The best cardio workout for you to get as fit as possible has to also involve you gaining the benefit of strength training. As a strength and conditioning specialist I will tell you right now that the best cardiovascular workout that you can do must involve timed kettlebell strength endurance lifts. Thats right, the kettlebell is not only one of the greatest strength training devices you can use, but it is also a superior cardiovascular workout as well.
One of the most valuable traits of kettlebell training is the act of motion. You see there are many different styles of movements associated with kettlebell training. With this type of workout you can engage in slow tension lifts such as get ups and windmills for pure strength and you can also engage in strength endurance lifts such as swings and snatches for gaining both strength and tremendous muscular and cardiovascular endurance. For the sake of this article I want to address the latter. One way that you can get the most out of those strength endurance lifts is to put a time limit on doing swings and snatches. By doing this you add a different mental aspect to the execution of your cardiovascular workout. For instance, if you were to engage in doing a set of swings and you decided to place a 30 second time limit on the set you would want to see how many swings that you could execute within that given time limit. By implementing this strategy you enable yourself to wake up a more competitive spirit within yourself for your cardiovascular exercises. This is a sound strategy that is great for you to do on your own, but is even better when you do this with a fellow training partner. Remember that it is creativity and the willingness to change up your workouts in this way that will get you the results that you want.
If you haven’t already taken the time to implement timed sets into your kettlebell cardiovascular strength training then you are missing out. This type of training is the best cardio workout you can possibly do for yourself. Remember that most anyone can train hard, but only the best train smart for exceptional cardiovascular fitness!