Is cardio not your thing and dread the cardio days at the gym? Irrespective of you liking it or not, one can’t go about physical training without fitting cardio in the plan. It is core to building resistance, endurance, burning calories and strengthening the most important muscle of our body, which is the heart.
So, before delving into what can be your alternatives to the routine cardio exercises which you just can’t bear, let’s focus on what is cardio helping us with:
- Improves blood circulation and keep blood pressure in control
- Helps in releasing serotonin and endorphins – the happy hormones
- Reduces the risk of heart disease
- Improve cognitive brain functions
- Amps up your energy
Cardio training can get draining as well as boring, so here are a few cardio alternatives you can try to make your workouts a little less monotonous but at the same time yield you the cardio benefits
But cardio is super easy to hate because it can become annoying and not enjoyable. Some hate feeling breathless or doing the same old exercises for 30+ minutes.
The first thing to do in each case is finding what you hate about it and change it for something you like or at least hate less.
Have you tried it all? Running, biking, rowing, skipping, resistance band exercise, pilates, yoga are all cardio. Dancing, swimming, cycling and jumping on a trampoline too are cardio… Basically, anything that makes you sweat and increases the heart rate. There are so many cardio options… The first rule before giving up is TRY.
The rush of a challenge. Make your cardio more interesting by either doing it in a pack and challenging each other or setting up individual challenges. The adrenal rush will push you harder to meet your set challenges.
Be a hit with HIIT. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. The name suggests what it is – do it with high intensity but break it in parts. You can incorporate HIIT in any of your workout regime including cardio. You can seek a personal trainer’s advice on how to go about it.
How about a game? Picking up a sport is a great way to carry out your cardio. Have you seen professional sports persons often indulging in light hearted fun games, other than their professional sport? It’s just their alternative to train and yet break the monotony. You too can do the same. Sweat it out at a field or court and achieve your cardio goals.
Cross-fit. This can be a great way to break free from conventional cardio exercises and improve your strength and mobility. Crossfit is a combination of conditioning and functional exercises performed at high intensity. Burpees, tuck jumps, squats, planks, lunges all can be put into a crossfit routine, planned as per your needs and desire to push yourself.
It’s not as easy as it sounds to effectively use the above alternatives and plan out the routine that not just keeps you motivated but also yields you the right results. It is, therefore, a good idea to lean for help and place your confidence in a personal trainer. They can assess your body’s ability and combine that with your preferences to create the best cardio routine for you. A personal trainer is accountable to provide you the best.
