Spending too much time on a treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine can get boring. Change up your cardio day like you do with your resistance training program. An article published in the March issue of NSCA Connect can help you put together a challenging boxing interval training workout for building cardiovascular fitness.

Taking slightly different approaches to punching the bag, you can train all 3 energy systems. The phosphagen system fuels brief bouts of intense effort. Apply quick jabs and simple combinations of punches for about 10 seconds of all-out effort, resting for 2 minutes between sets. Your glycolytic energy system kicks in for efforts lasting up to half a minute, and you can develop it by hitting the bag at about 85% of maximum power for 15 seconds followed by 45 seconds of rest. For efforts lasting longer than a minute, your body relies on a combination of the glycolytic and oxidative systems. Working the bag at about half speed for 2 or 3 minutes followed by around 8 minutes of rest can fine-tune its efficiency.

True Strength Moment: Applying all 3 aspects of this training on cardio day can help keep your routine fresh while giving you more ‘wind’ for all types of athletic challenges. Get some expert instruction on proper form and equipment before you give boxing a try.