Cardio for People that Hate Doing Cardio

 

“Cardio will make you soft and weak.”

 

Have you heard that before?

I’m sure you have.

It’s one of the most common assertions thrown around in fitness circles…and it’s also one of the most misleading.

Cardio WON’T make you soft and weak.

What it will do, however, is:

 

• Improve your work capacity so you don’t feel like you’re gonna die every time you do something aerobically taxing for more than a 10 second time period.

• Teach you to endure pain, which – as barbaric as it sounds – is critical to your ability to make long-term progress in the weight room.

• Increase a TON of health parameters.

• Increase the amount of food you can eat (cardio burns a crap ton of calories).

• Make you instantly more desirable to the opposite sex (just kidding…that’s strength training).

 

Cardio is beneficial, and something many of us should be doing more of.

Unfortunately, it’s also mind-numbingly boring, so this proves a lot easier said than done.

However, that really only applies if we’re talking about traditional cardio (i.e running on a treadmill, jogging, using an elliptical machine, etc.).

Non-traditional cardio on the other hand?

That can actually be quite fun.

You just have to know which activities to choose.

And I’ve listed some of my favorites – coming from a guy who normally despises cardio – down below:

 

1. Sports

Basketball.

Football.

Tennis.

Anything that gets you up and moving while being disguised as a game or form of “play.”

If you’re playing, you’ll be focused on how much fun you’re having rather than on how close you are to having a heart attack.

You’ll also be pushing yourself harder – and therefore having a more effective workout – because you’re competing with another person.

 

2. Combat Sports

MMA.

Wrestling.

Jiu Jitsu.

Anything characterized by fighting or grappling.

Some people think these sports are “violent” or “barbaric.”

I think they’re fun, empowering, humbling, and sports that provide one hell of a cardiovascular workout.

 

3. Dancing

Despite amazing dancers like myself making it look easy (just kidding…I suck at dancing), dancing is extremely challenging both from a technical standpoint (meaning it’ll improve your balance, coordination, mobility, stability, etc.), and from a cardiovascular standpoint.

Dancing will get your heart rate up.

It’ll also increase your chance of picking up girls (or guys) by about 20,000%.

 

4. Mountain Biking

This is close to traditional cardio (i.e. normal biking).

But the rough terrain and adrenaline rush from speeding down a mountain make it *feel* like it’s not traditional cardio.

Mountain biking’s a lot of fun.

It’s also kinda dangerous so make sure you pay attention so you don’t run yourself in to a tree (not that I’ve done that).

 

5. Hiking

Again, another semi-traditional cardiovascular activity.

But, there’s something peaceful about walking in nature.

And the fact that you’re going somewhere – and not just walking/running in place like a gerbil – makes this easy to manage.

 

6. Xtreme Sports 

I put these further down the list because I’m not good at them – and therefore don’t do them often – but snowboarding, skating, surfing, or skiing (among other things) provide a great cardiovascular workout while also being loads of fun.

Just a heads up: You’ll probably fall and bust your ass a bunch of times.

Be prepared for that.

 

7. Prowler Pushes

There’s nothing “fun” about prowler pushes.

They suck, but they’re extremely efficient at increasing your conditioning level while burning a metric ton of calories (in a very short time period).

But again, they suck.

Do them at your own peril.

 

8. No Cardio

Lastly, if you truly despise cardio – and can’t find any cardiovascular activities that appeal to you  – don’t do it.

Cardio’s beneficial, but there are other ways to enhance your health, performance, and body composition.

Strength training being one of them.