Primal Cardio Workout

by Monica

3 simple tips for getting a killer primal cardio workout outdoors. If you've been doing indoor cardio forever, this type of workout might not feel natural to you at first but that changes fast after you do it a few times. My son and I have been hooked since he was 3 (pic above).

Primal cardio is simple, fun, and anybody can do it. The main difference between interval training indoors and outdoors is that you have to pay attention to your environment as well as listen to your body otherwise you can end up injured or completely dehydrated and lost.

If you're dying to get off the machines but not sure exactly how to get a great cardio workout outdoors the 3 simple tips below will help you get started.

Primal Cardio Workout Tips:

1. Set a time limit or mileage limit on your workout. An outdoor workout should be something that your body can handle so setting a time or mileage limit or even an altitude limit is a great way to keep it doable and safe (2-4 miles w/ 800 ft. elevation is what we usually start with). Add more mileage and time as you improve or keep the time and mileage the same and choose a more demanding trail or area to explore to increase the challenge each time you head outdoors (10-13 miles w/ 4000 ft. of elevation is what we work up to).

2. Take advantage of varied terrain. As you can see in the pic above and video below we try to find trails where we can climb, lunge, squat, walk, run, and sprint. The terrain is what determines what we do and how long we do it. This is nature's interval training and much more effective for boosting endurance and fatloss than a machine interval program.



3. Train with a purpose. There's tons of primal workouts online where people are carrying or pressing logs, tossing boulders, and climbing trees but you don't need to get that crazy if it doesn't fit your fitness goal. If you're like me and you want to get outdoors to burn more fat and boost endurance for your summer activities (for me that's 30-40 miles of hiking that's coming up next month) then just stick to interval training like we did in the video. If you're going climbing, competing in powerlifting, or need to carry lots of heavy gear then pressing and carrying logs and tossing boulders will definitely help you. Make sure your workout fits your goal.