 p.m. Simpsons rerun on tap. But on the way to the locker room, you pass that familiar row of treadmills.

Uh-oh. Forget something? You feel a twinge of guilt. You walk fast. You rationalize even faster. You can spare only about 15 minutes, so what's the use? What kind of physical benefit can you get out of such a brief cardio session?

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Plenty, says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise, located in San Diego. "The nice thing about exercise is that the benefits are cumulative," he explains. "It's kind of like loose change in your pocket--it all adds up." Sure, ideally you should do about 30 minutes of cardio five days a week. But even an abbreviated aerobic workout will rid your body of fat. Your heart's increased pumping action will force oxygen-rich blood to your working muscles. When oxygen is present, muscle cells break down fats and carbohydrates for energy (fat metabolization for energy, as a matter of science, requires the presence of oxygen).

To stop your using lack of time as an excuse for skipping cardio, we had Bryant--whose organization boasts almost 50,000 active certified trainers--design a quick, minute-by-minute cardio session that will maximize aerobic benefits. Follow the program and you'll burn about 200 calories in 15 minutes--that's based on a body weight between 160 and 180 pounds (you'll burn more if you weigh more, less if you weigh less).

It won't be easy; the workout involves short intervals of high intensity on the treadmill, elliptical trainer or stationary bike that will leave a couple of hundred calories on the gym floor before you head out the door. But don't be deterred. Fifteen minutes of cardio is like 15 minutes of fame--it goes quickly.

THE PROGRAM

The how: After a short warm-up, begin the 15-minute interval routine at a moderate intensity--about 65 percent of your maximum heart rate, or about a 4, out of a high of 10, on a scale of "perceived effort." Then do a series of four high-intensity/recovery intervals, "recovery" being easy jogs or fast walks at progressively lower intensities (as you tend to tire toward the end of the routine, this approach allows you the same degree of recovery throughout the session). You'll end with a brief cool-down of walking and stretching.

If you have a heart-rate monitor, you can more accurately gauge your effort on the intervals. (Your estimated maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age; if you're highly conditioned aerobically, make that 210 minus half your age.) But a monitor is not a necessity. Instead, follow these guidelines:

* "For the hard intervals, you want to exercise at just above a `conversational pace,' where it would be kind of difficult to hold a normal conversation," says Bryant. "In the recovery range, you should be able to comfortably hold a conversation."

* Also, you can use your own sense of perceived effort, wherein you rate the physical strain of an activity. (Sitting quietly rates a zero; walking at a moderate pace would be a 3; running at a pace that feels strenuous would be a 7 or an 8.)

The why: Bryant believes intervals make better use of your time than a steady-state routine. "Average overall exercise intensity is going to be higher following the interval approach," he says. "And because it's higher, you will burn more calories." For example, if you jog at 6 mph for 15 minutes, your average speed will be ... you guessed it, 6 mph. But if you do a brisk walk at 4 mph with intervals at 8.5 mph or 9 mph, your average speed would be about 6.4 or 6.5 miles an hour, says Bryant. That faster pace means more calories burned.

The who: This program isn't for everyone. You should already have at least three months of regular cardio under your belt so that you can handle a half hour of aerobic exercise at a steady state. But don't be discouraged if you're new to exercise or just coming back. Get a doctor's okay first, and then build up gradually with lower-intensity training, starting with short run/walks of five to 10 minutes. Then, over a few months, work up to a half hour of steady-state running.

The details: Treadmill, elliptical trainer, stationary bike--you'll burn calories at different rates on these three distinct pieces of cardio equipment. Treadmill running is fully weight-bearing and recruits your upper body, so it's the leading calorie carnivore. Next comes elliptical training, which has less impact. Last is stationary biking, a non-weight-bearing activity that doesn't require much from the upper body. What does all this mean for you? That you should adjust your workouts depending on the apparatus you use.

* Slightly increase your intensity on the stationary bike: up to 85 percent on the heart-rate monitor and up half a point on the perceived-effort scale. Keep the recovery intervals the same.

* On the treadmill, make your recovery intervals a little easier. Reduce each successive heart rate 5 percent, or a point on the perceived-effort scale.

15 minutes, 200 calories: follow our minute-by-minute program to maximize your cardio in minimal time - Cardio Clinic - cardiovascular system - Brief Article

Men's Fitness, August, 2002 by Tom Weede

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