I have a home gym set that I can do all the weight stuff with, but am having some trouble deciding what to do for cardio.

I live in the middle of BFE...no roads to run on or ride a bike on except a busy highway that would get me killed. about all i can think of is doing jump rope on the driveway or possibly buying a stair master. Anyone got any ideas?

I'd look into purchasing some cardio equipment.

~SC~

I live in the middle of BFE...no roads to run on or ride a bike...

Pardon me for asking the possible obvious, but are there any trails in your particular Boondocks? Is strenuous hiking and/or trail running an option?

Other than that, I'd say spend some money on cardio or a bike trainer. Or.... buy a few Rocky videos to go with the jump rope. :D

I have a home gym set that I can do all the weight stuff with, but am having some trouble deciding what to do for cardio.

I live in the middle of BFE...no roads to run on or ride a bike on except a busy highway that would get me killed. about all i can think of is doing jump rope on the driveway or possibly buying a stair master. Anyone got any ideas?

No problem there. Tons of weight lifting exercises can be excellent cardio. For example dumbell step ups. Or dumbell lunges with curl and press. Or even barbell squats. If you're interested I'll go in more detail. And yes, I do this sort of thing for my own cardio many times.

No need to buy much if any special equipment.

Jumprope is excellent. If it's good enough for Rocky Balboa, it's good enough for you:tu:

If there are any good hills around, run up them. Maybe even cut down a tree and carry a log on your back:lol:

What about using weight training for cardio? High reps+high sets+30 seconds or less between sets is the method I've used for quite some time.

jason

You can get a step and a step aerobics DVD/tape for very little money, and it takes up almost no space. It can make you feel silly doing it, but I found it very effective when I wanted to do cardio several years ago.

Thanks for the hlep guys. I could run some trails, but if it rains, the ground stays muddy for a long time which would be a mess.

Running or riding on the highway is not a good idea here either.

I did get a weighted jump rope at Walmart last night. I dont know if I could do it for an hour at a time though.

I didn't think about using the exercise tapes like Teo-Bo or something like that. i Would feel silly doing that kind of stuff though.

I am planning on doing Swolecats SGX in the very near future. It is cardio in the moring, so that is why im asking. I'm trying to have everything prepared for when i start.

So I am thinking doing high rep weight training wouldnt be a good idea on that program as it might throw you into overtraining.

I may just be better off trying to buy some kind of equipment i can keep inside like Swolecat suggested for when the weather is bad. I just hate spending several thousand for smoe quality stuff right now while I am in school.

What are some cheapers cardio-type machines and what would they cost: stationary bike? cheaper treadmill? one of those bike looking things they do the "spinning" classes on?

Thanks again

I did get a weighted jump rope at Walmart last night. I dont know if I could do it for an hour at a time though.

I am planning on doing Swolecats SGX in the very near future. It is cardio in the moring, so that is why im asking. I'm trying to have everything prepared for when i start.

DON'T do the heavy rope for an hour. You do that for a few minutes at a time. The speed rope is for the long times. (I got that from a boxing trainer jump rope guru).

Swolecat is a big proponent of fasted LISS. If you're going to do his program you probably want to think about using cardio the way that he expects. Otherwise you might get some counterproductive interactions. If you do big intensity work, you get a completely different metabolic and hormone response than LISS. LISS has almost no side effects (other than mitochondrial recruitment) and is done for the direct effect (burning fat while you do the exercise), high intensity work is a lot more complicated and you get a bunch of side effects.

The effects of high intensity cardio are a little harder to predict because they depend so strongly on the exact intensity. If you aren't going to carefully meter your post exercise calories - which takes a week or two just to get set up where you get decent calorie counts - then you will be feeling around in the dark for a while.

The jump rope isnt one of the big fat rubber weighted ropes like you are prob thinking about. It has the think lightweight rope part...but the handles are weighted. They are not heavy...maybe like 1 lbs each.

I'm not sure what LISS is, but would it be something that could be done with the jump rope or do i need other equipment?

Thanks