How do you stay motivated during cardio?

kelly_e_montana

I can't really stay motivated well on a machine.

Thus, I do CrossFit where I can turn calisthenics into cardio conditioning. I also take classes at my regular gym. I swim there as well.

I try to do a lot of outside activities like hiking and trail running so that I do cardio but don't really notice the time going by. For instance, there is a hill/mountain near my home that's so I climb up that for about 1.75 miles and then run down the other side for another 1.75 miles and soon I've gotten a great workout. I also do trail runs with a friend. In the winter, I go cross country skiing with friends. I plan to do some kayaking and try stand up paddle boarding this summer. Even just walking is great.

Steff46

If you are doing your cardio on a machine try out the different levels and options it has to offer. The machines at my gym have options like 'personal trainer', or 'intervals', 'fat buring' and 'cardio blast'......etc. Oh and lots of hard rocking music!

jason_adams

Steady state running - I MUST do this outside or I drag myself through it and hate most moments.

So when on a treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike I do intervals that force me to change something every 1 to 2 minutes. I'm generally so focused on getting through the hard stuff or calming my heart on the recovery that the workout disappears.
Plus they only last for 30mins at most (for me).

I also really like the hill and random programs - same effect but I just have to roll with the punches. And it give me something to swear at.

nolabone

What I listen to drastically changes my enjoyment of my workout. Tried a workout podcast with upbeat music, and was bored out of my mind. But if I listen to the Grateful Dead while working out, even the slow songs, I don't notice the time passing nearly as much.

If I don't feel I can do much more cardio, but want to, I use a stationary bike so I can read at the same time.

mikes99mail

I dont watch movies, use music as a tool or read a damn book. When I'm doing cardio *indoors* I stare at the numbers on the machine and make sure I'm doing what I should be doing in terms of effort, time & heart rate. I can normally manage 40 minutes, sometimes an hour.

Outdoors I look at the birds, bees, trees and cars, as well as the heart rate and effort numbers. I can go for 12 hours+ some days...

For me, I've got to be outdoors!!

kandell

Netflix on my tablet :] I prefer to watch action-y things, because they make me work harder.

andyluvv

I used to HATE cardio. With a passion.

I started a new fitness regime this week so I stretch, do 10 minutes of cardio and 10 when I'm done with my lifting. I find that running on the treadmill gives me more of a push and it's a lot more fun. It also helps me burn about 300 calories just in between these two runs which means I can eat a bit more!

I do it whilst listening to music and at times I play silly games with myself - I just think of running until the last minute of a film or something. My flatmate does something similar and she uses "Epic film songs" (like the lord of the Rings soundtrack) for similar effect. Try it! I find that if I can find an element of "play" in my workout, it makes it less torturing and more fun!

Ilikelamps

you see that dude in your profile pic? Whenever I work out, cardio or weights, I stay motivated by thinking about how much I will be able to kick dude's that look like that's *kitten*.

Alidecker

I can't stand being on the elliptical or treadmill for very long. I do all sorts of different things for cardio. Circuts of things that include 1 minute of things like jumping rope, burpees, mountain climbers, etc. Sometimes I will throw 5 minutes of the elliptical or treadmill and do that 5 times or something along those lines. Even add sit ups and pushups in.

thomaszabel

I ride a gym bike that has a big video screen that shows me biking along the course against other computerized bikers, so it's like a big video game, so I don't have a problem there. If I'm biking outdoors, also not a problem, because I love to look around and enjoy the scenery. Finally, if I'm biking indoors in my basement, I turn on a youtube video, and that passes the time.

As far as the treadmill, my gym uses LifeFitness treadmills that have a screen at each one. You can watch videos, or even set it to a scenic jaunt through quaint German towns or national parks in the US, or trails in Australia or New Zealand.

But I remember the days when we didn't have cool technology with 3D glasses and surround sound. Basically your goal is to try to get through the cardio without thinking about it too much. Basically this is a mental challenge, and each person is different. Here are some fun mind games that occupied my demented mind as I ran on a treadmill.

1) I like math. I would break the run into tenths of a mile. At each tenth, I would think "3 tenths of a mile down, 37 tenths to go". Then if I could simplify the fraction, I would do it. For example, 15/10 of a mile = 3/2, which comes out to 1/4 of my total run completed. Sometimes by the time I simplified and calculated what percentage of my run was left, I had already hit the next tenth of a mile. I know. That's pathetically nerdy.
2) I would think about the things I had done that day, and analyze what things went well, what things didn't, and what I should have done to make it better. Sometimes I would come up with a to do list or a grocery list mentally. Maybe I would forget it all at the end of the run, but once again, it helped the time fly.
3) I break the run into quarter miles. I used to run track when I was in high school, so I would figure out which lap I was on, and even which section of the track. Every 100 yards, I would think "okay, I'm on the back 100 yards straightaway of the 6th lap. When I got to the 4th 100 yards of each lap, I'd imagine running in front of the cheering home spectators up on the bleachers.
4) I pick a political problem that I think the country could use some help on. I start to imagine "If I was king or dictator of the US for a day, this is what I would do to fix that problem once and for all."

Bottom line is you can tell I'm a nerd, but the point is to keep your mind occupied on anything EXCEPT the running or biking that you are doing. If you have to imagine yourself as superman fighting villains or a Disney princess or think about that last book you read or movie you watched or simply ponder the meaning of life and why people drive on parkways, yet park on driveways, it's all good. Keep your brain occupied, and your miles will fly by.

Hazelnut79

I get bored with steady state cardio as well (like the elliptical or treadmill), so I never do it. I am good with weights, so I like to set up circuits for myself that I do at high intensity with short breaks in between. For example, yesterday I did 3 sets of a circuit that started with 10 wood choppers on each side, 10 goblet squats, and 30 seconds of mountain climbers. I do them as quickly and with as much intensity as I can while maintaining good form. The weighted exercises are not quite at my max but are still heavy enough that at the end of the set I could probably only get one or two more reps in without fatiguing. After each set I take a quick break to catch my breath (Just long enough I'm not gasping for air, but I'm still feeling pretty exerted), and repeat.

With this approach, I'm generally too busy gasping for air to get bored. At least for me, this has yielded better results (in terms of a reduction in body fat%) than when I was doing steady state cardio.

I mix up the specific exercises (I usually do two different circuits with 3-4 different exercises per gym day and try to mix it up so most parts of the body are hit with the weights), but here are links to the examples I gave in case you or anyone else is curious.

woodchoppers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAplQXk3dkU
goblet squats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKmrXTx6jZs
mountain climbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyeZM-_VnRc

leannems

I've heard this tip, but never tried it. Tape your favorite tv show (or alternatively, pick up a book on tape for a book that you're dying to read), then only watch or listen to it when you're doing cardio. If it's super juicy, you'll be motivated to do the cardio because you can't watch/listen otherwise.

maz504

Sometimes I play "Killing In The Name" by Rage Against The Machine on repeat until cardio is over. That usually helps.

nfpeacock

Kinda strange, but when I'm on the elipitical I always pretend I'm teaching a class! In my head I welcome any new gym buddies etc and then start the 'class'. I yell at them to stay motivated and talk to them about the music etc. It's really weird but keeps me having fun!

itsfatum

May sound weird, but not thinking is what motivates me. Or in other words, feeling my body and surroundings is what keeps me going.

Overanalyzing and overthinking were never a good thing. Stop thinking about cardio this, cardio that, and you will enjoy it.

Thinking and feeling are highly exclusive of each other.

dwm2112

I listen to audiobooks. I pick a book I'm really interested in, and only listen to it when I'm on the elliptical. It motivates me to do the cardio, and I'm learning at the same time! :happy:

AllonsYtotheTardis

I found cardio that I actually liked doing. For me, that meant not on a machine.

albionjen

Try to find some cardio that doesn't bore you so much. Could you take up a sport. I used to play squash with a friend, a good work out and fun to meet up as well! Do you like running, then try outside or join a running club.

If I have to get cardio at the gym I watch TV or listen to music, but much better to just enjoy it for its own sake.

I was too lazy to read all the other responses, so sorry if this was already said

CoderGal

I found cardio that I actually liked doing. For me, that meant not on a machine.

This. And since you like lifting, I recommend trying some sort of HIIT for your cardio.

Personally, I like hiking for the scenery. Can't give up when you're half way done that way haha.

Capt_Apollo

i take my cardio outdoors. i can't do more than a mile on a treadmill. but outdoors i love taking in the scenery. also, i've been running without music more and more. it's really something that has become very zen for me. or if i do use music, it's usually epic film scores.