Cardio training is a form of fitness where you need to exercise at a certain intensity of your maximum heart rate for a prolonged period. This often leads people to find cardio training boring. After all, there’s little variation, and you’re often performing the same monotonous exercise for half an hour or longer. How can you make cardio training less boring and what small variations can you make to make your training more enjoyable and varied? You’ll find out here.
Music during cardio training
One of the simplest and most enjoyable ways to make your cardio training less boring is by turning on your music. Grab your iPod or use your smartphone and turn on your music: headphones on, world off. The music you play during exercise should be upbeat and have a good beat. Therefore, the BPM should often be around 140. Because no matter how much we love Adele, you’re not going to run much faster with her.
Tracking progress
Adding a game element or competition can often break the boredom. Therefore, keep track of your progress so you can compare your results with others and add the competitive element that way. If you don’t want to share this with others, you can track your progress and compete with yourself. There’s no competition more enjoyable than the one with yourself. Nowadays, you can track all activities with simple apps. For example, with Runkeeper, you can track multiple cardio training activities. You’ll find that not only do you break the boredom, but you’ll also be more inclined to exercise again.
After the cardio workout, the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver are almost empty, and you need to replenish them with carbohydrates as quickly as possible. Additionally, protein can contribute to faster muscle recovery.
Introduce variation
Doing the same cardio activities for a while can also lead to boredom. When you’re vigorously running, it can be fun to vary this with cycling or with an explosive sport like soccer. You’ll notice that even when your condition is at its peak during running, it’s not a given that you’ll achieve the same results during cycling. It’s even possible that you’ll experience muscle soreness when you engage in activities other than those you’re used to.
Another variation you can make is to exercise outdoors instead of indoors. Much cardio training takes place in the gym and it can indeed become monotonous quickly. So, go outside and take a different route every time. This way, your environment changes, and you’ll see more of your neighborhood.
Train with a workout partner
If you’re a social exerciser and want to share the ordeal called training with someone else, train with a workout buddy. This can reduce boredom and also lead to enjoyable social contacts. In addition to these benefits, training with a workout partner can also make you train harder and heavier because you’re competing with each other. This will result in getting more out of your training than if you were training alone. By the way, there are several sports you can do with a workout partner, so plenty of choices.
Turn on the TV
If you haven’t had enough with the above tips, you can throw in the last resort and turn on the TV. After all, many cardio activities take place at home on the stationary bike or treadmill. Or often in the gym. Many gyms nowadays are equipped with a cardio theater, where all cardio machines are placed in front of a TV screen. This way, you can keep watching your favorite TV program and still work on your fitness. You can also do this at home by turning on the TV while exercising on the stationary bike or treadmill. In other words, combining the useful with the pleasant.
