Cardio Coach Guided Workout Volume 6

If you use gym machines and you've never tried one of Sean O'Malley's Cardio Coach workouts, you're really missing out. I've loved all the workouts in the Cardio Coach series and Volume 6 is no exception. This workout, led by new coach, Candace Grasso, is a killer mix of sprints and hills (sometimes together!) that will leave you breathless and satisfied. This is another great offering from the Cardio Coach series and perfect for intermediate/advanced exercisers.

Like the previous cardio coaches, Volume 6 offers a tough interval workout you can do on any gym machine of your choice. All you have to do is push play and follow along as the cardio coach guides you through each challenge and each recovery period, letting you determine the settings you need to reach the recommended levels of training (Level 1-Blue Zone, Level 2-Green Zone, Level 3-Orange Zone and Level 4-Red Zone). Even though you're following a guided workout, you're in charge of how hard you work.

What's different about Volume 6 is, first, there's a new coach in town and her name is Candace Grasso. She's a running coach as well as a pretty amazing athlete and, even though Sean will always have a special place in my heart, she does a fabulous job of guiding the workout. She offers some great motivational tips throughout the workout that come just when you need them, reminding you that pushing a little harder is just a temporary discomfort with lasting results.

One note: Another version of Volume 6 is in the works and is coached by Sean O'Malley. This version is similar, but offers a few tweaks to make it a little different from Candace's version.

The challenges in Volume 6 are probably my favorites...which is something I say about every Cardio Coach Volume and, oddly enough, true. But, I really do enjoy these challenges a bit more, perhaps because they're not as long as some of the previous challenges (ahem, see first challenge of Volume 5) and because they offer a great variety of sprints and hills. Here's the breakdown:

• Challenge 1: 5 sprints for 1 minute at Level 3 each followed by 1 minute of rest
• Challenge 2: 5 sprints for 30 seconds at Level 4, each followed by 40 seconds of rest
• Challenge 3: Madness! A 1-minute hill at Level 2 followed by a 2-minute hill at Level 3, then a 1-minute sprint at Level 4.
• Challenge 4: A 2-minute hill at Level 3 followed by a 1-minute sprint. After 2 minutes of rest, you repeat that...twice.

Each challenge is separated by steady state phases that allow you to rest and there's a great relaxation section at the end that makes it all worth while. The entire workout (including warm up, cool down and relaxation) is about 60 minutes long and definitely one of the most challenging to come out of the Cardio Coach series.

I've been a fan of Cardio Coach since Sean sent me Volume 1 many years ago. Here's why:

• Motivation. Under any other circumstances, Cardio Coach would probably sound a little cheesy. But during a tough interval workout, those motivational comments (like "Ask your body to be stronger and it will be," and "...there's no stopping you" )are just what you need to push harder than you ever thought you could.
• Great Music. I don't even like most instrumental music, but this music (created by Todd Washburn) is perfect for these kinds of workouts. I know nothing about how to write intelligently about music, but I can say that the combination of drums, guitar, piano and a kind of ethereal mix of sounds helps you dig deep to find that extra gear you never knew you had.
• An incredible workout. Doing interval training is hard enough and doing it on a gym machine can make it even harder (watching the clock much?). But having the Cardio Coach really does make the workout fly by, even as you're working harder than you ever have. Even if you don't like pushing too hard, you'll find it hard to resist doing so with this workout.

Overall, this is a challenging workout that will make your cardio workout fly by.