5 reasons that treadmills and elliptical suck

Now that I pissed off all of the treadmill and elliptical worshipers...
let me say that if you truly enjoy mindlessly pumping away on a
treadmill or elliptical (or exercise bike for that matter too), then by all
means, keep doing what you enjoy, because enjoying your exercise is one
of the most important aspects to sticking with any exercise program...

However, don't say that I didn't warn you that you were wasting your
time with all that mindless cardio machine boredom.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I don't believe in cardio machines,
and to be quite honest, I don't think I've personally used a treadmill,
elliptical, or exercise bike for at least the last 7-8 years or so.

As a matter of fact, I don't even use cardio machines anymore for
warmups before a workout (did before occasionally)... Nowadays, I prefer to
do dumbbell or kettlebell snatches and swings mixed with bodyweight
exercises as the perfect full body warmup at the beginning of my workouts.

Why do I have such hatred for cardio machines? Well, here goes:

1) Boooooring!

2) Mindless steady state exercise while watching tv or reading creates
a mind/body disconnect resulting in poor results

3) I've seen studies that indicated that treadmill running may be less
effective than outdoor running for various reasons such as stride
abnormalities on treadmills vs natural running, slightly less caloric burn
compared to outdoor running, etc.

(although I never recommend just "jogging" anyway... variable intensity
walks/runs or sprints are so much more effective, training your heart
rate in a much wider range instead of just the same pace the whole
time).

4) They're ridiculously expensive and a waste of money for people that
workout at home... there's so many better things for home workouts you
could have spent your money on rather than wasting it on a treadmill,
bike, or ellip.

The perfect home gym setup is MUCH cheaper... there's no reason you
need anything other than a jump rope, bodyweight exercises, a few
dumbbells, stability ball, maybe a few kettlebells (if you want to get fancy),
and perhaps high tension bands for some more variety.

Some great adjustable dumbbells such as these below can save you big
time cash if you're setting up a home gym - http://tinyurl.com/3rqtha

5) Treadmills and ellipticals are just a very ineffective way to
workout compared to other options. Why should you do treadmill or elliptical
workouts when you can get better results by doing more interesting
forms of training that actually stimulate a fat-burning hormonal response
and stimulate your metabolism to a greater extent.

So what are the alternatives to treadmills and ellips? Some of my
favorites:

*jumping rope - great mind/body connection (try speed jumping, crosses,
double jumps once you get skilled at it)

*bodyweight training - bw squats, pushups, lunges, jumps, bear crawls,
mountain climbers and jumpers, planks, and the list goes on and on

*kettlebell training - nothing will get your heart pounding like high
repetition KB swings and snatches or clean & presses (can be done with
dumbbells too, but I prefer KBs)

*outdoor wind sprinting (the ultimate for a rock hard ripped body...
just look at the chiseled powerful bodies of world class sprinters, and
compare that to the weakling withered physique of a typical
marathoner... nuff said!)

*hill sprinting (yet another classic for a rock hard powerful body)

*rowing machine (ok, I don't really lump this in as a "cardio" machine
like treadmills and ellips... I think the rowing machine is actually a
great full body workout that actually uses resistance)

*sprint style swimming (a more muscular workout than steady state
distance swimming... I actually love the upper body pump I get from sprint
style swimming) - this is the same concept as sprinting vs jogging but
in a pool instead

*heavy bag punching/kicking workout, speed bag, rebound bag... all
great forms of training and much more interesting than boring cardio
machines (requires an intense mind/body connection)

*shadow boxing... awesome workout, but if you're shy, this is best done
at home since you'll get some crazy stares doing this at a typical gym
from people who think they're "too cool" for stuff like that.

FYI - don't forget that my friend Craig Ballantyne is still offering
his extra bonuses until the end of the day Wednesday eastern time...

and they actually include new bonuses for bodyweight workouts,
kettlebell workouts, bikini-ready workouts for the ladies, and muscle-building
workouts for the dudes. Check it out

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