Last week I wrote an article about Unconventional Cardio. Today I want to take you down a path that will describe the various unconventional cardio methods you can use to lose fat and maintain your lean muscle.
Unconventional Cardio For Fat Loss
The idea behind cardio for fat loss is to increase the number of calories you burn so that you can cause your body to use fat for energy. There are various ways to do this. Some people like the Low Intensity Steady State cardio (LISS). Many will tell you the only way to go is High Intensity Interval Training cardio (HIIT). Others will advocate simple intervals where you run for a certain amount of time and then walk for a certain amount of time to recover. All these methods work, but they are not the only methods that work.
Enter the Prowler
The Prowler is an excellent way to get a cardio workout, but it also helps you to maintain your lean mass. This device literally works every muscle in your body, including your heart. Load up the prowler and push it. You will notice your heart rate climb almost instantly. You can use a lighter load and sprint with it or you can load up more weight and push against the resistance it creates. Either way works.
Short Hard Sprints Do the Job
Another great way to burn fat is to run some short, but hard sprints. Be explosive with your sprints. Make sure your legs knwo they've been worked afterwards. The concept is similar to HIIT where you go all out for a short period of tiem, but with sprints, it is much shorter than in duration.
Medicine Ball Throws Get You Going
The medicine ball can be used in many different ways to get a cardio workout. Here are just a few of them:
Medicine ball slams. You pick up a heavy medicine ball over your head and slam it into the ground as hard as you can. You pick it up and repeat the process.
Medicine ball tosses while doing crunches. You lay down and do a standard crunch, but as you come up a partner tosses you the medicine ball and you catch it, go to the bottom of your crunch, come back up and throw it back to your partner. This is repeated throughout the crunches.
Medicine ball throws. You and a partner stand a few feet apart (5 to 6) and toss a medicine ball back and forth. Don't rest. When you get the ball immediately return it to your partner.
Farmer Carries Will Build Grip and Burn Fat
Carrying around heavy weight is a sure-fire way to get your heart rate up. The Farmer Carry is one way of accomplishing this. You grab a heavy set of dumbbells or a specially created Farmer Carry bar (with weight loaded on it) and carry the load like a suitcase would be carried. You walk a long distance slowly. This will not only get your heart rate up, but it will improve your overall grip strength as well.
Strongman Style
If your gym happens to have strongman equipment like Metroflex Long Beach, my new gym, you can do some strongman style cardio. This type of cardio involves resistance training as a key component to the cardio workout. An example of this type of cardio session:
10 repetitions of the log press
10 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
9 repetitions of the log press
9 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
8 repetitions of the log press
8 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
7 repetitions of the log press
7 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
6 repetitions of the log press
6 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
5 repetitions of the log press
5 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
4 repetitions of the log press
4 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
3 repetitions of the log press
3 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
2 repetitions of the log press
2 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
1 repetitions of the log press
1 repetitions of 315 lb. deadlift
These sets are done back to back with no rest at all.
Conclusion
Cardio doesn't have to be boring. You just have to find new and challenging ways to do your cardio. The problem is letting cardio get boring in the first place. You won't do it if it is boring. So, spice up your cardio routine with some of these methods and let me know how it goes.
