Of course, I wasn't surprised that all of his cardio workouts incorporate some form of interval training because of the simple fact that interval training is scientifically proven to provide greater improvements in fitness and greater fat loss than the outdated and primitive aerobic training alternative.
But, while I was reading over the workout, I was struck with what I'd describe as THE MISSING LINK to most cardio routines for athletes AND for fat loss.
Typical cardio programs have you run in a straight line forever at a SLOW SPEED. Pretty easy...
And while the original Men's Health program was much better because it uses intervals, it still recommends running in a straight line. Again, not that difficult...
It is critical to understand that your body operates in three fundamental planes of movement:
1.) Saggital Plane: Forward and Backward Movements
So, Beckham's current cardio program is only emphasizing the already overtrained saggital plane (forward running) without any attention to the very undertrained lateral and rotational movements that are critical to a soccer player's success (and any field or court athlete's success for that matter).
But the modified cardio program I created for YOU below uses intervals and shuttle runs in 10 yard increments that require constant stop-and-go and change of direction (you can modify the distance as desired) in all three planes of movement. Now this cranks the intensity up to a whole new level!
Your body's ability to change direction, or decelerate, requires a great deal of body control and energy expenditure when compared to straight line running. Thus stop-and-go shuttles not only are much more sport-specific (read David Beckham is an international soccer star not a marathon runner) but it also leads to greater calorie burning and thus greater fat loss!
So, check out the NEW and IMPROVED David Beckham Cardio Workout for Rapid Fat Loss:
I. Warm-Up- 5 Minutes
II. Intervals- 20 Minutes
Rapid Fat Loss Interval: 60 s on, 60 s off
- Set-up 2 cones 10 yards apart to build the "shuttle"
- Perform one or any combination of the following cardio exercises as listed within the confines of the 10 yard shuttle:
Cardio Exercise#1- Sprint-Sprint Shuttle @ 60 s on, 60 s off
Cardio Exercise#2- Sprint-Backpedal Shuttle @ 60 s on, 60 s off
Cardio Exercise#3- Shuffle-Shuffle Shuttle @ 60 s on, 60 s off
Cardio Exercise#4- Shuffle-Crossover Run Shuttle @ 60 s on, 60 s off
III. Cool-Down- 5 Minutes
Remember, if you want to look like an athlete then you need to train like one. If you are sick of the same old boring "straight-ahead" cardio, then the time is now to break out of your comfort zone so you can harness the fat-burning power of stop and go, multi-directional, and multi-planar interval cardio.
