Death Valleys--NOT THE DEATH OF YOU!

I say that because, depending on the effort you put into this exercise, it can be very taxing on your lungs, in a good way. For beginners, you should of course take it slowly and for anyone, work your way up. It's always about progression and gauging your progress.

Death Valleys will drastically improve your cardiovascular health & endurance. You will notice changes the more you do of them, just as in running. The more running you do, the more you will notice you can run farther and faster.

Ok, the real question, how do you do them? Well, Death Valleys were first introduced to me in volleyball and basketball. It is a running and interval exercise. Somewhat of a plyometric exercise if you ask me. First off. Look at the diagram of the gym floor below. If you were starting right below the hoop, behind the first line, you would jog to the free throw line, reach down, touch the line and jog back to starting line. Reach down, touch the starting line and jog to the center court line, reach down, touch line, jog all the way back to the start line. Reach down, touch line, jog all the way to the other end of the court's free throw line and so on. For beginners, you would want to monitor how your breathing feels and how you feel overall. These get hard, quick! For someone who has built up cardiovascular stamina, I would say pick it up to a quick run. If you want to really get your heart rate up, sprint from line to line.


Note: Not all gyms have a basketball court. However, if your gym has an aerobics room that isn't occupied, by all means, make your own lines and make it work for you. I will go into our aerobics room and look at the center of the room and run to that line, then back to start, then to the other side of the room's wall and then back and repeat, repeat, repeat.

Death Valleys are the type of exercise that you know it's working because you feel it.

DO NOT, I repeat, do not overdo it. Start small and work your way up. This should be taken seriously, as each person is at a different cardiovascular fitness level than another and these can be very challenging on your breathing/lungs. Once you get the hang of them and work up an endurance, you will see changes in other aspects of your workouts!