If you’ve ever played on a sports team or trained for a race, you’re probably familiar with conditioning. But for those who aren’t, conditioning basically helps you get in shape very quickly. I have a conditioning workout that follows a basic formula that will condition your body quickly and it can be used by anyone, at any fitness level. It’s designed to take your best and make it better. So whether you’re training for sports and you need to improve your performance, or you’re tired of your current workout and want to try something new, stay tuned to learn one of the best ways to get in shape in no time!
What Is Conditioning and Why Is It Important?
Conditioning is the process of training your body to improve in a measurable way over a period of time. This can include improving your strength, your endurance, your stamina, or your overall ability. Conditioning takes you from where you’re at to where you want to be.
If you’re involved in sports or any kind of races or competitions, conditioning is extremely important to get your body in shape and be able to perform however you need it to. Conditioning is also important to prevent injury. For example, if you haven’t run in a year and you went out and tried to run 5 miles, you would likely hurt yourself, pull a muscle, or make yourself sick because your body is not conditioned to perform at that level. On the other hand, if you spend weeks jogging and running, building up your endurance over time and conditioning your body, you can easily run 5 miles some day and feel great doing it.
The point is, that in order to take you from where you are to where you want to be, you need to condition. But where do you start and how do you do it?
How to Condition Your Body In No Time
Figuring out how to condition your body is easy. All you have to do is pick your favorite activity and follow the chart below to create your own custom conditioning workout. Eventually, you will be faster, stronger and go longer than you could before.
The idea is simple and we’ll use running as an example. Start on day one by determining your goal. Say you want to be able to run faster. On Day 1, you’ll determine your starting point and follow the formula below to build your workout.
The Formula: [Starting Time x (100%-percentage of effort)] + Starting Time
For example, for 120 seconds, the formula would look like this: [120 seconds x (100%-75%)] + 120 seconds
[120 seconds x 25%] + 120 seconds
[30 seconds] + 120 seconds
= 150 seconds
Use this table for a quicker reference.
How to Use the Formula:
Pick an activity you can do multiple times, like running 1/4 mile. On Day 1, run 1/4 mile as fast as you can and record your time. Find the closest time in the starting time column and following that row, look for your times at 75%, 80% and 85%. Then, to do the workout at each of those intervals.
For example, say you run 1/4 mile on Day 1 at 2 minutes, or 120 seconds. Your workout will consist of 1/4 mile at 150 seconds, followed by 1/4 mile at 144 seconds, followed by 1/4 mile at 138 seconds, followed by 1/4 mile at 120 seconds. Each lap, you’re trying to meet or beat those time goals. If you beat the goal, you get to rest with whatever time you have leftover before you start the next round. So, say you try to run your first 1/4 mile in 150 seconds and you actually finish it in 140 seconds, then you get to rest for 10 seconds before starting the next 1/4 mile, and so on. The last lap should be at 100% of your fastest time.
As you progress, your fastest time will improve, so remember to change your goals and improve your goals as you get faster.
This formula can be used for any activity. The idea is that you complete the activity at almost your full effort every time. The harder you try to meet these goals, the faster you will become. Over time, you will increase your endurance tremendously.