Cardio is a very important aspect of any work out. There are numerous benefits to a good cardio routine. In the real world, there are many ways to get a good cardio workout. You can jog, play sports and get chased by the police. In the gym cardio usually revolves around a handful of machines. There are the stair climbers or steppers, the elliptical trainers, tread mills, and bicycles. That's about it. A good cardio routine can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and is really intensive. The problem is that when you are on a cardio machine, you do the same thing over and over. What I am trying to say is that for most of us cardio gets boring after about five minutes. Don't lie, you know what I am talking about. The best I have every heard about cardio is ‘I don't mind it.' In other words, I get really bored, but I will keep doing it cause it works.
Being bored is horrible. Being Bored is even worse when you know you have another 25 min left and the seconds crawl by like eons. So what gives. Why does cardio have to be so boring? I think it's a safety issue. In the real world if you go running or play soccer for example, you environment and all its inputs are constantly changing; you run by different scenery, you miss the shot on goal. These changing characteristics are what make the whole process fun. In the gym, however, since space is limited, you have to do your cardio rooted to one spot. Very little happens to your environment to elevate the boredom. Imagine though, if you could have all the excitement of a soccer game while sitting on a recumbent health cycle? At first you may think it's a great and fun idea. No more boring cardio! Think about it and it becomes a little terrifying. The sheer amount of stimuli hitting you from all angles, your mind would exhaust quickly and you would run the risk of injury (not to mention getting overwhelmed). That is why cardio machines are so boring. They design them to be boring so you don't hurt yourself. So when you climb up onto your favorite elliptical trainer, remember that its boring for a reason.
What can we do to make cardio more fun? Being new to the world of the gym I think I have some neat ideas to make cardio a more exciting activity. Ok that's a lie. I don't have any way to make cardio more exciting, but I do think there are some techniques to make the cardio experience pass more quickly, which, when you think about it, is the next best thing. I really try to distance my mind from my body. I try to unplug. I daydream, listen to loud music and think about my shopping list. For a whole week I designed a basement apartment for my house. It was quite the undertaking. Really focus on not thinking about time. Cover up the timer, know where the near by clocks are and avoid looking at them. Do what ever it takes to detach your self from the realm of the here and now. Remove yourself from our world governed by the second hand. Slip into recesses of your mind and tune out. While the cardio won't go away at least you can distract yourself. Cardio machines make cardio boring and boring cardio is hard to stick with. Take comfort in knowing that your body loves the attention of a good cardio workout.
The world of crunches: Defining your abdominals
So there I was, a gangly, ungainly guy standing in a giant aerobics studio surrounded by mirrors. Next to me on the floor was a fitness ball. I had never used a fitness ball, in fact I had never even heard of a fitness ball. None the less, there I was. My work out partner, in far better shape then I, was going to show me how to use the ball to make my ab routine more excruciatingly effective.
Thinking Too Much: How to Motivate Yourself to Lose Weight
It's winter and it's cold. In the winter the mornings are very humbling. The nights are long, the floor is cold and it sucks leaving the house in the dark. Getting the morning paper involves a blast of cold air from the front door that really motivates one to crawl back into bed. It's days like these that getting beyond the duvet is hard. It's even harder to drag yourself through the wintry morning to the gym. It's the kind of thing I think about before I go to bed. I think about it when I'm waking up and I really think about it when I am trudging through the icy air en route to the gym. But see that's the problem. I think about it too much. Imagine if you could wake up every day with a clean slate and not remember the bone shaking cold and wind chill. Imagine you could only retain the positive memories of working out and improving your overall fitness. Then getting out of bed even on the coldest, most miserable days, would be easy. Instead we have to fight tooth and nail to resist the urge to go back to bed. It's our minds that want to be cozy.
The Role of Obesity
By: The Icon Diet ... would have to be a hermit not to know about the dramatic rise of obesity levels in North America. Health issues have been ... around the media non stop for the bette
