Treadmills are great. This is because they provide wonderful potential for workouts. However, working out on the treadmill can become rather repetitive and boring after awhile. Switching up your workout routine can help you stick to a fit lifestyle in the long term. It can also prevent boredom and loss of motivation to reach your fitness goals. In this article, we’ll show you a variety of other workout machines and workouts that you can do to make your foutines more lively!
Introducing HIIT Workouts
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. This is described very well by Men’s Health when they say:
“High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of exercise in which you alternate between very intense anaerobic periods and slower recovery periods for a shorter, more efficient workout.”
Studies have also stood by the idea that HIIT workouts work just as well in less time. One study published in 2012 states:
“Low-volume HIIT can also stimulate physiological remodeling comparable to moderate-intensity continuous training despite a substantially lower time commitment and reduced total exercise volume… Such findings are important given that ‘lack of time’ remains the most commonly cited barrier to regular exercise participation.”
So what exercises can you do, if you are bored with the treadmill, that are still beneficial to your cardiovascular health?
Rowing Machine
One good HIIT workout to do on a rowing machine is:
- Warm up for 3 minutes.
- After this, alternate between 1 minute of fast rowing.
- Follow this up with 1 minute of “rest”. However still row at a much slower rate. Do this for 15 minutes before a 2-minute cool-down.
Another HIIT workout you can is the circuit:
- Warm up for 3 minutes.
- Then row hard for about 1 minute.
- Follow this with 10 burpees and 1 minute of rest.
- Repeat for 15 minutes and then do a 2-minute cool-down.
Rowing machines not only burn a lot of calories in a small amount of time but they can also be less painful for the joints than other more traditional cardio exercises, such as the treadmill. (Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Gym Instructor Course – one of the leading fitness courses on the market – will teach you everything that you need to know about fitness facilities and what workouts to advise for clients. Click here for more information.)
Stair Machine
- Start off at level 3 for a 3-minute warm-up.
- Then turn up to level 12 and run for a minute.
- Lower the intensity to level 7 for about two minutes.
- Start over from level 12.
Do this for about 20 minutes. End this exercise with a 3-minute slow cool-down.
This is a fantastic HIIT workout that will help blast the fat. This is because it not only tones your legs but it also burns over 200 calories in just 30 minutes of working out.
A 2014 study has shown that stair machines can help improve balance, prevent falling, increase overall fitness, and can even help reduce the strain in daily life activities for seniors. Another study researching the effects of stair machines on women has shown that as an exercise climbing stairs can provide significant cardiovascular benefits. This is especially true for people who were previously sedentary.
Spin Bike
- Start with a 3-minute warm-up.
- Set your bike to the highest level you can handle.
- Work at that setting for a full minute. Slow down and maintain a resting pace for about 45-60 seconds.
- Do this a total of eight more times before starting a 3 – 5 minute cool-down.
If you want to liven it up a bit, you can easily make this a circuit-training exercise by doing:
- A total of three reps of the HIIT workout,
- Ten burpees and 10 sit-ups.
- Repeat this circuit three times.
Spin bikes are better for the spine and even puts less stress on your bones as compared to the treadmill and other high-impact workouts.
Elliptical
- Start with a five-minute warm-up. At this point you can increase the speed and resistance a little, gradually, if you think it will help you later on.
- As soon as the warm-up ends, go as fast as you can for a full minute. Go at half speed in a resting cycle for a full minute.
- The next time you go full sprint, turn up the resistance even higher giving more of a competitive edge to go over.
- Do this off and on for 15 minutes before cooling down for a couple of minutes.
An elliptical has been shown from studies to provide a great full-body workout. It tones your muscles more as compared to some other cardio exercises. One study in particular showed that “elliptical training demonstrated greater quadriceps activity and greater quadriceps/hamstrings coactivation than all other conditions”, which were overground walking, treadmill walking, and stationary cycling.