LOGIN

MOCO FIT: Cardio

Who’s ready for some cardio?

Personally, I think cardio gets a bad rap. I love what it does for my overall health, I love moving, and I love how it helps accelerate fat loss. Unless you are one of those rare people who is genetically gifted in that department, you simply can’t lose a significant amount of body fat without doing some type of cardiovascular activity.

You will be performing two types of cardio during this challenge:

  • HIIT Cardio Short bursts of extremely intense cardio followed by a less intense – or complete rest – recovery period, typically performed in a 1:1 or 1:2 work:rest ratio. Since they are performed at max intensity, the HIIT workouts in this Challenge range from 15-30 minutes depending on which phase we are in.
  • Maximum intensity is different for everyone, so a good way to measure if you are working hard enough is to wear a heart rate monitor and to make sure your heart rate is between 170-190 beats per minute (bpm) during your intensity phases.
  • Interval Cardio Moderate-to-high intensity cardio intervals, with the high intensity level less extreme than when performing HIIT cardio. You will perform interval cardio for 45 minutes.

Schedule

PHASE 1

  • 3 days per week
  • 30 minutes of HIIT cardio

PHASE 2

  • 6 days per week
  • 3 days of 45 minute Interval cardio sessions on your non-weight training days3 days of 15-minute HIIT cardio sessions on your total body workout days

For an overview of your cardio, check out the Monthly Calendars on the Program Overview page.

Target Heart Rate

Be sure to wear a heart rate monitor to make sure you are challenging yourself during your cardio sessions. Don’t just go through the motions and expect to see results.

Your target heart rate for each type of cardio should be:

  • HIIT Cardio Range from 120 (low intensity or rest intervals) to 190 bpm (high intensity intervals)
  • Interval Cardio 140-160 bpm

The cardio workouts below are suggestions – this is the area where you have the most freedom as far as being able to switch things up. Feel free to throw in your own cardio workouts, just make sure you are adhering to the below guidelines for each phase.

HIIT Cardio Workouts (Phase 2)