Cardio is my favourite type of exercise. What I mean by this is I hate lifting weights more.
I can run for miles outside and be quite happy about this, but at the gym, this is a whole different ball game.
10 minutes can feel like 10 hours when you’re running in the same spot. I’m not sure why running just seems so much harder on a treadmill. Or why time seems to go so much slower on a treadmill than when I’m on the bike and cross trainer. But here are some things I do to keep my mind occupied while doing cardio.
- Listen to Podcasts. I listen to a variety Podcasts, some of them are blogging related and some of them are fitness related. The fitness ones can be especially motivating as you’re exercising! Some of my favourites are The Running Podcast, The Rich Roll Podcast and Marathon Training Academy.
- Listening to Serial. Serial is a Podcast, too, but it deserves it’s own shoutout. Serial is basically the audio equivalent of Making a Murderer. Season 1 follows the story of Hae Min, who was killed 1999. Her ex boyfriend was arrested and charged for the crime and it delves deep into the story to discover what actually happened. I was addicted to this and it got me through many gym sessions as well as long runs.
- Watch YouTube. I like to keep up with my favourite YouTubers are the gym. Most videos are just the right length to watch one on one machine, then move across. The Shaytards are my favourite to watch. I’ve also started watching a new channel called You Suck At Cooking which is so funny. You need to watch it.
- Watch Motivational Videos on YouTube. As as well as watching my subscriptions, I also like to search for videos that inspire me. These are usually videos where people talk about their weight loss stories, fitness routine or what they eat.
- Play Candy Crush. When using the bike, it’s time to play on your phone. I’m not as addicted to Candy Crush as I used to be, but when I was deep in, I used to play while on the bike and it made time go SO fast. You can do this with any game, really.
- Use social media. I also use the bike to catch up on social media, reply to Tweets, scheduling Tweets and using Pinterest. I also talk to my friends on Whatsapp or reply to comments in the WordPress app.
- Use supplements. Sports supplements might sound like a weird tip, but I find they give me a boost which makes my workout easier and fly by. I can’t believe the difference I feel if I have something to boost energy or a shake before a run or workout. The easier a workout feels, the quicker it goes!
So yeah, these are some of the things I do to make my cardio sessions go by a little quicker!
What are your tips?
I do love me some weights but do make myself do some cardio! I love listening to podcasts but I also really like reading the kindle when on the bike / cross trainer – it stays up by itself so you just have to tap, easy!
I put always music on, it really helps!
I love listening to audio books, makes it so much more bearable.
Prefer doing weights to be honest, but I hate doing it at the gym. Too many eyes lol.
Tess x
I saw the title of this post and knew that I had to give it a read! I actually worked out today for the first time in forever and was on the elliptical for what (felt like) a half hour but was really 4 minutes. I get so bored and even listening to music can only entertain me for so long! I really think podcast will be the way to go going forward!
http://imperfectlyrachel.blogspot.com/
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!! Hahaha you are a life saver. I’ve been doing cardio for a while at the gym and I find it quite difficult and I much prefer building muscle. Thanks for recommending podcasts, I totally forgot that was a thing, I’m going to deffo start using that. And ah my class at uni listened to a little bit of Serial and it sounded absolutely amazing, so I’m so glad you’ve mentioned it as that will be brill to listen to in the gym!! I tend to watch TV programmes whilst at the gym as it takes my mind off it more than listening to music, but obvs motivational music is good too! I think I shall also start watching Youtube videos and playing games on my phone to pass the time, I also like to use social media especially when I’m on the bike! xxx
Becky Shannon xx – Life-by-Becky