How To Break Out Of Your Cardio Rut

If you love to workout but can't seem to get enough variety in your cardio routine, this is the article for you! There is no reason to fall prey to a boring workout day after day that keeps you from reaching your full fat burning and muscle building potential.

There was a time in your life when you didn't even realize what you were doing was called aerobic or cardio exercise. One of the most successful long-term weight-maintenance strategies is to make sure you burn one thousand calories through exercise every week.

However, how you burn them is up to you. You can do anything from playing basketball, which burns four hundred calories an hour, to jumping rope which burns a whopping six hundred and fifty eight calories an hour.

There's no reason anything you do has to feel like a "workout." So banish all the "I have to's" and "I should be's" from your vocabulary, and try out some of these ideas for playing like a kid again.

Calorie estimates are based on a one hundred and forty five pound woman. First, strap on some inline skates for a little fun.

Head for the sidewalk or boardwalk or, if it's cold outside, find an indoor skating rink (and think back to grade-school skating parties). Inline skating burns up to seven hundred calories an hour, depending on your speed and how hilly the course is.

Try to shoot some hoops. Whether at home, the local park, or the gym, play a game of basketball with a few friends-it can burn up to four hundred calories an hour!

If you want a little excitement, go dancing. Head out on a Saturday night to try salsa, swing, or even belly dancing.

Or pick your favorite music at home and just move. Just having fun like this can burn up to three hundred calories an hour.

Try to join a winter league of some kind. Play tennis or racquetball and you will burn roughly five hundred calories an hour, and up to seven hundred and ninety calories if squash is your game.

As silly as it sounds, try musical jump-rope. Put on some great music and jump to the beat; use a boxer's shuffle or any other jump step you know-this burns almost seven hundred calories an hour.

If you are safe and careful, you can attempt to "Sock skate." Put on a pair of socks and simulate skating on a hardwood or tile floor-believe it or not you can burn four hundred calories an hour.

Sidestep, hop, jump, run up and down stairs, or take them two at a time. You can lose at least three hundred and sixty calories in an hour in this way.

Next, download new music to accompany your walk. This can keep you much more motivated than going without any music.

If you can, try to pick up the pace. Walk through your neighborhood, adding one minute of speed-walking or running every five minutes.

Buy a punching bag or speed bag and go a few rounds. This can be a great way to build strength, while relieving stress.

Do aerobic moves, bounce, or jog on a mini trampoline. This is fun, and can even remind you of your childhood-never would have thought you were burning two hundred and thirty an hour!

Wear a pedometer from the moment you wake up until the time you go to bed and see how many steps you really take in a day. Aim for ten thousand-you will be surprised how quickly it adds up! You can burn over three hundred in just those ten thousand steps.

Take a brisk walk and use your surroundings to perform strengthening exercises. Do push-offs on a mailbox, push-ups against a fence, step-ups on a curb or park bench, lunges up a hill, or triceps dips on a bench.

Walk backward for variety, which really tones your hamstrings. Walk with a friend, with one of you facing forward, the other backward, then switch each block.

If you are going at least four miles an hour, you can burn three hundred and thirty calories. Last, try out an elliptical machine.

They are very fun, and work your entire body. They are relatively inexpensive, and can burn a good amount of calories in a short amount of time.

As you can see, there are so many ways to change up your routine. Try something new today and you may find that you are burning more calories than with your old workout!

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