The Cardio Werewolf (Halloween Special)
image credit Dangraf Art
The Legend
Happy Halloween you ghouls. To mark the occasion I’m going to tell you the tale of the Cardio Werewolf.
Legend has it that that no gym in any township or village is too remote to avoid hearing its cry on a moonlit night and frequently over the top of the most well jammed in bluetooth headphones the howl is heard during a heavy set of 5.
Finish that set of deadlifts, panting are ye? Out of breath are ye? arrrroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo howls the beast.
image credit Matan Elihay
The Cardio Werewolf calls out like a young Bela Lugosi in Lon Chaney’s 1941 The Wolf Man as if to haunt the staunchest of strength lifters into reminding them of their oft missed cardio.
On a low mist covered night on a walk from the drinks machine in reception back to the distant corner of the car park, the street lamp flickering, fumbling for the car keys, gym bag slipping about the place and a bit of heaving… breathing becoming more laboured, it is then that the beast doth like to strike.
Cursed become the everyday chores that once were easy, the walk up the hill, the carrying about the shopping.
And then come the night of the full moon…
“but…we’re gym people!” I hear you say “how can it be that we are a little out of puff?!?
arrrrrrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
“Sadly, the coin of the realm tame ye not the beast, one must commit to be fit, or else get bit”
image credit Geert Pieters
Taming The Beast
Let us remember that dogs are ancestors of the wolf, they’re kind of “house wolves".
If we can tame Canis Familiaris (and if you follow my IG feed you’ll see we can) then surely we might find a place for the Cardio Werewolf too…
The beast liketh belly rubs
A place where we can get all our strength training in, and then wrap up with a quick round of HIIT as if to out pace the wolf all together. How about that? Might there be a method for out manoeuvring the wolf on a fog laden night as you romp across the lonely marsh back from your favourite country pub..
Thanks to the autumnal nights setting in, I myself have been putting this to the test in my local woods. As darkness sets in proper quick, I’ve left it later and later to get out of the woods requiring a quicker pace underfoot.
It seems there is a way to marry together our cardio and our strength training to get the best of both worlds: out pace the wolf or wrestle with it; I’ll arrrrooooooooooooooooo to that.
In my horror movie my werewolf wrangling consists of 4 strength slots/week. Leading to plenty of strength gains with which to subdue the fanged furred one.
My werewolf cardio consists of 1-2 interval slots / week of just 20-25 mins a time. If I only do one slot in a week I make sure I am in those woods outpacing that there beast, come rain, fog and full moon baby.
image credit Chris Ensminger
The cardio: I’ve taken to skipping as in with a jump rope (not avoiding it altogether you ghouls), and I’ll do rounds of this alternated with kettlebell swings, chin-ups, or any bodyweight drills that get my heart rate up and hold it there.
It’s simple and effective, best of all it gives me the greatest feeling of leverage in both strength and fitness. It literally makes me feel like my body as a physical system is optimised and tuned up.
Folklore has it that as strength athletes we should make our cardio vigorous and intense. This positions it closer to the effect range of strength exercises on our body. Intense interval training to our body is like a silver bullet for the Cardio Werewolf.
You can get creative here with what you choose to put into your intervals, from skipping to rowing, cycling, pushing the prowler, kettlebells and more… so use those wicked minds of yours to make your own medicine.
It’s not enough to have a gym membership ticking over, cardio detrains too quickly if not consistently applied. Sadly, the coin of the realm tame ye not the beast, one must commit to be fit, or else get bit.
And that my friends is the tale of the Cardio Werewolf.