Cardio is the fitness equivalent of marmite - some people love it, others hate it. If you’re in the ‘hate cardio’ camp, I might have a few non-traditional cardio options that can give you all of the benefits, but without the monotony pounding the parents or staring at the bottom of a swimming pool for hours!
Take a look at these non-traditional cardio options and add them into your workout to mix up your conditioning…
Skipping
Skipping is a great exercise for a number of reasons. It is a full-body workout that can help you burn calories, improve your coordination, balance, and agility. It’s also great at improving your cardiovascular health. It needs very basic equipment, a flat surface and a bit of space, that’s all!
Always get yourself a good quality rope - it’ll make skipping far more enjoyable!
Here are some of the benefits of skipping:
Burns calories: Skipping is a great way to burn calories. In fact, it can burn up to 900 calories per hour when done at a very high intensity, which is more than a lot of different cardio options.
Improves cardiovascular health: Skipping is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health. It can help to lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, and risk of heart disease.
Improves coordination, balance, and agility: Skipping can help you improve your coordination, balance, and agility. This is because it requires you to use your body in a coordinated way to keep the rope under control.
It’s a portable exercise: Skipping is an exercise that you can do anywhere. You don't need any special equipment, and you can do it indoors or outdoors. Great for when you don’t have the ability to leave where you are (great if the kids are in bed for example!)
If you are looking for a great way to mix up your cardiovascular training, skipping is a great option. It’s a challenging exercise that can help you burn calories, co-ordination, and improve your overall health.
Tips to improve your skipping:
Start slowly and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts.
Use a skipping rope that is the right size for you.
Wear comfortable shoes and clothing.
Warm up before you start skipping and cool down afterwards.
Listen to your body and take breaks when you need them.
With a little practice, you will be skipping like a pro in no time!
Boxing - hitting the punchbag
Hitting a punching bag is a great exercise - not only does it dramatically improve your cardiovascular health, but it can also help you relieve stress and improve your mood. There are few better ways of getting the stresses of the day out than beating up a bag that doesn’t punch back!
Here are some of the benefits of hitting a punching bag:
Upper body cardio: Most cardio options are lower-body heavy, whereas this is one of the few where your upper body does the vast majority of the work. Perfect for the days when your legs are cooked!
Builds strength: Hitting a punching bag can help you build strength in your arms, shoulders, back, and core. This is because it is a compound exercise that works multiple muscle groups at once.
Improves coordination: Hitting a punching bag can help you improve your coordination by requiring you to use your body in a coordinated way to hit the bag accurately.
Relieve stress: Hitting a punching bag can be a great way to relieve stress and tension. This is because it can be a very cathartic experience to let out your frustrations on the bag.
Improves mood: Hitting a punching bag can also help to improve your mood by releasing endorphins, which are hormones that have mood-boosting effects.
If you are looking for a great way to improve your health and well-being, hitting a punching bag is a great option. It is a fun and challenging exercise that can provide you with a number of benefits.
Here are some tips for hitting a punching bag safely and effectively:
Warm up before you start: Warming up will help to prevent injuries. Start with some light cardio, such as jogging or jumping jacks, and make sure you’ve warmed your shoulders and core up too.
Use proper form: When you hit the bag, make sure to keep your core engaged and your punches tight. Avoid swinging your punches wildly, as this can increase your risk of injury. Ideally wear wrist wraps and ALWAYS wear gloves.
Listen to your body: If you start to feel pain, stop and rest. Don't push yourself too hard, especially if you are new to punching bags. They’re a lot more tiring than you may think!
Cool down after you finish: Cooling down will help your body to recover. Slow your heart rate with a couple of minutes gentle cardio at the end of your session. Walking is ideal.
With a little practice, you’ll develop good technique and capacity for hitting the bag well, for a long time. Making sure your technique is good is a very important aspect of punch bag use, because it makes the activity much safer and more enjoyable. It’ll also improve your efficiency, allowing you to train harder for longer.
Hill Sprints
You can file hill sprints in the same section as burpees - they’re horrible, but they do a great job when they’re used properly. They’re the epitome of simplicity. Find a hill and run up it as fast as you can, a lot of times. In doing so, you’ll torch calories, body fat and dramatically improve your cardio fitness.
Here’s a few reasons hill sprints are a great cardiovascular exercise:
Send your heart rate up: When you sprint up a hill, your heart rate increases significantly. This is because your body needs to pump more blood to your muscles to meet the increased demand for oxygen.
Improve your VO2 max: VO2 max is a measure of your aerobic fitness. It is the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can use during exercise. Hill sprints can help to improve your VO2 max, which can make you a better athlete.
Burns a LOT of calories: Hill sprints are a great way to burn calories. In fact, you can burn up to twice as many calories sprinting up a hill as you would walking or jogging on a flat surface.
Build muscle: Hill sprints can help to build muscle in your legs, glutes, and core. This is because they are a compound exercise, which means that they work multiple muscle groups at once.
Reduce your risk of injury: Hill sprints can help to reduce your risk of injury by strengthening your muscles and ligaments. This is because they are a high-intensity exercise but it doesn’t last long, reducing the impact on your body.
If you are looking for a great cardiovascular exercise that can help you burn calories, build muscle, and reduce your risk of injury, then hill sprints are a great option. They’ll not only improve your cardio capacity, they’ll also make you a better, fitter athlete.
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