4 Creative Forms of Cardio that you’ve Never Thought of Before

It is undeniable that cardio is a good thing. It improves your heart and vascular health, lung health, brain health, and so on. It leads to lower risk of diseases such as heart attack, stroke, cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. However, sometimes doing cardio can be downright miserable. Don’t believe me? You try the stair climber for 10 minutes and tell me how much fun you’re having. With recommendations hovering around of 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week that leaves you with a lot of monotonous suffering. The best advice I can give is to find a hobby you enjoy such as mountain biking, hiking, or tennis where where cardio is the side effect, not the goal. But sometimes, life doesn’t work that way. If you are like me and struggle to get your 150 minutes of moderate exercise in at the gym, try these four forms of cardio that you’ve never thought of before.

1️⃣ Set a Step Goal👣🥅✅

Okay let’s get the most obvious one out of the way. Step goals are all the rage at the moment and for good reason. Setting a step goal means you are setting an expectation to move throughout the day the day. Check your smart watch and see your average steps per day. Now add 2,000 steps to that number and BOOM! Now you’re doing more cardio and reaping the benefits too. How will you get more steps? Well, it could be going to the gym and walking laps or on the treadmill but get more creative and save yourself some time. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park a little bit farther back in the parking lot, or start walking the golf course instead of renting a cart. My personal favorite? Become the office social butterfly. Walk around and chat with your coworkers. Ask how their day is going. Offer snacks. Fake interest. Little do they know it’s all part of your master cardio plan. You sneaky, selfish gym rat.

2️⃣ Push Mow the Yard🏡🔥

This is a poor mans sled workout! Getting outside and push mowing the yard is not only productive, but it burns a load of calories too! Before you know it, you will be sweating, your heart will be pumping, and you’ll be getting fit! Extra points if you have the energy to weed-eat afterwards. No yard? No problem? Come mow mine!

3️⃣ Play With Your Dog 🐶🎾

You know who doesn’t hate cardio? Your dog. Go outside and get you and your 4-legged friend some exercise. Play fetch, wrestle, or chase each other like maniacs, whatever it is just keep moving. You’ll be shocked at what you can do if you are out there for 30 minutes. Set your watch for a walk and play a game to see how many calories you can burn. Don’t have a dog? Use your kid!

4️⃣ Speed Clean the House🧹🧼

Finally, deep clean the house. Scrub the floors, move the furniture, vacuum the stairs do it all and do it fast. When you’re sweaty, breathing hard, and question your life choices half way through wiping down all the ceiling fans, your doing cardio! And the best part, your house looks amazing when you’re done! Don’t have a house? Come clean mine! Please!

The Bottom Line 🎯 

Cardio does not have to be boring. Get creative and think outside the box. Mow the yard, clean the house, or goof off with your dog. You body does not know the difference between being on some cardio machine or being at home. Cardio is hiding in plain sight all around you! Now get moving, your heart and baseboards will thank you later!

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