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Bored with the Same Old Cardio Routines?

Mix things up in just one session. Adding variety is called cross-training, and can either be done during one session, or, for example, you can swim laps on Monday, take an aerobics class on Wednesday, and then run or hike on Sunday, rather than sticking to the same mode three times a week all the time.

Variety can get you out of a training plateau, whether that plateau is weight loss, or not gaining more energy and stamina. There are over 600 muscles in the body, and so many tendons. One form of cardio activity just isn't enough for getting best fitness results. For example, the person who does nothing but run and run and run, may easily flounder in a step aerobics class, because stepping onto a platform requires different muscular and joint action than running on a flat surface.

Here is a 30-minute cross-training cardio session.

1) For 10 minutes, walk (do not jog) on a treadmill at 4.5 mph. Do not hold onto the machine.
2) Next 10 minutes, climb the revolving staircase without holding it anywhere or slouching forward. Go at a moderate to a fast pace.
3) Next 10 minutes, set up a step-class platform, but make it high, perhaps with four risers beneath either end of the platform. Briskly step up and down without pausing. Alternate the lead foot, or stay with one lead foot for five minutes, and then switch.

Here is another 30-minute cross-training cardio routine.

1) For five minutes, on an indoor track. Place a stability ball between your thighs so that the ball does not touch the floor. Hop around the track while you try to keep the ball from dragging on the floor. If it touches down, then reposition it and resume the jumping. This isn't easy.
2) For 15 minutes, use an elliptical trainer machine that doesn't have the hand gripper handles. Pedal at a low angle but with very high resistance. Swing your arms as though you are jogging. Try to maintain 150 rpms. The low angle has benefits. The high angle may seem more difficult, but it causes the body to propel in a vertical fashion. Your body weight actually contributes to the pedaling at a high angle. The low angle forces you to propel your feet and legs horizontally. Your body weight cannot help out.
3) For 10 minutes, jog backwards. But do so in an aerobics studio, before a mirror, so that you can see where you are going. After you get to the end of the room, run forward to the start point. Then do 10 squat jumps, touching the floor with your hands each time. Repeat the sequence until the 10 minutes is up.

Learn more about this author, Lorra Garrick.
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