Push yourself harder. I am sure you've been told that at some point. I am here today to be blunt and direct about this topic. If you leave having learned something then my mission will be accomplished. I am not going to worry about your feelings. This is not going to be a politically correct article. This is going to be a “getting real” article. Yes, shit just got real!

Go Beyond and Push Yourself Harder

I will start by saying there is pain and then there is soreness and discomfort. Pain is something you should pay attention to. It is a signal from your body to stop whatever you are doing. Soreness and discomfort are another story entirely. They come with the territory. How many of you have stopped doing a bicep curl because the pump was too intense? If I did that each time the pump was too intense I would never make changes to my body. Go beyond the discomfort. Don't allow yourself to be held back. It is a self-limiting factor that many people have and need to lose.

Push Yourself Harder by Taking it to Failure

Can you even take a set to failure? Have you actually experienced what it is like to not be able to do even one more repetition? I know so many of you are saying you can and have, but I am calling bullshit. You have generally stopped short on every exercise. I see it all the time in the gym. A guy has the weight too low and is repping out. Suddenly he stops. Why? Did the weights say he was done? I don't think so. When you have more left in you, push yourself harder. It isn't a difficult concept to understand but apparently it is difficult to execute on.

Push Yourself Harder and Stop Whining

I am so tired of watching people phone in their workouts. They are whiney and shouldn't bother lifting weights. Go to the group exercise room if you want to whine. The weight room floor isn't the place for whiney people. This is where the serious people get the job done. Push yourself harder than you ever thought was possible. You will feel amazing afterwards and you will begin to see some amazing results. Check the whining at the door. Give it a shot and see what happens.

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Using various cardio techniques can help keep you going on your cardio routine. Nobody I know enjoys cardio, but when they vary their routine it is much easier to complete. I have been working through a series of cardio techniques the past month and today's session is about hill climbs. I use them on a treadmill in a unique way. You can even do hill climbs outside if you'd like.

Cardio Techniques – How Hill Climbs Help

Depending upon your speed and the incline of the hill, these hill climbs can help take the fat off quickly. Walking uphill for just one hour will burn an average of 354 calories in a 130-pound person, 422 calories in a 155-pound person and 518 calories in a 190-pound person, according to a list researched and compiled by Wisconsin’s Department of Health and Family Services. You will lose 1 pound when you burn 3,500 calories. The average 155-pound person who does hill climbs four hours a week will lose a little more than 2 pounds in a month. Trainees who exert more effort and walk faster burn even more calories. A faster heart rate means you are putting in a greater effort. Your fitness improves when your heart rate is 60 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate — 220 heartbeats per minute minus your age.

Walking up steep hills burns more far more calories than walking up slight inclines because it requires your heart and muscles to work much harder. Walking up a very “slight” incline, a hill with a 6-percent angle, burns 16 percent more calories than walking 3.5 mph on a flat surface. Walking up a “steep” incline, a hill with a 20-percent angle, burns 70 percent more calories. It is estimated that 155-pound people walking for one hour burn 320 calories walking 3.5 mph on a flat surface, 371 calories walking up a slight incline and 544 calories walking up a steep hill.

Cardio Techniques – The Outdoor Hill Climb

Warm up first. Climbing hills can really stress your muscles so you want to be warm and limber before you start. If you are doing short hill climbs in your local area just bring water. If you are at a national park doing longer hill climbs bring a first aid kit just in case. Set your pace and stick to it. You will be able to enjoy the scenery and take in the sights as you walk.

Cardio Techniques – Fitness Expose Treadmill Hill Climbs

As stated earlier, I try to keep my cardio as interesting and engaging as possible. This is why I invented the Fitness Expose Treadmill Hill Climbs. Always trying to vary my cardio techniques, even within one particular one like hill climbs. I execute it quite simply as follows.

Start out at 3.5 mph and an incline of 2.0. Warm up for 2 minutes. What you do next will depend upon the machine you are using. Some newer treadmills have a group of percentage buttons and you will use those. However, for the sake of this discussion we are going to assume that there are no percentage buttons. After 2 minutes warming up change the speed to 4.5 mph and change the incline to 3.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now up the incline to 6.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now up the incline to 9.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now up the incline to 12.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now up the incline to 15.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now up the incline to 18.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now up the incline to 21.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now up the incline to 24.0. Do this for 1 minute. Now reverse the process until you are back at 2.0 and 3.5 mph. Cool down for 2 minutes and you are done. The chart for this is as follows:

This will give you a total of 19 minutes so feel free to add another minute to the cool down portion. As you get better at this you can also increase the speed a little at a time.

Always remember that if you are having trouble doing your cardio consistently varying your cardio techniques will help with that. There are an abundance of cardio techniques, both those I have discussed recently and many others that are available via a short Google search. Just keep varying your cardio techniques and keep your body guessing and you will see great success.

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