You gotta do cardio. You’ll never love it, and you’ll probably never grow to like it. But you accept it. Even genetic freaks such as Dexter Jackson and David Henry, with the fastest metabolisms the sport has ever known, need to complete cardiovascular exercise leading up to a show. It’s a required part of bodybuilding life. For many, it’s long and monotonous. However, it doesn’t have to be. Let’s look at a method of stacking your cardiovascular training using multiple machines and interval training. This type of training varies greatly from minute to minute, but the end result is the same – you’ll get shredded. Ready to jump in?

Treadmill
Let’s start slow, but not that slow! Here is the breakdown for your treadmill cardio.

• Minute 1: 1.5 mph at 9 degree incline
• Minute 2: 3.5 mph at 7 degree incline
• Minute 3: 1.5 mph at 5 degree incline
• Minute 4: 4.5 mph at 4 degree incline
• Minute 5: 1.5 mph at 3 degree incline
• Minute 6: 3.5 mph at 1 degree incline

Elliptical Machine
Time to start getting your arms involved! Complete these minutes with zero rest between exercises or minutes. You are not to stop moving!

• Minute 1: 30% of maximum effort
• Minute 2: 70% of maximum effort
• Minute 3: 30% of maximum effort
• Minute 4: 70% of maximum effort
• Minute 5: 30% of maximum effort
• Minute 6: 70% of maximum effort

Stair-Stepper
Now it’s time for the toughest movement of them all. The next exercise won’t even require you to stand, so it’s possible to go all out and just scorch those legs with intensity!

• Minute 1: 2 mph at 1 degree incline
• Minute 2: 4 mph at 5 degree incline
• Minute 3: 2 mph at 2 degree incline
• Minute 4: 5 mph at 4 degree incline
• Minute 5: 2 mph at 3 degree incline
• Minute 6: 4 mph at 2 degree incline

Seated exercise bike
It’s time to cool down. It may be hard to stand by now, particularly if you happened to complete a leg workout before entering today’s grueling cardio session.

• Minute 1: 70% heart rate
• Minute 2: 60% heart rate
• Minute 3: 50% heart rate
• Minute 4: 40% heart rate
• Minute 5: 30% heart rate
• Minute 6: 20% heart rate

That’s it. Twenty-four minutes of mixed up madness, and you’re ready to hit the showers with a newly boosted metabolism. Remember that you can mix up the exercises listed above, based upon your preferences and available machine options. Just try to keep a warm-up exercise first, and a cool-down movement last. You can also add a fifth movement into the middle of the rotation if you wish to force yourself to endure 25 to 35 minutes of cardio training. Cardio is the most honest exercise out there, as you wear your results, and everyone knows how hard you work at it based upon how you look. Using cardiovascular exercise training routines like this one help to pass the time and keep your heart rate high, which will help you get as lean as possible!

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