Video: 30-Minute Core + Cardio Workout

This is an intense workout to kick off 2015 on the right foot, and start getting you back in shape after the hectic holiday months of eating and drinking.

This workout includes a warm up and cool-down, and is designed for busy people who want to get a full workout in just 30 minutes. It includes high-intensity interval training (20 seconds of movement, 10 seconds of rest) for a great cardio workout, alternating with core exercises designed to strengthen your core and abdominal muscles. A combination of ab exercises and cardio is the best way to get that tummy flat and trim for the new year!

Grab a bottle of water, a towel, and let's work out!




Try Our Favorite High-Intensity 12-Minute Workout Program Too:

PACE Express 12-Minute Fitness Revolution

Video: Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred Workout - Level 1

If you want to check out the 30-Day Shred workout program we reviewed on Tuesday, check out the Level 1 workout here and give it a try. This is the full Level 1 workout, and includes a warm-up and cool down, plus cardio and strength training.

If you are a beginner, be sure to follow the beginner model, and go at your own pace, listening to your body. If anything hurts, don't do it! Be sure to follow Jillian's instructions to avoid injury. This is a pretty hardcore workout, so don't overdo it just starting out!*

You will need a set of hand weights, and an exercise mat.

This workout is only about 20 minutes, and it's a great way to get in shape for the New Year, without even having to go to the gym!

* Be sure to consult with your healthcare practitioner before beginning any new workout, especially if you are at a low fitness level.  

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred: Level 1
Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Level 1 will burn fat with this interval training fitness system, combining strength, cardio, and abs workouts that blast calor...


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Reaping the Benefits of Cardio Training

Your body is the most valuable asset you could have in your lifetime. Thus it is important that you take good care of it. Give it the proper attention it needs - feed it healthy and nutritious foods, give it plenty of rest and water, and most of all, keep it moving!

When it comes to ensuring and maintaining the health of your body, cardio training is an important factor.

What Is Cardio Training?

Cardio training involves any activity that requires the use of the large muscle groups of the body in a regular and uninterrupted manner. It elevates the heart rate to between 60 and 85 percent of the fastest heart rate possible for you.

 (Photo credit: USAG-Humphreys)

Some of the usual cardio training activities are walking, jogging, running, aerobics, cycling, tae bo, swimming and rowing. Cardio training is considered an aerobic exercise as one is required to move from one exercise to another rather quickly, while keeping the heart rate high for a certain period of time.

What Are the Benefits of Cardio Training?

1. Gives Energy to the Body

You can expect more energy and higher endurance with regular cardio training.

2. Prevents Diseases

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even high cholesterol can be prevented or moderated with regular cardio training. A good cardiovascular training program strengthens the heart and the lungs.

3. Controls Your Weight

With cardio training, you are able to burn more calories and lose weight. For those who already achieved their ideal body mass, cardio training will make it easier to control and maintain your proper weight.

Cardio training helps burn calories. However this generally depends on your current weight and the kind of cardio training you are undergoing. Before beginning any new exercise program, be sure to consult with your physician or trainer to determine the proper type of training for your needs.

4. Lose Body Fat

Some people do not have a problem with their weight overall, but may have more body fat than they would like. Cardio training will help in getting rid of excess fat and building lean muscle, which will in turn increase your metabolism so that you burn more fat even when at rest. Most cardio activities involve the movements of large muscle groups. Regularly doing this kind of training will make you leaner over time.

Exercise work zones (Fox and Haskell formula between 20 and 70-year-old): red zone (VO2Max), anaerobic, aerobic, weight control and warming up. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

5. Fight Boredom

Cardio training is fun. It pumps up your system. You will feel more energized and your mood will improve. (See below for my favorite cardio training program - it's so much fun I do it almost every day, and never get bored - and it only takes 15 minutes a day!)

A Few Recommendations to Better Enjoy the Benefits of Cardio Training

Cardio training is essential when you need to make health improvements. For starters, it is best to do between 10 and 30 minutes of cardio exercise, 3 to 5 days a week. If you are aiming for weight loss, the training should be done 5 days a week. The more frequently you do it; the more likely it is that you will lose weight. However, avoid exhausting yourself too much - this can be hard on the body and you may get tired of it or experience burn out. Avoid going beyond 45 minutes - in fact 30 is probably more than enough if it's the right type of training. Remember, it has to be done in a regular basis.

1. Start now. Walk or ride the bike around the neighborhood now. Follow that aerobics video you purchased. Set a goal and follow that goal. At the same time, modify your diet too. Eat healthy whole foods with plenty of vitamins and fiber. Avoid processed foods and sugar.

2. As you increase your fitness level, the intensity of the training should also increase, and you should be sure to vary your activity so that different parts of your body get exercised daily. You can easily implement this by intensifying some parts of the training. If you are into jogging or running, increase your speed every 5 minutes for a minute or two, then slow back down. This will give your body a challenge, and keep you from hitting a plateau in your weight loss goals.

3. You should also avoid doing cardio exercises before bedtime. You will have a difficult time sleeping if you do so as the energy level of the body will stay high for some time.

4. If you are undergoing weight training too, do the cardio exercises right after your weight session, not before.

(Photo credit: sisterbeer)

5. It is best to have a snack about 30 minutes before doing cardio exercises. Do not start with training on an empty stomach. This will not help in achieving the proper momentum when you train. At the same time, avoid indulging in large meals too before exercise. Have plenty of water on hand - you'll need it!

6. If possible, it is great to do cardio exercises outdoors. This way you can easily interact with nature and breathe fresh air, and it keeps things interesting.

Most of all, be consistent and stick with your cardio training once you have started it. This is the only way that cardio training will benefit your body and your health in the long run.

Fun & Effective Cardio Training Workout: 

Interval Cardio Exercise Great for Weight Loss

Everyone has wondered at some point in time which form of cardio exercise is best for losing weight.  To put it in simple terms, both low and high intensity exercises will help you to burn off body fat.  The question here is which is the most effective and the healthiest overall for your body. 

Scientists first discovered that during intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscles for energy.  Whereas, during low intensity exercises, your body will burn a lot of fat.

Aerobic exercises (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But if you're thinking based on this that low intensity, long-duration exercise is the way to go, you would be wrong. Just look around at the huge numbers of obese people in our country, and you'll see that this type of exercise isn't really working the way we think it should. And those who try it often get so bored so quickly, that they stop once they reach a plateau in their weight loss and end up right back where they started.

Here's the thing. The scientists were right when they said the human body burns more body fat during low intensity exercises like walking or swimming.  But during a high intensity exercise such as running, the body will burn a lot more calories.  Even if some of the calories burnt are from glycogen, there are still many fat calories burned as well.

To put the icing on the cake, when your store of glycogen gets low, the carbohydrates from your food you eat will later get converted into glycogen to fill up the store and won't be converted to body fat when they are left unused for energy.

Put simply, high intensity cardio exercise will juice up your metabolism even after you have completed your workout.  What this means, is that your body will continue to burn body fat hours after you have left the gym.  This effect is nearly non-existent in low intensity cardio or aerobic workouts. 

Accumulatively, your body will burn up more and more calories during and after you have finished a high intensity cardio exercise that it will with low intensity.

Now obviously, doing an hour-long high intensity workout is just not feasible - your body couldn't take it, and it's not designed for that sort of thing anyway. The answer is to intersperse your lower intensity exercise with bursts of high intensity activity. This way you get the best of both worlds! And best of all, this sort of thing basically "supercharges" your weight loss. You can actually lose more weight in a 20-minute workout of this type, than you would in an hour of walking, biking, or even slow jogging.

 (Photo credit: The Survival Woman)

You can inject high intensity exercises into your cardio workout by introducing some interval training. You can walk for 5 minutes or so, then break into some slow jogging for another 3-5 minutes or so.  Then, once warmed up, walk briskly again until you have caught your breath and then sprint for a minute before you walk again.  From this point, simply alternate your running and walking for about 15 minutes until you are finished.

One of the best things about this type of cardio is the more you do it, the more energy you'll have.  Cardio will help you to burn calories, and it's also useful for keeping your energy levels high. Dr. Al Sears explains this phenomenon well in his book, Pace: The 12-Minute Fitness Revolution.

If you've never tried this type of cardio before, you should give it a shot.  You'll find it the best way to boost your energy and get in great shape.  If you are just starting out, you'll want to go slow and gradually increase your bursts of intensity as your body gets used to it, so you can avoid injuries which may throw your fitness goals off track.


Lose Weight Fast with Interval Cardio: