Uphill Battle

Much like life, exercise can be an uphill battle for what seems to be an eternity. However, I'm not going to ramble on and on about how tough exercising can be. We all know how tough exercising can be and we don't need others reminding us about that.
I'm here to tell you about uphill training! Ever tried it? As a new way to switch up cardiovascular training, an uphill battle is the way to go. This type of training can be extremely beneficial in short periods of time, while being gentle on the joints. Running on a treadmill or even outside for that matter can be hard on your joints and lower back.
The next time you decide to hop on the treadmill, do yourself a favor, raise the incline to a fairly steep level. I'm not talking about a level that just barely resembles an incline; I'm talking about a 12-15% incline. Now hang on, don't flip out and complain about the ridiculous incline level yet. Keep in mind that you are going to be walking at this level and not running. If you do in fact do feel like you can run at this level, by all means, go for it.
In this case, interval training utilizing time or even fartlek training while WALKING is what I'm talking about. Start at a walking pace that you can handle for long periods of time as a means to warming up and a resting pace. After your body warms up, increase the speed of the treadmill to a slightly uncomfortable walk for a few minutes. After the uncomfortable pace, back down the speed to your beginning pace for a couple of minutes while your heart rate comes down a bit. After your heart rate calms down a little, bump the speed right back up to your uncomfortable walk for a couple of minutes. Repeat this process for about thirty minutes and I promise you will feel WORKED!!!
Try this exercies for a couple of weeks or maybe even a month, and then try your boring ole flat pace run. You won't believe how easy and how fast you will be able to run after only a few weeks of training like this. Oh yeh, you will also burn a ton of calories while toning and shaping your calves, quads, bum and even your lower back!!

Best of Health to ALL!!