Dragging yourself onto a treadmill and sweating it out by running on the spot leaves a lot to be desired. What if your weight loss cardio workout could be fun? What if you could maximize your workout so that you spend less timing sweating it out on a treadmill, and more time doing the things you want to do? Well the truth is, with the right guidance, it can be done!

Cardio exercise doesn’t always mean running on a treadmill! Pick an activity you enjoy.

The first thing you need to know about any weight loss cardio workout is that you need include activities that you enjoy. The biggest problem that people face is loss of motivation when they don’t see results immediately. But if you choose something you enjoy doing, and do it more often, you’re much more likely to stick to your routine, melt the fat away, sculpt and tone your body.

Here are some cardiovascular exercise activities you could try:

• How bout a swim? If you like swimming, then go with that. Go for a swim 2 to 3 times a week. Increase the intensity of your work out i.e. more laps.
• Jump rope? You can do a lot of neat stuff with a jump rope. The world’s best boxers use this method. What more, if you have kids, you can include them in your cardiovascular routine. You can make up lots of little games to keep yourselves entertained, I know my kids love this! Who can jump faster, who can jump backwards, can you skip with the rope crossed over? Let your imagination run wild!
• Enjoy nature? Then drive to the beach and go for a jog along the beach. How about a jog on the beach as the sun sets? If there’s no beach nearby, then maybe you can jog around parks or any other place of your choice.
• Do you have a bike that’s gathering dust in the garage? You could give that a try and use it to explore your neighborhood. If your friends don’t live too far, maybe ride your bike when you visit, instead of driving your car.
• Enjoy the company of others? Get an exercise buddy, or join and aerobics class.

Hopefully these suggestions will get your creative juices flowing!

Interval training for maximum results

Interval training will allow you to reap the benefits of cardio training. It involves high intensity cardiovascular exercise for a few minutes then a very low intensity recovery period for a minute or so. For example, you could sprint past the next 2 or 3 lamp posts and walk slowly to the next lamp post. The beauty is, you can do this with any type of cardiovascular exercise.

Minimize the cumbersome equipment

You can have a fantastic weight loss cardio workout with minimal equipment. Most people are bombarded with advertising for latest exercise gadgets. While some of these are great, some do nothing and some even increase your chances of injury. The other problem of course is that some people buy the equipment and never use it. If you find yourself in this situation, here is a tip:

Sell or give away all but one of your pieces of exercise equipment. Make sure the one you leave is the your favorite one. Use the extra money to buy something that will add to the particular activity you’ve opted for. For example, if you’re left with a jump rope, or treadmill, then by yourself some cool running shoes. Or if you’ve decided to take up swimming, then buy yourself some good swim wear that you feel really good in.

Monitoring your heart rate can help you achieve optimum results

It’s important to consider your heart rate during your weight loss cardio workout. The easiest and least time consuming way to do this is to try and speak half way through your workout. If you’re too winded to say a sentence, then you need to take it down a notch, you’re over doing it. But if it’s too easy, then you need to up the anti a little.

Be sure to get the right guidance, starting from scratch by yourself, adds to the frustration that can come with weight loss. It also increases the likelihood of giving up. A weight loss cardio workout need not bring you boredom. Spice it up by picking activities you enjoy. If you get bored with that, pick something else. It’s as easy as that.