My Favorite Cardio Machine & Workout

I'm a fan of the elliptical over other cardio machines for a few reasons. One being it's easier on your joints than the treadmill, and it doesn't bother my back as much as being on a bike. It's also very easy to adjust the incline & resistance, and most ellipticals have optional user stat settings. It's great for people of all levels.

Most of us have heard that interval training is more effective than going at a steady state. The past couple months I've been rotating between two simple methods that I wanted to share because they have been working great for me & some people have asked my opinion on cardio workouts. These two workouts are done the same for every level - just pick a level that's appropriate for you, 1-4. Most of us would be a 2 or 3. Pick level 1 if you have heart issues or are not accustomed to much cardio (brisk walking less than 30 minutes a day) or pick level 4 if you think you're hardcore. 

These numbers are in relation to the Precor Elliptical available in many gyms. 

Workout A: Easier:
Low, Medium, High, Medium, Low
Each for 1 minute. Repeat 5 times for a 25 minute workout.
Want it shorter? Just repeat 3 times for a 15 minute workout.
Cool down for 3 minutes.

Workout B: More challenging:
Low, Medium, High, Medium, High
1 minute each repeated 5 times. Same 3 minute cool down.

Level 1:

Low: 2 incline, 2 resistance. Medium: 3 incline, 3 resistance. High: 5 incline, 5 resistance.

Level 2:

Incline: 3, 6, 9 (up by 3s.) Resistance: 4, 7, 10 (up by 3s.)

Level 3: 

Incline: 4, 7, 10 (up by 3s.) Resistance: 5, 8, 11 (up by 3s)

Level 4:

Incline: 5, 9, 13 (up by 4s.) Resistance: 5, 10, 15 (up by 5s)

My Heart Rate Training Zone

Being someone that is somewhat still in recovery from heart issues (I am super healthy now, but it is something I still like to keep an eye on) I watch my heart rate constantly when I'm doing cardio, especially if I'm pushing myself on something like the elliptical more recently.

Knowing your Maximum Heart Rate is important for everyone, whether you have current or previous heart issues, or no issues at all. There's a fat burning zone, a cardio training zone, aerobic and anaerobic exercising. Right now, let's just go with something basic.

There are many ways to calculate your Maximum Heart Rate, but the most common is subtracting your age from 220. If you are 30 years old, your MHR would be 190. Ideally, cardio should be between 60-85% of your MHR. Your range may be higher or lower depending on your personal needs and goals.

When you do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or any type of heart rate training, you usually want to give yourself proper time to recover before increasing your intensity again. When I do my current exercise with the elliptical, which I'll share in my next post, I want my heart rate to be in a certain range before I kick it up again. For me, I don't care for my MHR to be above 165 though it occasionally goes to 180, and ideally I don't like it to go below 145 when I'm in the middle of training. When I am recovering into a low setting, I want my heart rate to at least drop below 150 before I bring it up again. If it hasn't, I give myself one more minute of low recovery time before I increase to high intensity again. Your wants and needs of course may differ.