Sean O'Malley's latest Cardio Coach workout, Volume 7, offers a great interval workout perfect for any cardio machine. If you don't know, Cardio Coach offers downloadable workouts that take you through a variety of high intensity challenges, each volume offering something different.
Volume 7 is the longest yet and includes some of Sean's toughest challenges, involving both sprints and hills. This workout will test your mental and physical endurance in a whole new way. If you use machines on a regular basis, Cardio Coach may just be your new best friend, and Volume 7 will take you to the limit.
An Overview
Cardio Coach workouts are guided interval routines, alternating high intensity challenges with recovery periods, that can be done on any gym machine of your choice. The workouts tend to get progressively longer and more difficult with each volume, with Volume 7 being the toughest yet. This 70-minute workout is non-stop and includes heart-pounding music and regular encouragement to keep going, even when you're ready to stop.
During each challenge and recovery period, Sean provides tips for determining the settings you need for each level of training. There are 4 levels of training: Level 1 - Blue Zone for warm ups, Level 2- Green Zone for steady states, Level 3 - Orange Zone for the challenges and Level 4 - Red Zone for going anaerobic.
You're in charge of the settings, so you can work as hard as you like, backing off whenever you need to.
What's different about Volume 7 is that the challenges are much longer than previous workouts. Instead of short, all-out sprints, you'll spend more time working at a higher level which will help increase your endurance. You'll find yourself going faster and longer in your other workouts after adding Cardio Coach 7 to your schedule, but you'll need to be tough and physically ready to make it through the challenges.
The Workout
- Challenge 1: 3 minutes at a Level 3 followed by 3 minutes at a Level 2, repeating that 4 times. You can use speed, incline or both to get up to a Level 3. The Level 2 'recovery' segments feel better than Level 3, but you never truly feel rested. Sean mentions this challenge is about balance, really listening to your body to figure out the difference between Level 2 and 3, which is often subtle. Sean is quiet in this challenge, letting you zone out with the music. This challenge is tough, but the music is upbeat and there are great guitar riffs that seem to kick in just when you need them the most.
- Challenge 2: Ouch! This challenge has 10 intervals(!), each 1-minute long at a Level 3. The intervals alternate between sprints and hills and there's only 30 seconds of rest in between. This one is shorter and harder than the first challenge and with such short rest periods, you'll be feeling this one by the end.
- Challenge 3: The final challenge is 4 minutes at a Level 3, keeping your speed steady while adjusting your resistance or incline. This is almost a relief after the last challenge...for about a minute. Then that 4 minutes seems to get longer and longer. You'll be glad when this challenge finally ends.
Each challenge is separated by steady-state phases that allow you to rest and recover and the workout ends with a stretch and 5 minutes of soothing music if you want to stretch or meditate on your own.
The Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Motivation. Like the previous volumes, Cardio Coach 7 motivates you to work harder than you would on your own. Just when you're ready to give up, Sean says the perfect thing to keep you going and, even better, the workout flies by.
- Great Music. The music in this volume is some of the best I've heard yet. There's a mix of sounds but the guitar adds a definite rock-like edge to the songs and I love the up-tempo beat, which is great for runners who like songs with higher beats-per-minute. The music picks up during the challenges and really helps you keep going, along with Sean's encouragement.
- A tough workout. This workout covers all the bases -- long, slow segments along with short, high intensity intervals that will challenge every energy system your body has.
Cons
I never have many cons for Sean's workouts. For this volume, my only real concern would be the length of the workout. The challenges alone last from 15 to 25 minutes (except for the last 4-minute challenge) and the workout, including the cool down and stretch, is more than an hour long. Some exercisers may need to work up to that level. But the nice thing is that you're in charge of the workout - you can do as much or as little as you want. In fact, the first half of the workout (including the first two steady states and challenge 1) makes a great 35-minute workout.
Overall, there are many more pros than cons. This is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to take their workouts to the next level and get the most out of cardio training.
