How to rapidly improve cardio in a short period of time

**Donman1001** · 01-10-2012, 06:08 AM

I have been lifting for the last few months with no real or very little cardio and I have gained around 20 lbs of lbm. My question is as put in the title of my post, and im just wondering if HIIT would be the best way to go about this or distance running?

**Nooomoto** · 01-10-2012, 12:15 PM

Do you want to improve your cardio ability or burn fat?

**Donman1001** · 01-10-2012, 10:53 PM

not to wworried about burning fat at the moment, just need to get my cardio back up to par with where it used to be. Used to be able to run sub 6 minutes miles and now ill be lucky if I can do a mile in 7:30.

**dooie** · 01-10-2012, 11:09 PM

Originally Posted by Donman1001

not to wworried about burning fat at the moment, just need to get my cardio back up to par with where it used to be. Used to be able to run sub 6 minutes miles and now ill be lucky if I can do a mile in 7:30.

Are u looking for long durance fitness?? HIIT is good, but when I start back in training I just run, and when It gets closer to the season I sprint for 30secs rest for a min and do it for as long as possible!

**Gsxr84** · 01-12-2012, 07:43 AM

I've asked the same question not too long ago, i went from jogging for about 2 mins then getting gased to jogging 10kms on average right now. Not bad for a few weeks i think : ), basically what i do is do 2 conditioning routines ( 45 mins long, of hitting a punching bag, farmer walks,burpees ,etc) after my workouts and other then that every second day i go jogging outside and make a certain route, each time i push to go further. Its working good for me so far, thought i'd share!

**baseline_9** · 01-12-2012, 01:54 PM

A mixture of HIIT and long duration cardio....

HIIT is going to give the most dramatic change in your cardio ability however it is also very taxing on the body (like weight training) if performed properly

Bug a 10 meter chain an old weight training belt and a 20kg plate...

Do sprint training wile dragging the weight... 100m sprints with 2-3 min rest periods... Do ten of those... Your heart will feel like its in your head

**Donman1001** · 01-15-2012, 06:55 AM

thanks Baseline, this sounds killer and I will be sure to give it a shot once I get back to the states.

**MrClean1** · 01-16-2012, 12:02 AM

I stick to running a 7 minute mile or as close to 7 minutes as I can get it right after my workout

**Tigershark** · 01-16-2012, 06:56 PM

I have not read this article so I will not say it works but here you go.
http://www.fitnessvenues.com/uk/improve-cardio-fitness

**D.Pump** · 01-20-2012, 12:34 PM

I trained for a triathlon over the summer. I hadnt even jogged for a couple of years. I had been doing weight training daily. In about 6 weeks I was in good enough shape to run a 20 minute 5K at the end of the triathlon so after swimming a half mile and biking 20 miles. All I did was HIT mainly because I hate running. I just tried to push my lungs to as much pain as i could stand and then rest for a min. On some days I would warm up and then just sprint a mile. worked surprisingly well considering the lack of time i spent training

**V-ROID** · 01-20-2012, 12:58 PM

What worked for me was to wear a heart rate monitor. Before that I would burn myself out much faster and complain about how my endurance sucked. When it beeps you gotta take it down a notch (or up). First week I used it I was jogging for an hour without stopping. Before that I was lucky to go 5 minutes without walking. I was just pushing too hard without really knowing. That was almost 2 years ago and now I don't use it, but I don't think I would have ever hit a good pace without it.

**aronjrsmil** · 01-20-2012, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by MOTOPHILE

What worked for me was to wear a heart rate monitor. Before that I would burn myself out much faster and complain about how my endurance sucked. When it beeps you gotta take it down a notch (or up). First week I used it I was jogging for an hour without stopping. Before that I was lucky to go 5 minutes without walking. I was just pushing too hard without really knowing. That was almost 2 years ago and now I don't use it, but I don't think I would have ever hit a good pace without it.

Well yeah this works if you don't have a treadmill and you are jogging on the street. Otherwise a treadmill would keep you where you want to stay. Same thing with a bike. A lot of bikes havve HR moniters on them.