Why cardio doesn't have to suck

Cardio has a tough reputation of being a pain in the ass. Its my least favorite thing in the world and once I found out all these secrets about it and fitness I continued to kick it to the curb. The great thing about it though, is there isn’t one sole exercise to get results. You can find way more fun ways of getting your cardio in than just running on the treadmill for an hour.

Raise your hand if you think working out is running on a treadmill and maybe throwing around a couple weights? Yep. I know. Me too.

WRONG. Ahhhh so wrong it kills me I didn’t knowthis for so many years!! Ok so for example, did you know you burn double calories with an hour of kickboxing compared to an hour on the treadmill?! And which one is more fun and uses more of your body? Just because an exercise is fun, doesn’t mean it has to be less effective. The more you enjoy your workouts, the harder you’re going to work. The harder you work, the more calories you’re going to burn.

Plus you’ll STICK WITH IT which is really the biggest hurdle to overcome. If you enjoy what you are doing and it isn’t a chore 80% of the time, then you won’t mind coming back to it day after day. And guess what else? You can do kickboxing for a month, then switch to swimming, then dance cardio…I mean the options are endless. Please get off the damn treadmill.

Another fun fact nobody ever told me is, cardio doesn’t have as good of a calorie burn as strength training. WHAT? I KNOW! So when you are lifting, you aren’t burning quite as many calories during the session BUT the calorie burn continues for 14 hours night so it ends up being higher in the long run and also benefits your metabolism (which is why you are starving all day!). Which is why body builders have to eat so much in order to gain mass like they do. So sell the treadmill, and get yourself some weights and then thank me later because lifting is SO MUCH more fun then cardio!

Ok now the bad news…you can’t lift or do strength training for EVERY workout. You’ll still need at least 1-2 cardio sessions per week for your heart health. I know, lame. So maybe sell the treadmill, get the weights, AND get the new Cize dance cardio workout we just released? Or for heaven’s sake, just something FUN!

Think I’m playing you?

Some example of the calories burned per hour are listed below:

Kickboxing = approx. 800

Biking in the gym= approx. 420-622

Interval training= approx. 620-690

Boot camp style= approx. 600

Treadmill= approx. 356-444

Dance Cardio= approx. 522-610

There is no downside to enjoying your workout- you’ll be too busy loving yourself and your new routine. Get to testing out different fun cardio programs; you’re bound to find one amazing!

What’s something new you’d like to try? What sounds FUN to you?