Cardio Progression

[The Magus]

Hey all,

I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas on cardio that I could incorporate into my routine. I've got a high bf% (started at 33-34, at around 28-29% now after a few months of heavy training), and even though my ultimate goal is to gain size and muscle mass, my personal trainer and I agree that my cardio needs to improve or else it will hold me back.

When I first hired a PT, in September, he started me on doing sprint intervals on the treadmill, where I would do about 5 minutes of 8-second sprints and 12-second rests (stepping off the "tread" for the rests). I started doing 3 sets of these, but have worked up to 4-5 sets with active rest for 3-4 minutes in between.

Alternatively, he'd have me on the rowing cardio machine, with the goal of reaching 1000 metres (originally in under 4:40 minutes, but now I'm at under 4 minutes). Then, that personal trainer got fired from my gym and I got a new one with a different plan, and never found out what cardio I was supposed to do next.

I see my current trainer twice a week (all I can afford) and he's got a good plan that's working (mainly supersets...we started with whole body, but now are gradually working into an upper/lower split with increased intensity), and he isn't too concerned about WHAT I do for cardio, just that I DO it.

My gym is well-equipped, though I prefer to use the treadmill over any of the elipticals/bikes/etc. I HATE the rowing machine, but that's only because it's effective and really makes me work.

Any ideas what I should be working towards cardio wise?

Also, I'll be playing rugby again in the spring, so anything that can prepare for that is helpful.

Thanks in advance.

[Aielyn]

How about doing real sprints - outdoors, 100m or so at a time, on a grassy area? Should be more effective in preparing you for real sprinting during a rugby match.

Personally, I'd space out the sprinting in the most natural way I can think of - sprint one way, walk back the other way for recovery. To add challenge, do it on an incline or add turning points so that you're not sprinting in a straight line.

Other than that, I'd recommend doing cycling classes, if your gym offers them. They're great for varying the workout, and keeping you moving for a decent length of time (the class I do is a 45 minute class). It works the legs pretty hard, which should be good for rugby.