Instead of making excuses about why you can't go to the gym, spice up your routine so you'll be excited to work out. Try this quick cardio routine that will make you sweat and get your heart rate up.
*Note: This is an example for an elliptical that has 20 Resistance Levels.
Follow these steps:
- Program the elliptical setting to Manual; start at level 5 if there are 20 resistance levels for one minute (if Advanced, start at a higher level).
- Minute 2: increase Resistance Level to 6.
- Minutes 3-5: increase to level 7 for one minute. Continue increasing one Level each minute until you reach Level 9.
- Minute 6: DECREASE the Resistance to Level 6.
- Minutes 7-10: Increase to Level 7 for one minute. Continue increasing one Level each minute until you reach Level 10.
- Minute 11: DECREASE the Resistance to Level 7.
- Minutes 12-15: Increase to Level 8 for one minute. Continue increasing one Level each minute until you reach Level 11.
- Minute 16: DECREASE the Resistance to Level 8.
- Minutes 17-20: Increase to Level 9 for one minute. Continue increasing 1 Level each minute until you reach Level 12.
- Minutes 21-24: DECREASE the Resistance to Level 6.
Cool down for 3 minutes.
A cool down is extremely important, so please don't skip this part of the workout. The main reason for the cool down is to prevent blood pooling. Blood pooling is when your blood supply is in the areas where your body needed it the most during your exercise. Since we are doing the elliptical, the main muscles involved are the legs. We need to do a light cool down with the resistance decreased significantly in order to recirculate the blood supply to the rest of the body so we don't faint or injure ourselves when stepping off this specific piece of exercise equipment.
Kisar Dhillon is a professional fitness trainer living in Orange County, California. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology, Post Baccalaureate Studies in Exercise Physiology and a Masters in Business Administration. He has more than 16 years in the health & fitness industry and is currently the owner of 1-2-1 Fitness, LLC.
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