Cardio Routine – Phase Three

The Breakdown

Since the goal of the third phase of the abercrombie workout is to burn fat, the cardio routine is the most intense we’ve had yet. During the third phase of the abercrombie workout we will be doing cardio every day of the week. (If for some reason you can’t get in a cardio session every day try to get at least 6 sessions in per the week.)

On training days we’ll do a 20 minute mid-intensity cardio session prior to lifting and another 20 minute cardio session following weight training. On the three days of the week when we aren’t lifting we’ll be doing an intense 20-30 minute session of HIIT with a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down session. Were going to be doing our HIIT in the morning if possible because of HIIT’s ability to increase the body’s metabolism for the rest of the day. This increased metabolism helps the body to continue burning fat through out the day resulting in the most fat-loss possible in the shortest amount of time.

WHAT IS HIIT?

High intensity interval training is a short but intense workout that’s built around alternating between sprinting and jogging/walking. The session begins with a 5 minute warm up jog at a low to mid intensity level. Following the warm up you alternate between jogging/walking and sprinting at full speed. This is done on a 2:1 ratio meaning that for every 30 seconds you spend sprinting you spend a minute jogging/walking.

A basic HIIT routine consists of a 5 minute warm up jog at a slow/medium pace followed by 30 seconds of sprinting, then a minute of jogging, then another 30 seconds of sprinting, a minute of jogging, and you continue this cycle for anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on your cardiovascular endurance level. After you’ve finished your cycles (usually around 6-10 cycles) you finish up the workout with 5 minutes of low intensity jogging to cool down.

*the cardio sessions should consists of running, biking, or elliptical sessions preferably.