In my "Losing the fat" post I talk about varying cardio progression by altering the intensity, time, type, and even frequency...
http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/For_Losing_Fat/m_111175/tm.htm The goal is to consciously design a
progression for the period you want to affect body composition.
REMEMBER muscle burns fat...so do not neglect muscle..and do not starve yourself!
Now...I just want to share a bit from another trainer that might give some further insight into creating progressions for cardio...
Cardio Progressions There are still a lot of folks that sit back and worry about how they're doing their X, Y, or Z minutes of cardio and aren't getting any leaner without ever considering that a progression may be necessary, just like with weight training.
Let's look at some of the progression variables available, whether the goal is improving overall fitness, improving aerobic and/or anaerobic conditioning, and/or losing body fat.
#1 Volume Progression for Cardio Volume progression is the most commonly used method. The thought goes that when results are stagnating then it is time to do
more.
What worked for the first few weeks might not exactly work for the next few. And if X minutes continued to work for 12 weeks, perhaps there was some element of overkill in the early weeks.
An individual may have only needed X-60 minutes during the first few weeks, X-30 minutes during the next few weeks, and X minutes only during the last few weeks. This isn't just about wasted time — it could mean wasted muscle if you're doing much more cardio than you need.
So make sure you at least consider the possibility of using a cardio volume progression rather than either just picking an arbitrary amount and sticking with it in spite of no progress or going overboard and doing a ton in the early phases when not necessary.
Here's an example of what your cardio volume progression might look like:
Weeks 1 and 2 — 60 total minutes
(1 x 60 minutes or 2 x 30 minutes or 3 x 20 minutes)
Weeks 3 and 4 — 90 total minutes
(2 x 45 minutes or 3 x 30 minutes or 4 x 22.5 minutes)
Week 5 and 6 — 120 total minutes
(2 x 60 minutes or 3 x 40 minutes or 4 x 30 minutes)
Weeks 7 and 8 — 150 total minutes
(3 x 50 minutes or 4 x 37.5 minutes or 5 x 30 minutes)
Note:
Keep in mind that progression is dictated by results — if you're losing too fast or starting to feel run-down, slow down the progression. If you're not losing fast enough or not adapting as quickly, speed up the progression.
So what if you're doing HIIT? Does the same volume progression concept work? Of course it does.
In the end, the point here isn't necessarily to follow exactly what I've laid out above or to suggest that volume progression is the only way to schedule your cardio sessions. The point is that you shouldn't just lock into one baseline set of volume parameters and stick with them. Just like with weight training, if you want to progress in the fitness and/or fat loss departments, you'll need to use some sort of cardio progression too.
#2 Intensity Progression for Cardio So what if you've used a volume progression and simply can't afford any more time? Or what if you just want to use an intensity progression instead of a volume progression? Or what if you want a combination of both?
Well, let's start with intensity progression alone. Rather than increasing the number of minutes spent exercising, when targeting intensity progression you'd increase the average intensity of those same minutes.
In this case, during steady state cardio, you'll want to gradually increase the intensity of your efforts by speeding up. For example, if you're getting comfortable biking three times a week for 30 minutes at level 5 on the stationary bike, you can pick up the intensity of your ride by increasing the level to 6. And, as discussed above, the progression should be systematic.
Here's an example:
Week 1 — 3 x 30 minutes at level 5
Week 2 — 3 x 30 minutes at level 6
Week 3 — 3 x 30 minutes at level 7
Week 4 — 3 x 30 minutes at level 8
Note: Again, progression is dictated by results — if you're losing too fast or starting to feel run-down, slow down the progression. If you're not losing fast enough or not adapting as quickly, speed up the progression.
And don't be afraid to mix progression techniques. If, during week 3 you can't get 3 x 30 minutes at level 7, perhaps starting at 3 x 20 minutes at level 7 and working your way up to 3 x 30 minutes at this level is the best strategy.
And, again, does this work for HIIT training? Can you use these intensity progressions for this type of cardio? Yes again!
With HIIT you can increase the mean intensity of your workouts one of two ways. First, you can keep your work-to-rest ratios the same and boost the intensity of the work interval. Secondly, you can reduce your rest interval while keeping your work interval at the same intensity. Either way, your average intensity for the session will be higher and you'll be using a cardio progression to ensure steady results.
#3 Load Progression for Cardio This is the amount of weight you're carrying around when you're doing weight-bearing cardio.
Consider an X-vest (a weighted vest) for this purpose. To use a load progression for cardio, you'd simply add small amounts of weight to the vest over time while walking, stair-climbing, etc. in order to provide more total resistance.
This strategy is especially useful during periods of weight loss. Technically, rather than actually loading your cardio, you're actually replacing the load that you've lost. And this is a huge asset as
the same amount of cardio, once you've lost weight, is much less effective. After all, 30 minutes of walking done four times per week at 200 pounds is more calorie-costly vs. 30 minutes of walking done four times per week at 185 dieted-down pounds. So why not walk at 200 pounds for a few weeks, then 210 pounds, and so on — regardless of how much body weight you're carrying?
Be careful with high-impact activities, however. You don't want to tear up your joints with heavy loads strapped to you during activities like running. Also, athletes shouldn't use this type of load progression during most agility drills or top-end speed work as they're likely to teach themselves to be slower.
Special thanks to John Berardi
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/training/cardio_progressions.htm