The Cardio Workout You’ve Never Done
Treadmills are crap. They’re boring. They
gradually destroy your knees. They turn your gluteal muscles into weak, lazy
bastards. And all for what? To burn a few calories.
That’s a pretty poor return on investment if you
ask us.
You’re not getting stronger, you’re not building
any muscle, you’re not improving your posture. You’re just plodding and
sweating.
A good cardio workout should improve multiple
factors, not just one, and as we’ve established, the treadmill doesn’t fit the
bill. So what does?
Loaded Carries
Let’s go back over that check list of things running on a treadmill doesn’t achieve. It doesn’t increase strength. It doesn’t build muscle. It doesn’t improve posture.
How to incorporate carries to all of the above, while also achieving everything you want from a cardio workout i.e. improve work capacity and burn a shedload of calories?
They’re also about as basic and fundamental as it gets. You literally pick up a weight, carry it over a set distance, rest, and repeat for reps. The farmer’s walk is the best known version, but there are many variations, which we’ll detail later.
How To Incorporating Loaded Carries
These are best included at the end of a weights
workout as a finisher or mini cardio workout. Carries are quite fatiguing on
the grip, core and upper back.
You don’t need to spend too long here either. 20 minutes is more than enough.
Here are a few of our favourite variations…
Farmer’s Walk
Can’t go wrong with a farmer’s walk. Pick up two heavy dumbells and carry them over a distance of around 30 to 50 metres. For convenience sake, walk the length of your gym and back. You’re looking for about 30 to 40 seconds of time under tension.
Overhead Carry
Same as above except, you guessed it, you hold the weight overhead. This lengthening of the lever arm will help improve shoulder stability and strength around the scapula (shoulder blades).
Racked Carry
Holding the weight on top of the chest and
maintaining solid posture, this version is a nice middle ground between the
standard farmer’s walk and the overhead carry. The weight on the chest is also
a respiratory challenge, and you’ll find yourself gasping by the end.
And If You Really Want To Ruin Yourself…
Do all three. Walk your distance with the weights overhead, then reset them into a racked position and walk again, and finish off with farmer’s walk over the same distance. This is a full body smasher and you only need a couple of dumbells.
Evolve offer personal training. contact s for more details