Hey Sassy Peeps! This week in our coffee chat, Lindsay and I were chatting about exercise…specifically cardio vs. strength.
I’ll be honest (and anyone who knows me, already knows this…) but working out is NOT my favourite thing to do…and for a long time, I sort of took the easy way out. I would MOVE my body but never really push myself too far out of my comfort zone. For that reason, I would always say I preferred strength workouts. I would use lighter weights, wouldn’t get too sweaty, wouldn’t really huff and puff…but also, didn’t really get AMAZING results…
About 6 months ago, my mindset shifted when it came to my fitness…I decided if I was going to show up, I was going to PUSH myself. I was going to use that time and get the best workout I could…and that is when I started to enjoy cardio more.
On our coffee chat, I compared my love affair with cardio to cleaning my kitchen. When I start cleaning the kitchen (or doing cardio) I dread it!!! But once I get started, it’s ok. I still don’t LOVE doing it…but when I’m finished and the kitchen sparkles, the counters are clean, the dishes are done – it feels AWESOME. That is how I feel about cardio. I dread it before I start (still), I struggle and hate huffing and puffing and sweating DURING the workout…but once I am done and the endorphins are flowing, I LOVE how I feel. It is this amazing sense of accomplishment, in completing something I didn’t want to do, that I know pushes me to where I want to be.
I had to figure out what I liked for cardio though, and that took some time. I actually love swimming, but I live in the frozen tundra for the majority of the year…so swimming is a tough one. We have one indoor pool in the city I live in…and it’s ALWAYS busy…so it wasn’t much of an option for me.
I’m social by nature, so a solo sport like running or biking…wasn’t my jam (plus with bad knees, running doesn’t go so well for me now and I find biking incredibly boring).
I LOVED our online classes and working with other people, it pushed me harder…but something was missing…turns out it was MUSIC!!!
Adding music to my cardio classes has helped soooooo much! I find I work out harder and the time passes to much faster when I can jam to a good beat as I go.
Just one of our fun Music Mashup Lists
I love Tabata style cardio where you work your tail off for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat…you do one set for 4 minutes total, then take a break…and go again…and again…and again…until you’re done.
My favorite cardio exercise is jumping jacks. I know not everyone loves them, but I find they get my heart rate pumping, move my whole body and I can do them high impact with a full jump, or low impact just tapping when my knees are bothering me.
My least favourite cardio move is burpees…however, I realize they are effective, so I still do them. I usually put them at the start of a workout though, so they are over and done with quickly!
In short, find what you love to do, whether it’s cardio or strength, get yourself some accountability so you’ll show up and do it and remind yourself of how great you feel once you’re done…Lindsay always says “You’ll never regret a workout, once it’s done” and (don’t tell her I said this) but she is totally right!
Cheers,
Christina
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