I hate steady state cardio. It’s just boring. It may or may not work, but the bottom line is that if something is boring, I won’t want to do it. So the key to achieving your goals, whether it’s fat loss or overall heart and lung health, is to find something that’s exciting and challenging.
A more exciting, challenging, and effective workout is performing quick bodyweight and dumbbell exercises. The key is to keep your heart rate up during your workouts. After all, isn’t that what cardio is supposed to be?
Here are some sample techniques you can use to design your own high-intensity “cardio” workouts:
Technique #1: Interval Circuits
- Choose 1-2 bodyweight exercises
- Choose 1-2 dumbbell exercises
- Choose a work interval (20-60 seconds)
- Choose a rest interval (10-60 seconds)
Instructions: Perform an exercise for the chosen work interval. Once that interval is complete, move on to the next exercise immediately, without rest, and perform it for the period of time. After completing all the exercises, rest during the rest interval. Repeat as desired.
Technique #2: Lowering Reps
- Choose 1 bodyweight exercise
- Choose 1 dumbbell exercise
Instructions: Alternate between a bodyweight exercise and dumbbells. After each round, reduce the number of repetitions you perform for each exercise to 1-3 repetitions. Do as many rounds as you want.
Technique #3: Trisets
- Choose 2 bodyweight exercises
- Choose 1 dumbbell exercise
Instructions: Perform all three exercises back to back with little to no rest between each set. At the end of the triseries, you can rest if you wish. Do as many rounds as you want.
Use these three high-intensity techniques to design some challenging bodyweight and dumbbell “cardio” workouts. Good luck with your training!
– Parth Shah, Average Joe – Fitness Enthusiast
