One of the most common exercise issues that people have is they just don’t get in enough daily cardio. Many people don’t think they have the time to increase their daily cardio levels. Sometimes, it’s not just a time issue but also a matter of simply hating cardio in the first place.
By working with a physical therapist, you can find ways to fit more cardio into your routine. These specialists can also help you in other ways that are intended to improve your overall health as well as treat sports injuries. Below, you’ll learn three tips your physical therapist may recommend that can help you do more cardio, even if you’re a cardio hater.
- Break up your daily cardio session
It’s recommended that the average person does at least half an hour of cardio a day. But trying to do it all at once isn’t necessarily the best way to convince yourself to do more cardio. Instead, you could consider chopping it up into three 10-minute pieces.
For example, you could do a 10-minute energetic walk or jog before work. Then, turn your 10-minute meeting into a 10-minute walking meeting. Finally, take a brisk 10-minute walk after dinner with your partner, and you’re set for the day. Even better, you probably won’t feel like you were doing a lot of hard work.
- Don’t limit yourself to walking and running
Although walking and running are two of the most common forms of cardio, they don’t have to be the only ones you do. After all, doing the same exercises over and over isn’t likely to make you feel like doing more cardio.
Expanding your exercise horizons is a great way to get in cardio and keep yourself engaged and motivated. Some physical therapist-recommended alternative cardio options include:
- Swimming
- Biking
- Jumping rope
- Hiking
- Trampolining
- Dancing
- Stair climbing
These activities will get your heart rate up and allow you to get the cardio you need, but they’re not repetitive or boring.
- Check out apps that reward you for doing cardio
There are a number of apps that are designed to track your progress in a variety of cardio exercises. However, you can have even more fun doing more cardio if you use certain gaming apps.
There are multiple gaming apps out there that will reward you for walking, biking or running. A few of the apps that might interest you include:
Apps like these allow you to keep track of your mileage while being engaged in an exciting virtual world at the same time. You might not even realize you’re doing more cardio because you’re too busy keeping up with what’s going on in the game world.
Whatcom Physical Therapy can help you get in more cardio
Our Whatcom Physical Therapy team is ready to help you address cardio-killing issues. We offer free screenings that can pinpoint injuries and other issues that are making it tougher to do cardio. In addition, our physical therapists excel at building individualized therapy plans designed to promote injury recovery and increase your ability to move. You can even get help from us while staying at home thanks to our virtual therapy service, and we don’t require that you have a doctor’s referral before starting your physical therapy.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.
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