When trying to lose weight, cardio is an excellent and recommended addition to your workout routine. In order to make the most out of your cardio, it's important to plan accordingly and not give up too quickly. Here are some tips to consider to help you persevere and not quit!
1. Be sure to stretch
Before starting any type of cardio routine, and to prevent any injury, it's important to stretch, usually for around 10 minutes. This is recommended because it helps prevents any pulling or tearing of a muscle, which can be extremely painful. It is a preventative measure, especially if you are stiff and not used to a lot of movement.
If you stretch adequately before running or going on the stairmaster, you are also going to feel more energized. Your muscles are not going to be in as much pain, making your cardio routines less difficult to get through.
2. Vary the routines
In order for your cardio workouts to be effective, you need to add a variety of activities to your workout plan. This could be doing the treadmill one day and then the elliptical the second day. It could be jumping jacks or swimming throughout the week.
If you are using a machine over and over again, making sure you gradually increase your speed and also the resistance. In the same cardio session, if you feel comfortable to adjust the speed even a tiny bit. Remember, the goal with cardio is to get your heart working harder to help with burning body fat.
Challenging your body will help you to lose weight fast.
3. Find a partner
When you are running on a treadmill or doing the elliptical, you may get tired. You may then lack motivation to keep going, preventing you from completing your workout. A personal trainer is expensive but an awesome and affordable alternative is a workout buddy! You can stay much more motivated throughout your cardio routine by enlisting a partner. Having a partner will give you comfort because you won't be the only one trying to push to the end. You can talk while doing routines, which helps to distract from the discomfort and make time go quicker. If you don't have a friend to take with you, try asking a family member, neighbor or even work colleague! If nothing else, make a friend next time you're at the gym or community center pool. Having a partner helps you to stay accountable.
4. Start slow
If you have never worked out before, it’s important to start out slow. Make sure you go at a steady pace at first, even if you are on a treadmill or stairmaster.
As weeks go by, start increasing the speed and the resistance if you feel comfortable. Don’t get down on yourself if you are not going as fast as others. Just know that you are getting a good workout in, and that with time, you will be able to go as fast as you would like. You might also want to implement interval training into your cardio routines. This is where you start out at a slow pace, and then increase the pace for a few minutes (even one minute) at a time. You then return to the slow pace, repeating this process over your whole workout routine. This process helps to prevent your body from getting acclimated to the routines, so you can maximize your weight loss results.
5. Do it from home
Working out at a gym can be intimidating, especially if you have never been before. To make your cardio routines a little less stressful, you can certainly work out from home. This might include putting a treadmill in your home or just walking/jogging around the block. It could be putting on a workout video to follow along with. Working out from home will give you a peace of mind because not only will you be able to save money, but you won’t have to feel self-conscious from seeing others.
6. Listen to something
During your cardio routines, you may get extremely tired. This prevents you from finishing strong, hindering your workout results. To help you push through tough days at the gym, try listening to music that gets you pumped up or something motivational and inspiring. Even an audiobook that can distract you from your workout may help you reach the end and make up the full time you committed to.
7. Positive self-talk
Last but not least, positive self-talk is incredibly important when doing challenging tasks, especially tasks you may find unpleasant or hard to complete. Never underestimate the power of the words you say to yourself! It's important to empower yourself through your workouts with positive statements like "You can do this" "You got this" and "You're almost there". you will notice the impact immediately.
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