3 Cardio Workouts That Aren’t Running
Anybody else into horizontal running?
Love it or hate it, cardio training is an important aspect to our health. However, many people think cardio just means running or spin class. But there are so many ways to train your cardiovascular system. One may even argue… FUN WAYS!
And did you know that you aren’t required to hate your life while exercising? Novel idea, I know. Because in our culture, fitness is described as, “No pain, no gain” or “Fat is sweat crying” or some other asinine phrase. If your exercise of choice isn’t enjoyable, it’s going to either be a) unsustainable or b) hours of your life spent hating what you’re doing. Neither one seem like a good option to me. So find something you actually enjoy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good trail run. But in the winter, THAT’S GONNA BE A NO FOR ME. So I like to incorporate cardio into my regular workouts. That way I can knock out strength and cardio all in 30-45 minutes. There is absolutely no need to work out for longer than this if you’re a normal person just trying to stay healthy. Running for 2 hours every day is completely unnecessary (and possibly even harmful) unless you have very specific goals like running a marathon. And even if that’s the case… you still need to be doing strength training!
With that in mind, I created a few “cardio” workouts to get your heart pumping while also building strength.
1. 30 minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible) of:
15 air squats
Repeat until 30 minutes is up.
Don’t have a kettlebell? Try single-leg deadlifts instead.
2. 300 air squats for time with 5 burpees every minute
For example, do 5 burpees at the top of every minute, then do air squats for the rest of that minute. Repeat this every minute until you get to 300 air squats total.
You can scale this as much as you want. You could do 100 air squats for time with 3 burpees every minute to start. (Burpee modification here.)
3. 3 rounds of:
30 air squats
30 air squats
30 push-ups (modification in video)
Again, scale this as much as you’d like. You can start with one round and see how that goes first.
There you have it! I hope you’ll have a more open mind about what cardio is and how you can incorporate it into your workouts. Give one of these guys a try and let me know if it gets your blood flowing!