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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Chest training is like a religion in most gyms. Monday's are dubbed “Bench Press Mondays” because that's when most people do their chest training.My good friend and mentor, Ken Turchek, taught me some amazing tricks for building my pecs. While it is a slow process (what in bodybuilding isn't), it works. I see changes all the time as I look in the mirror. In today's Monday Madness I am going to share my favourite chest training techniques with you and even give you a sample chest training workout at the end.

Chest Training is All About the Squeeze

This is something that is often overlooked when doing chest training. People tend to not use the complete range of motion while doing chest training. They also move a little too quickly. They tend to not squeeze the chest muscles at all. Chest training is all about the squeeze. This technique has resulted in the largest change in my body ever.

The next time you do a flat barbell bench press concentrate on feeling your chest muscles. Bring the bar down very slowly and then explode to the top. When you hit the top squeeze the muscle. Act as though you want to push your hands together, but don't actually move your hands. This will result in a large contraction of the pectoral muscles. Do thisreligiously on every single repetition. The first thing you will notice is the amazing pump you get. The other thing you will notice is that you can't lift for as many repetitions. This is because you are now working your pectoral muscles with much more intensity.

One of my favourite exercises is the Hammer Strength Incline machine. I do it one arm at a time. I squeeze hard at the top of the movement. I find that the contractions I get really hit the muscle hard.

Chest Training Should Happen From Many Angles

Chest training offers you the ability to work from various angles. Most people will tell you to do flat bench presses as well as incline bench presses, but they ignore the decline presses. Not only do I believe that you should include the decline presses, I think you should start your chest training with that angle. It really works to tire out your chest.

Incline presses are a great way to build your upper pectorals. Try changing the severity of the angle. You will feel the muscle differently depending upon the angle itself. A small difference in the angle will really change how the exercise feels.

Don't Ignore Flyes With Chest Training

Pec Dec flyes and Dumbbell flyes should definitely be part of your chest training routine. As mentioned above, make sure to squeeze your pecs hard during these flyes. One variation to try with Pec Dec flyes is to have a partner cause resistance on the negative portion of the movement. This will help you by working your pecs in both directions.

Try This Intense Workout

In the chest training workout that follows take the final set to complete muscular failure. If it takes 10 reps to fail on the Flat DB Bench Press so be it. Just make sure you take that final set to failure.

Push hard on every set, but remember to take that final set to failure. Get that squeeze on every single repetition. Take 1 minute rest between sets. By doing this you are going to have one very intense chest training session.

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