Manly Cardio Doesn’t Have to Suck!

The human circulatory system needs to be exercised as surely as the muscular system. Think of the circulatory system as the body's internal plumbing. If the plumbing is rusted and corroded; if the pumps that flush the nutrients and remove waste products are overworked; if they are weak or clogged, a blowup or breakdown lies just around the corner. On the other hand, if the tubes and pipes that carry nutrients to the muscles and remove waste products are smooth as chromium stainless steel, if the heart and lungs are powerful pumps and super efficient exchange units, then the "Soft Machine" operates at peak capacity.

Aerobic activity by itself will never result in a complete physical transformation. It will, however, help the body better utilize quality nutrients for muscle recovery and growth. Consistent cardio increases the heart's stroke volume. Increased stroke volume allows the body to become more efficient at delivering nutrients to the cells and removing waste products. By performing all three legs of the Purposefully Primitive Training Triad (aerobics, nutrition, weight training) in a balanced, intelligent, ferocious fashion for a protracted period, the mysterious, mythical, ethereal physical synergy is triggered - when synergy takes root, results exceed all realistic expectations. Synergy only occurs in response to balance application of the three interrelated elements: synergy only occurs when the diligent application of effective exercise is underpinned by performance enhancing nutrition.

I hear stifled snickers and muffled laughs every time I tell hardcore iron pumpers that not only do I perform cardio, by they should too. "Aerobics is for girls!" is the predictable retort from far too many of my no-necked brethren. An unacceptable percentage of big strong men get gassed walking up three flights of stairs. A disproportionate number of ex-lifting champions drop over dead from heart attacks and circulatory health issues way before their time. Big guys should not be so dismissive of cardio-related activities, particularly after they retire.

Often powerlifters quit training yet hand onto the massive eating habits they developed as young men trying to add muscle and size. One all to common scenario is that an elite lifter quits lifting, continues eating lots of refined carbs, sugar, beer and salted foods and adds 50 to 100 extra pounds of excess bodyweight. A high intake of artery-clogging food and zero cardio exercise makes for a deadly combination. An unacceptably high percentage of champion lifters are dying early and I think dietary restraint and some many cardio would do wonders for big guys. Still, these bruisers would rather be caught with a transvestite hooker on an episode of “Cops” than be seen riding a stationary bike.

I, myself, hate cardio machines. I am disdainful of these boring gerbil wheels. When I use them the minutes trick by like hours. I hate doing cardio in a commercial gym, sucking in the rancid breath of the two guys riding bikes sitting two feet to my left and right. God have mercy on those in my cardio vicinity breathing in my rancid Sunday morning exhalations. The stale, recycled gym air is a toxic brew of expelled germs.

Big Men, let’s get outside and walk!

Heavy guys are able to generate a 70% to 80% heart rate simply walking around the block. Hell, they will not even know they’re doing cardio. Jettison junk food and massive booze intake.

Manly cardio doesn’t suck! Dying decades before your time sucks!

Step Outside the Cardio Box

Obese people unable to exercise have a paucity of mitochondria. This partly explains why a 400 pound inactive individual can exist on 1000 calories a day and add body fat eating 1400 calories a day. After all that’s a 40% caloric increase. Meanwhile the 240 pound competitive bodybuilder who hits early morning cardio sessions and weight trains ten or more hours weekly can consume 6,000 calories a day and not gain an ounce of body fat.

The obese individual has a sluggish metabolism and far fewer cellular furnaces that the bodybuilder. Over time the champion bodybuilder elevates their metabolism to a point where “only” eating 3,500 calories a day causes him to lose body fat. Imagine! Meanwhile the obese dude eats a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and gains three pounds of fat!

Using a heart rate monitor to access with pinpoint accuracy the impact of cardio efforts is critical. How might a typical steady state, burst or hybrid session shake out using a HR monitor? This depends on your inclinations, preferences and psychological make up. Steady state heart rate usage is self-explanatory. Perhaps the most fundamental form of burst cardio is sprinting. No need to run 100 yard sprints; 20, 30 or 40 yard dashes are more than sufficient to spike a heart rate through the ceiling and promote mitochondria growth in thighs, hamstrings, calves and glutes.

The procedure is primitive and effective: sprint one direction, cross the imaginary finish line and as soon as breathing returns to semi-normal, say 75% of age-related HR max for a fit person, sprint back the other direction. Obviously with each subsequent sprint the rest duration will increase. Keep this up for 30-45 minutes. You can use weighted implements such as weighted backpacks, kettlebells, clubbells, dumbbells with grip handles or medicine balls to create hybrid 3^rd Way cardio katas. Use your imagination to create your own 3^rd Way cardio protocols. I once tried doing the clean and jerk with 135 for 30 straight minutes … a truly painful memory.

Jump Start the Heart

I love outdoor power walking and will often wear a weighted pack while walking. Using free hand calisthenics to initially spike the heart rate, I will start my outdoor power walk with 2-4 minutes of free hand full squats, jumping jacks and push ups to initially elevate the heart. I normally have 75 beat per minute heart rate after a few cups of coffee. Obviously I have on my heart rate monitor and will do my circuit of calisthenics for as many tri-sets as it takes to jump up from 75 to 120 BPM which is 80% of my age-related max.

I have found that repeatedly speed running up a flight of stairs is another great way to spike my initially sluggish heart up to the target zone. I use an 80% base, but that doesn’t mean you should. Out-of-shape folks should initially work in the 50%-65% ARHR max range. Once I spike my heart to my target baseline of 80%, I try to maintain that for the duration of the session. Be aware that there are periods where I will exceed the baseline and there are periods where I will fall short. The goal is at sessions end to have a blended session average that achieves the predetermined session target heart rate goal.

By way of example, I set a new goal for 82.5% of my ARHR max for 60 minutes. This works out to 125 beats per minute for 60 minutes. I have established a consistent base of 80% for 60 minutes and now want to ratchet the intensity upward to my new goal. I am keeping the duration intact, 60 minutes; and keeping the frequency intact, 5-6 days per week. I continually manipulate one or more of the various cardio benchmarks in order to provoke progress. Other occasions I might seek to extend the session duration while maintaining intensity and frequency.

Tricks of the Walking Trade

I Some individuals will be able to  maintain the target baseline heart rate simply by walking as fast as possible; others might need to wear a weighted backpack. In my case, I hike local mountain trails often wearing a backpack stuffed with a 35 pound plate wrapped in a blanket. After my free hand exercise warm-up (without the pack), I'll start walking as fast as possible or break into my jog-trot for ten minutes on the flat level terrain. My goal is to maintain my now established 80% heart rate.

Another method I use for amping-up the intensity of power walking is to throw my hands, clenched into fists, head height on each stride step. I have found that by conscientiously throwing each fist to head height on steep grades I can create a 20 beat per mining increase over "normal" walking. I recommend the clenched fist because it adds an element of muscle tension that spikes the heart rate. It feels like Len Schwartz's Heavyhands without using the hand weights.

In Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Chuan he references that when a T'ai Chi Master achieves the highest state of the art, "He feels as if he is swimming through air while performing T'ai Chi." I replicate that feeling using this procedure. The air feels thick and I feel as if I am swimming through air. At times of maximum stress, it feels as if I'm swimming through mud or concrete. Performing walking cardio provides a low impact form of exercise so the chances of incurring an exercise-related injury are radically reduced. If you are able to acquire and maintain the predetermined cardio intensity target strictly by walking, that that is enough, but if you want to take your intensity to the next level try these proven methods.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Walking at top speed up steep grades while throwing clenched fists to head height causes thihg muscles to burn and lungs to ache. Power walking can recreate Master Cheng Tzu's "swimming through air" phenomenon. On a steep 45 degree hill I am able to jack my heart rate from 115 to 170 using concentrated walking with fists thrown head high.

After a burst of this type, I stand still and allow my heart to simmer back down to my 80% floor. The heart rate monitor gives me permission to take a complete post-burst break and not lose one single minute of cardio benefit. One of the biggest revelations I had using the heart rate monitor was the realization that I could stop completely after an intense hear rate spike. There is a heart rate lag time that enables me to get my wind back. While standing still and recovering I suck in crisp, outdoor, super-oxygenated air and receive a cornucopia of cardio benefits: working muscles are clearing lactic aid; and heart/lung/muscles are re-establishing their gyroscopic balance while oxygen debt is being normalized. The visual wonders of nature heighten my zoned-out, altered consciousness state-of-being and I receive the benefits of a still accelerated heart, pound away at 170 now 158, 149, 141,136,130 now 128 and time to hit it again.

Now down to 80% of ARHR, completely recovered, I burst yet again. I hit it hard with rested muscles cleared of toxin and out of oxygen debt. Re-energized and revitalized, I repeat the procedure again and again for 60 solid minutes, or longer. I have no problem maintaining a blended session heart rate average of 80% using this procedure. Please don't run out and start blasting up to 100% of ARHR max or cruise along at 80% just because I do. That could be dangerous. Try alternating burst style cardio with steady state during cardio training sessions. If you have never tried outdoor cardio, alternating steady with burst, it is exhilarating, intense and effective.

"The human body craves sameness and for that reason we avoid sameness."

Get outside to a public park, put on the iPod and get lost in this transcendental for of cardio exercise. Why mindlessly submit to the tender mercies of some Hitlerian Personal Trainer who insists you job or ride the bike without pause, all the wile completely ignorant of the critical heart rate portion of the cardio equation? Liberate yourself; discover the unbridled joy of lung-searing cardio done outdoors in a visually exciting setting.

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