Three ways to improve your cardio health when you hate exercising

Are you someone who doesn’t like doing cardio? That’s OK! You aren’t alone!

It’s reported that only slightly more than 53% of U.S. adults meet minimum standards for aerobic fitness set down by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By working with a physical therapist, you can find some easy and fun ways to fit more cardio into your life. Here are three ways you can improve your cardiovascular health even if you don’t like cardio:

1. Break your cardio into smaller sessions

One of the main reasons that people dread cardio is they imagine that they have to do long cardio sessions. This can make doing cardio seem discouraging or overwhelming even before you start. However, physical therapists recommend that you break daily cardio sessions into smaller chunks that can still improve your cardiovascular health. 

In total, you should shoot for half an hour of cardio a day, but you can chop it up into three 10-minute pieces. You can do a 10-minute brisk walk or jog before work. Then, you can add a 10-minute cardio session during your lunch break and another 10-minute session after dinner. One thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that high intensity matters when you’re doing these shorter sessions. So go hard for the whole session to get the best results.

2. Do more than just walking or running

Walking. Jogging. Running. These are what most people commonly think of when they think of doing cardio. But a physical therapist can help you find other fun activities that can also help improve your cardiovascular health.

A few of the options your physical therapist might recommend include: 

• Swimming
• Biking
• Hiking
• Mountain climbing
• Dancing
• Boxing
• Jumping rope
• Jumping on a trampoline

These fun activities get your heart rate up and allow you to get the cardio you need, but they’re not repetitive or boring. They can also turn into a fun hobby that’s good for you. 

3. Find ways to track your cardio

Some people are fascinated by numbers and statistics. Staying engaged with cardio can be challenging, but finding ways to track your progress and sessions can help you get more engaged. An option that your physical therapist may suggest to improve your engagement is a cardio tracking app. 

There are a number of apps that are designed to track your progress in a variety of cardio exercises. From tracking your number of steps each day to monitoring your heart rate and beyond, having an app can help you stay interested and accountable. Some gaming apps even reward you for walking, biking or running. Some of these apps include: 

• Ingress
• Pokemon GO
• Jurassic World Alive

Armor Physical Therapy can help you improve your cardiovascular health

Looking for even more ways to improve your cardiovascular health? Our Armor Physical Therapy team is ready to help you. We offer free screenings designed to reveal issues that can make doing cardio harder or more painful. In addition, our physical therapists can build you a personalized therapy plan intended to address the issues that are holding you back from more effective performance. We can even help you from home thanks to our virtual care and at-home therapy services. 

Contact us today for more information about how we can assist you or to schedule your initial appointment.