Resistance-based cardio is, in my opinion, the very best kind of cardio.
It not only benefits your cardiovascular system tremendously, you also get strength and muscle-based benefits as well, which is especially useful when training for fat loss where you want to preserve muscle and strength.
This type of resistance cardio is a little something I call Progressive Resistance Interval Training...where you'll be progressing the resistance on every interval you do.
How To Do Climb-The-Mountain Stepping
There are three things you'll need for this...a rack for safety, a Step platform and a bar.
Set the rack rails to just below where the bar is when it's on your back standing on the floor. Set a Step platform with one riser in the rack. I recommend a small square one. The longer bench-like ones might not have the load capacity needed to support you and the bar as it gets heavier.
We're not looking for a big step height...literally just 4-5 inches. This will allow you to work in a very strong range of motion and use the most weight for the workout, which is really what we're looking for.
This workout is going to be best done using a bar that you can use hands-free so that you can hold onto the rack rails for balance. I'm using something called a Marrs Bar, which loads you similar to a back pack. It's a fantastic bar with the best padding of any bar I've used, bar none (no pun intended).
Another option for a hands-free bar is a safety squat bar.
You can also do this workout with a regular squat bar held on your back just as you would for regular squatting (though this will require you to use less weight as balance will become more of an issue since you can't hold onto the rails).
This is doable but definitely more challenging in terms of balance.
I don't recommend dumbbells as they'll require you to use almost every dumbbell in the gym and your grip will give out before you get the full cardio benefits of the workout.
Here's how to do the intervals.
- I did 20 minutes of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off intervals, going up 10 lbs on every interval. You can also do 10 minutes or 15 minutes, if you want to do a shorter workout.
- Then I took 3 minutes rest, then did the same format going all the way back down to my original starting weight.
- You will need at least 30 seconds of rest in between intervals to add (or remove) weight plates. These are going to be quick changes, so have plates ready to go.
- I recommend having ready a pair of 5's, two pairs of 10's, a pair of 25's and a pair of 45's. These will give you all the options you need for quick changes (no 35's needed).
- Your starting weight should be something relatively easy. I started at 245 lbs (the Marrs Bar is 65 lbs). By the time 20 minutes was up, I had gone up 190 lbs to a final weight of 435 lbs.
- And that pretty much did it for me...and required me to take 3 minutes rest before heading back down.
Here's what the stepping pattern looks like.
Start with both feet on the floor, standing in front of the Step.
Set your left foot on the top.
Now step up with your right foot.
Step down with your left foot.
Then step down with your right foot.
And repeat for 30 seconds.
On the next interval, lead off with your right foot, to keep things even.
That's the basic pattern...now the fun begins.
Add 10 pounds to the bar (5 per side) then do the next interval.
Then repeat for 20 minutes adding 10 pounds to the bar during every rest period.
I ended up with 435 lbs on the bar (3 x 45's, a pair of 25's, 4 x 10's and a pair of 5's). Instead of adding an additional 45 lbs plate near the top end weight, which takes more time, I just added 10's and a 5 on top of the 25's.
If you don't want to go as heavy, you can also add weight every second interval instead of every interval.
This will result in a lower top-end weight while still giving you an easy-to-follow pattern.
Once you hit 20 minutes, you can stop there or work your way back down.
I was pretty gassed at the top-end weight, so I opted to take 3 minutes before working back down. You can also choose to just stop there rather than going back down.
If you're training in a regular gym, you may have people waiting for the rack...20 minutes is not completely unreasonable to use a rack, but 45 minutes is.
If you're training at home or the gym is not busy, go nuts.
You will be soaked with sweat by the time you're done. This hits just about your entire body.
As a last note, on the final interval, after working my way all the back down to my original starting weight, I finished by working the entire last minute, just switching lead legs on the 30 second mark. This was a good way to finish.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It was a great challenge and a fantastic way to get cardio training while loading up on the resistance.
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