I was recently asked a question by a friend who wants to improve his cardiovascular fitness without spending time on the treadmill, bike or having to run outside (he lives in Abu Dhabi in the UAE – it’s pretty hot there!).

As you are probably aware, at PT on Demand we are not great fans of doing long duration, low intensity cardio. We prefer balls to the wall intensity in as little time as possible!

Note: Obviously, the amount of sessions you can do depends on a number of things…

1. The intensity at which you perform the exercise
2. The exercise itself
3. Your recovery.

If you want to improve your VO2 max you must be training a minimum of two times a week. Shoot for 3 times a week, with a day off after that session. This should yield good results in CV performance.

As you will perform shorter duration exercise, it means you can train or exercise at a much higher intensity.  I personally don’t go for much longer than 20-30 minutes when it comes to CV exercise. So first let’s define what we mean by high intensity…

Pictures speak a thousand words.....this guy has done some INTENSE exercise!

As the duration is only lasting a short time, try to work at an intensity of between 70-85% of your VO2 max.

A good way to see if you are exercising intensely enough is by measuring percentage of maximum heart rate. This can be done via a few methods, but as most people don’t have access to a laboratory, I use the age predicted maximum heart rate, which is 220 – your age e.g. mine is 220 – 29 = 191 beats per minute.

To make sure that I am hitting the right level of intensity (70-85% of VO2 max) I need to work between 80-90% of my maximum heart rate.  So for me it is between 80% of 191 (153bpm) and 90% of 191(172bpm). If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, divide your heart rate by 6 to see how many heartbeats there are in 10 seconds. Mine should be between 26 and 29 beats per 10 seconds.

So what exercises can you perform, instead of running or cycling, which will allow you to reach this intensity? I prefer circuit type training using my body in an interval training fashion. I recommend a 1:1 work to rest ratio and suggest training 1-3 times a week depending on your other training and commitments.

When doing circuits, perform continuous work, at a high intensity, for 2-3 minutes and then have a 2-3 minute rest. Do this 4-5 times and you will be done within that 20-30 minute period.

Here are some good examples of some good circuit ideas:

Nick Tumminello’s Leg Circuit Workout

Training For Warriors Finland Kettlebell Workout

Joe Defranco’s Kettlebell Circuit

CB Athletics Kettlebell and Bodyweight Circuit

These are good examples and you can make up your own using exercises such as squat thrusts, mountain climbers, step ups, squats, push ups, lunge variations, spidermans, two footed hops, jump squats etc. The main thing is to get your heart rate up between 80-90% for 2-3 minutes.

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