Here are some more ideas if you want to try anaerobic conditioning. The common theme this week is that more time is spent going hard than resting, so willpower is important here!

1 – Find a treadmill and warm up. Now get the treadmill going quite fast and set the incline high too – basically it should be so difficult to run on that you could only maintain that pace for 30 seconds. Jump on and sprint all-out for 20 seconds. Now jump your feet to both sides and rest for only 10 seconds. Jump back on for 20 seconds, then rest for 10, and so on. Repeat for a total of 8 short sprints. These types of intervals are called “Tabata” intervals.

2 – Pick 2 weight training exercises that work different parts of the body (e.g. bench press and dumb-bell lunges , or pushups and pull-ups). Now go onto the cardio equipment of your choice (treadmill, stairmaster, bike, etc.) and go very hard for 1 minute. Jump off and immediately do the 2 exercises back to back. Rest 30 to 60 seconds and then repeat. Try for 4 repetitions of the cycle. Use caution with the more dangerous weightlifting exercises – you will be tired and won’t be able to go as heavy as you normally do.

3 – Find a field with some markers on it, preferably at 100, 80, 60, 40 and 20 meter intervals. Sprint out to the 100 meter marker and do 15 fast pushups, then sprint back to your starting point and do 15 fast crunches. Get up quickly and sprint out to the 80 meter mark, do 15 pushups, sprint back and do 15 crunches, and continue. Work your way down the ladder using the pushups and crunches as ‘rest’ intervals.

Hopefully you can see from this week’s and last week’s routines that there is room for a great deal of creativity and innovation in designing anaerobic conditioning routines. We have only scratched the surface here, so go and create some more on your own! Just remember, if you are training anaerobically then you MUST be gasping for breath at the end of your session.