Get more out of your cardio workout by adding a cardio blast. Whether you use a treadmill, stationary bike, stair-climber or elliptical machine you can add increased benefits (results) without having to add extra time spent in the gym.

Adding a cardio blast is simple, keeps the workout more interesting and makes it way more challenging.

Let’s discuss “challenging” for a moment. First off, if you can read a newspaper, book or magazine, talk or send text messages on your cell phone during your cardio workout, sorry you’re not working hard enough! I see way too many people at the gym every day doing all of the above.

Simply put, if you can do any of these things during your cardio workout, you are really fooling yourself by basically just going through the motions, for example: it’s like the difference between a relaxing stroll in the park and a brisk energetic walk. It can be said that any movement can be called exercise, maybe there is some truth to that, better than nothing I guess; however, you can’t really call this “cardio” exercise in the sense of a workout. Cardio exercise (in layman terms) involves raising your heart-rate significantly, breathing hard and sweating. It’s my belief as a certified personal trainer, to always put in “your best” effort into your workout, so you can get the payback and rewards from your efforts. Why waste your precious time? Why cheat yourself the benefits of fitness and good health?

So, leave the reading material and cell phone at home so you can bust the move! FYI: I totally support the use of a music player. The use of an MP3 or CD player will help keep you in the cardio groove by helping you keep the workout pace up and help you stay focused and motivated. A few quick tips on combating cardio boredom, change up your music every workout. On my iPod, I store several cardio workout music mixes.

One day it might be old school funk, the next day club disco grooves, then some rock. In regards to the music you choose, keep the beat driving (The American Council of Exercise suggests a 120 to 132 beats per minute, but I don’t think you really have to get that technical, just keep the beat pumping). Another way to fight cardio boredom is to keep your head into it. Most machines have heart-rate monitors, use them, keep track of your heart-rate throughout your workout. Getting to know your warm-up, maintained and cool down heart rate is valuable information.

Here’s how to add a worthwhile cardio blast to your workout. To keep it simple, I will talk about doing your cardio blast workout on a treadmill, but it can be easily applied to just about any piece of cardio equipment in the home or gym. It will also translate from treadmill to an outside run. Let’s base the workout on a thirty-five minute workout. Jump on the treadmill with music player, towel and a bottle of water handy. Set the treadmill to “Manual” workout mode, workout time set to thirty-five minutes.

Begin by warming up, do a slow walk for the first five minutes. This will give your body a chance to adapt to the workout, stretching out the muscles, raising the heart-rate a bit. After your five minute warm up increase the speed of the treadmill whether power walking or running and settle into your workout (at this point you should be working between 55-65 % of your target heart rate). Note the change in your heart rate from the warm up to your workout pace.

If you are doing a power walk workout you will be walking a brisk pace, if you are doing a running workout you will going from walk to run. Walk or run at your normal pace for ten minutes. At the 15-minute mark is where we add the cardio blast.

For the next two minutes (15 to 17 minute mark) increase the speed or incline of the treadmill (you should now be working at 85% of your target heart rate). At the 17-minute mark decrease the speed or incline and settle back into your normal run or power walk pace. Hold this for the next five minutes (17-22 minute mark). At 22 minutes pick the pace back up and hold it for the next three minutes, feel the burn, your heart beating faster and the noticeable increase in your breathing. Hang in there.

At the 25-minute mark, settle back into your normal pace for the next five minutes. (*As your fitness level increases you will notice that your recovery time will shorten, your heart rate lowers quickly and you will catch your breathe faster). At the 30-minute mark, rev it back up for your last cardio blast. Keep this high pace for the next two minutes bringing you to the 32-minute mark. At the 32-minute mark decrease the pace and really slow it back down to your warm up pace. Hold this warm up pace from 32 to 35 minutes. Wow, great job at 35 minutes you are done and have successfully completed your cardio blast session.

It’s amazing how these brief increases (intervals) will make such a huge difference in your cardio workouts. Many high level athletes incorporate this training method (often referred to as Interval Training) into their conditioning programs. The problem with doing the same workout over and over again is that our bodies adapt and progress suffers greatly. Shocking or tricking the body, keeping it guessing, will promote gains quickly and more often. Mixing things up is really a smart concept to incorporate in all your workouts whether it weight or cardio training.

So as you see, we didn’t need in increase the length of our workout in regards to time spent working out, we just increased the intensity. It’s all part of working out smarter!