Effective Planning Gets Better Results

We often associate plateaus with strength training. This means you are stagnant in your routine and aren't noticing improvements in muscle strength, size, or weight. We can also hit plateaus with cardio as well. We get stuck in a routine and do not see the same benefits that we use to. One thing that most people will not do with an exercise program, whether it is their cardio or strength routine, is plan ahead. We are usually only concerned with the now. This is one reason so many people drop out of a program. Just like most things in life you need a strategy. Going to the gym and hopping on the treadmill until you get tired is not going to work. You may be able to do it for awhile, but without structure you are not going to see any progress. Look at your workout routine you are doing right now. Can you even look at it? Is it written down somewhere or do you just walk in to the gym and do whatever you feel like? Write down your program and how long you plan on doing it for. It is easier to work in shorter bursts. If I know I am going to do a specific routine for 1 month I am more likely to stick with it. Here are two things you need to do for your cardio routine to get better results and to be more likely to stick with it:

1. Be specific with your workouts.
Don't go into a workout without know exactly what you will be doing. The easiest way to do this is the F.I.T.T. principle. This means you the Frequency (how many days per week), Intensity (usually a percentage of your max heart rate), Time (how long you will be working), and Type (what form of cardio you are doing). Set your goals up before your workout so you know what you are shooting for.

2. Periodize your program.
Once you set up your FITT workouts you need to adjust them progressively. This means every 4-6 weeks you adjust one or more of the variables. For example maybe you started with 3 days of week so now you will bump it up to 4. You might increase the intensity on one of the days and decrease the time. You can literally make hundreds of easy adjustments to make a different cardio workout.

Stick to these two principles for your cardio workouts and you will be seeing faster and better results. You can try this with your strength training as well.

Mike
www.sandiegopremiertraining.com