Are you getting bored of your current cardio training routine? That’s a big problem for people trying to burn calories and strengthen their hearts, because if you get bored with something, you’re much less likely to do it often, AND, your body gets bored too. You won’t burn as many calories always doing the same cardio activity as you would if you changed workouts regularly.
Here are some more cardio exercises you might not have considered.
8 Suggested Cardio Training Workouts
- Swimming – Doing the basic swimming strokes in the lap lane of your local pool is a great whole body workout, and it’s great for older exercisers or those with bad joints, because water takes away so much of the pressure on your body, but that doesn’t make it easy at all! Plus, you can reward yourself with a soak in the hot tub when you’re done.
- Stair machine – the simple act of lifting your whole body weight up on one leg, over and over again, is a surprisingly effective workout. Many people find that they’ve got sweat pouring down their face, heart pounding, in half the time a run would take.
- Jumping rope – again, jumping up and forcing your whole weight into the air burns tons of calories, and is great cardio training. Jumping can be hard on the knees though, so if you feel any pain during a cardio exercises like this, stop immediately.
- Hiking – hiking on level ground isn’t much harder than walking, but ascending steep slopes with nothing to hold onto is a great cardiovascular exercise. The uneven terrain of the outdoors forces your body to constantly adjust to account for the shifts, which burns even more calories. Plus, you might see a great view at the end of it.
- Interval Training – if the treadmill or the bike machine is getting boring, but you don’t want to try a whole new activity, work as hard as you can for a minute or two, then go to a normal, “maintenance” speed for three or four minutes. Repeat until your exercise time slot is up.
- Sprinting – it’s the same thought process as interval training, except these are for outdoor exercises, and it’s best for people who are bored with their current routine. Instead of going for a run, pick a visible destination, and sprint to it as hard as you can. When you get there, don’t stop (or you’ll never get started again), but slow down to a slow jog or a brisk walk. When you are recovered, repeat.
- Skating – whether you prefer inline skates or roller skates, skating somewhere outdoors will give you a change of pace and work out your quads and calves. Remember to wear a helmet, just like you would on a bike, and make sure you know how to stop!
- Basketball/Soccer/Hockey – Any sport that takes place in a big area and requires constant running will give you a workout while you’re having fun. Soccer is best, because it’s got the biggest field, and it’s usually outside, so your body has to work even harder to re-adjust for the uneven outdoor footing.