Top 5 Cardio Workouts

My 5 Favorite Cardio Workouts:

Oh man, its time to talk about cardio.. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had to drag themselves onto the treadmill, or sit and count down the clock until you hit your 30 minutes or watched as the calorie counter counts up until you hit your goal 200 calories each day. I don't know what is slower, watching the microwave count down as you're waiting for your spaghetti O's or running on the treadmill when your motivation is slowly slipping. Trust me girl, I get it *barffffffffff*. But since cardio is extremely important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and has many benefits on the body we continue enduring the fantastic beast we call cardio. (If you haven't noticed by now, cardio is not my favorite.) Due to this is have found some fun and effective ways to get your cardio done, while keeping things exciting and fresh.

• Swimming

I absolutely love swimming. Not only does it tone your upper body as well as your lower body, but it is one of the most efficient forms of cardio. On average swimming burns almost double the calories of running on a treadmill! Plus who doesn't want a swimmers bod?

• Jump Roping

Yes, that fun thing you did at Recess in Elementary school is a killer workout. Jump Roping is a fantastic workout to do basically anywhere. I usually do 1 minute jump roping and then take 1 minute rest and repeat 10 times. Trust me you are pooped by the time you are done. I usually lay on the ground for a solid 5 minutes when I'm done because I am ExAUstEd.

• Boxing

My lovely boyfriend introduced me to this bad boy about 6 months ago and ever since we started boxing together I am HOOKED. Not only do you feel like a badass when you are punching the bag, but just 30 minutes of boxing can burn up to 400 calories. WHATTTTT. Yes, you heard me 400 calories! And a major bonus-- you are one step closer to becoming Rocky Balboa.

• Interval Training

I like interval training when it comes to switching things up and pushing your brain and body to the limit. I usually like picking three different exercises and pushing myself extremely hard on every single one and then repeating it 3 times with a 1-2 minute rest in between. One interval that I have been doing is

- 30 second sprint on an inclined Treadmill

- 2 minute Row

- 2 minute Stair Stepper at a challenging level

1-2 minute rest then repeat 3 times-- you can always switch up the workouts just make sure you are keeping your heart rate up! Have fun and Good Luck:)

• Go Outside!

One thing that I think a lot of people forget about is how fun it is to just get out of the gym out of the house and spend some time outside. For me I love to soak up the outdoors in the spring and summer because I absolutely hate Utah's winters. So for me as soon as it hits around 60 degrees I'm outside doing something. This summer Trevin and I have been rollerblading like crazy, and just kicking around the soccer ball. We like to go out on trails and run and hike and adventure in the mountains as well. It's so easy to just walk outside and do something active. Go for a walk or go biking! Another idea to get a good cardio session in outside is to go to your local track and field and run stadiums or around the track. Find something you love and stick to it!

Time for me to go get in a nice workout, without the dreaded treadmill;)

Go kick some cardio butt!