5 Tips to Improve Your Cardio Workout
Being aware of your body in space and time is at the heart of the education in Kenesiology which gave me a completely different outlook on maximizing all my training principles.
When you understand which body parts are doing the movement and how they are connected to each other, not only do you improve your energy output when exercising but you also gain better results and prevent yourself from possibly life-long injuries.
If you would allow me to share with you a different perspective with all this in mind I sincerely believe you will get a lot more from your cardio workouts, but you will also benefit significantly when training with weights and playing sports.
Tip 1: Nutrition
I have to give the first tip as nutrition simply because it is the most important part of your training. Without feeding your body the healthiest foods your body will not be able to expend energy the most efficiently.
Clean raw foods like fruits, veggies, beans are fantastic in providing readily expendable energy. This is one of the biggest revelations I had when studying Advanced Exercise Nutrition, even if it’s just a banana before your workout you will notice a HUGE different in the quality of your output.
Post workout nutrition is equally as important for muscle recovery and the ability to restore the glycogen (energy) in your muscles for your next workout. I highly recommend whey protein fruit smoothies as the #1 post-workout snack for both men and women of any age. (If you want more info on this topic, read my article on post-workout nutrition).
Try Optimum 100% Whey Gold Vanilla with frozen berries, vanilla yogurt, and 1/3 cup skim milk and 1/3 cup ice water and you got probably one of the healthiest treats you could posisbly give your body, it has the essential amino acids, the fructose, some fiber, tons of antioxidants, and lots of calcium just to mention a few. For the best price on Optimum Platinum Hydrowhey click here.
Tip 2: High Quality Running Shoes
Back or knee pain? Shin splints? These are all indicators of running shoes that need to be replaced. Your feet are extremely important in keeping your entire spinal column aligned so any time you are running or even doing lunges/squats in the gym high quality running shoes will keep everything in check.
A few years back I found a very knowledgeable shoe expert who recommended the best running shoes I have ever come across and I have yet to find one that offers as much support and comfort as these even though they are Nike. Check out Nike Pegasus for Women or Nike Pegasus for Men.
Tip 3: Strong Core Focus
Wonder why so many trainers focus a lot of their training on their core muscles? Again a strong core gives you the foundation for all other movements. Next time you’re in the gym try doing bicep curls normally. Then do it again with your abs and core really tight. Notice a difference?
Keep your core in mind for whatever exercise, sport or even cleaning in your house and you have no activated hundreds more muscles throughout your midsection to keep everything completely aligned and strengthening each time.
Tip 4: Back Posture
Sitting down at a desk and being on the computer we all get the rounded forward shoulder syndrome. Combine it with strong shoulder muscles and you have a serious imbalance which leads to a lot of back pain.
The tip is simple here, in almost every exercise, sport you are doing keep your shoulder blades squeezed back together. You can increase strength in this area with the seated rear deltoid raises (view image).
Bonus tip: when running be extra aware of your shoulders and watch how you swing your arms. Use your shoulders for the movement with your shoulder blades squeezed together and you will keep everything in proper alignment.
Tip 5: Knee Positioning
When you run or do any cardio exercise are your knees directly over top your ankles on impact? Try watching yourself doing this movement slowly in front of a mirror and you’ll see what I get here. You may be bending to forward and creating an excess amount of force on the knees which not only places unnecessary strain on your knees but also slows you down. So what should you do instead?
Focus on all the tips above! Core tight, shoulder blades back, and try thinking about reducing the impact of your feet on the ground. All these things together will allow you to do any kind of cardio without tearing up your knees. Now if you want to add a proven supplement to help you with the fluids in your knee joint try Glucoasmine Chondroitin (you can read my full article here – Glucosamine Chondroitin Supplement).
Supplements to Improve Your Cardio Workout
If you want to super-intensity your cardio workout with an energy booster try USPLabs Jack3d, this stuff works and hence why it is the number one workout supplement in the industry right now. Others you may want to consider is a thermogenic fat burner such as Muscle Pharm Shred Matrix but be warned this stuff is pretty powerful.
Conclusion: 5 Tips to Improve Your Cardio Workout
Obviously this topic can be taken deeper and get much more sophisticated but I honestly believe these 5 tips will really make a major difference in your cardio workouts. They will become more energy efficient and easier allowing you to excel and get better each time, and this means better results with fat loss and more muscle tone. Of course, you will also prevent injuries from happening if you really take these to heart.
Please try these out and let me know what results you see in your next workout by leaving a comment below…
How should I plan my dinner around my evening workouts? I’m struggling with eating too late. I get home around 6:15, go to the gym around 7:15, get home around 8:30 and often don’t finish eating until after 9 (bed around 10). I feel like eating before makes me feel too full to work out hard and eating after is too close to bed.
Hi Joanna, that is a great question that really involves some serious time management. I would prepare your dinner before hand so you can have it as soon as you get home, and try and get to the gym right after work or see if you can shift your work schedule earlier. I know, it’s not easy!!!
Hello!! Mr. Fitness 🙂
I am an eliptical lover!! Are there any exercises or activities I can do on the eliptical to tone my abs and burn even MORE calories??
Thank You!!!
HI Rachel! You bet, go for high intensity interval training – https://weightlossandtraining.com/high-intensity-interval-training
What are your thoughts on hemp protein as opposed to whey?
Hemp is great, I’ve just yet to find one that tastes really good. Hemp tends to have quite a grainy texture, other than that it is a great source of protein.
Of course you can but you can use supplements to your advantage.
Im up at 5.55am, on the tradmill by 6.10am, what can I have that will digest quickly to boost my energy levels at this time of the morning?
I am the same, I like to have a preworkout drink and half a banana!