Perhaps you are tired of your treadmill routine, or perhaps your knees, ankles and hips just need a break from the pounding. I've heard some trainers say that you can't use running to get into shape, because you need to be in shape to run. It made sense to me considering the crazy amounts of force and stress running puts on your joints. If you are carrying extra weight you are just adding to the problem. Doubly so if you are running with poor technique.. yes there is technique to running. Anyway, here are 4 alternatives to the treadmill that will still give you a fat-burning and exciting interval workout.
1. Switch Machines
If you are in a gym try switching to a different machine for a while.... like a stationary (but not a recumbent) bike. Bikes are actually easier to change speeds on than treadmills and don't involve any tricky jumping on and off. Also the tread of a treadmill guarantees you will work at a certain pace (or fall off). Without that on a bike, you are forced to push yourself to keep pace... most relatively recent bikes will have an RPM monitor so you can see your speed.
Or you could try my personal favorite machine: the erg rower. This one will hit the posterior chain much harder than a bike or a treadmill so go easy on your first day or you risk having very sore hamstrings the next. You also get a nice pulling action for more upper body integration than the other machines. Rowers might show your RPM, but it will spike when you pull and drop when you are recovering, so I find it easiest to count the number of strokes. Sprint your first interval and then knock a stroke off to find a decent target for your remaining intervals.
2. Get Off the Machines
If you have one at your gym a punching bag is about the most fun you can have for a cardio workout. If you've never taken a martial arts course, or a kickboxing class... well its not that important here. The priority is cardio! And nothing gets your heart rate up like wailing on a punching bag for 30-60 seconds. If you follow these 3 quick tips you should ensure some injury-free cardio time.
1. Wear bag gloves. These are not the big heavy gloves that boxers use, but rather thin leather gloves that protect the skin on your knuckles.
2. Keep your wrists straight. I've seen a lot of former teammates try to punch with crooked wrists. If you punch hard enough that can be dangerous. Close your hand into a fist and keep it there like an extension of your forearm. True purists would say you should keep your fist loose until the actual strike to conserve energy. But we're not in a fight here, we just want to burn some calories (and take out a little aggression too).
3. Land punches with the first 2 knuckles of your fist. Those are the ones that line up straight with your forearm. Landing powerful punches with the other knuckles (ring and pinky fingers) can result in a classic boxer's fracture...though probably not very likely with gloves on and hitting a bag.
If you don't have a bag hanging up or standing up somewhere, then do some interval swings or snatches with a kettlebell. You can use a dumbbell in a pinch, but stick more to swings if you do since the handles aren't smooth like on a kettlebell.
3. No Equipment at All? No Problem.
Try Bodyweight-only Exercises. For instance, do as many bodyweight squats as you can for 20 seconds and then hold the bottom position for 10 seconds. Rest 30 seconds and repeat. 8 rounds of that is only an 8 minute workout that will have you burning.
Or if you are really adventurous (and already in good shape) you can try some squat thrusts or burpees. Starting standing up, you squat down until your hands touch the ground. Then kick your feet out behind you into a pushup position. For a burpee throw in a pushup, otherwise immediately jump your feet back up to your hands (resume the squatting position). Then squat yourself back up to a standing position for a squat thrust or jump into the air for a burpee and repeat. Fair warning, you can do these anywhere and at any time, but these are possibly some of the most difficult cardio exercises you can find!
Alright, so those are just a few of the countless ways in which you can change up your interval training to keep burning fat and spend less time in the gym than with traditional cardio.
