Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays. This week, we are talking to those of you who are looking for ways to get your cardio exercise in at home that don’t involve running. You know you need to get your heart pumping and get breathing harder, but running isn’t your thing. What can you do at home to make sure you are still getting your cardio work in without having to run.
1) Vary The Motions When You Do Cardio
Our first tip to help you get your cardio in at home without running is to make sure you are varying the motions you are doing when you do cardio. Running is a lot of front to back motion with your legs and arms, so mix it up by doing some side to side motions (such as side shuffles) and twisting motions or rotation motions. This will not only help you keep your joints healthier by moving your body in different directions, it will also help you to get more creative with your cardio instead of defaulting to running.
Action Step: Check out replays of our Facebook Live workouts on our Facebook page for some examples of cardio moving in directions other than front to back. And be sure to join our workouts Live at 11:00 AM during the week and 10:30 AM on weekends!
Related: 3 Facts About Cardio That You Don’t Know
2) Use Stairs Or Other Structures
Our second tip to help you get your cardio in at home without running is to use stairs or other structures within and around your home to exercise on. You need to make sure you are doing this safely, but adding in the additional incline can present a challenge that is more interesting than just straight running. You can even incorporate some of the non front-to-back cardio exercises you practiced from our first tip and do them on your stairs. Again, just make sure you are being safe by hanging onto a handrail and/or not moving faster than you feel comfortable.
Action Step: Find a set of stairs in your house and start by walking up and down them. This can provide a nice cardiovascular challenge and be a great workout option.
Related: Tips For Using A Heart Rate Monitor
3) Maintain Your Focus On Getting Cardio In
Our third tip to help you get your cardio in at home without running is to maintain your focus on getting cardio in when you are doing cardio. What we mean by this is oftentimes, when doing cardio exercises, the focus gets placed on doing the exercise (swinging the kettlebell, jumping over the rope, pedaling the bike) instead of on challenging your cardiovascular system. If you are going to exercise for the sake of doing cardio, make sure you keep your focus on challenging your cardiovascular system while you are doing it.
Action Step: Consider wearing a heart rate monitor to gauge how hard you are working instead of measuring something external such as RPMs, speed, swings, or jumps. This way, you are able to focus on how your cardiovascular system is doing while you are exercising and modify your workout accordingly.
