No treadmill? No problem. Here are 8 ways to do cardio that aren’t running. All are guaranteed to burn a ton of calories and crank up that heart rate.

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Cardio gets a bad rap with a lot of my fellow coaches. It’s one of those often misunderstood aspects of health. Similar to another C-word. 

I’m talking about carbohydrates. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Yes you can eat carbs and still lose weight. And I promise that you will do much better in life if you perform some cardio.

Where many people get into trouble is buying into the zealotry of either swearing off cardio altogether or treating cardio as the only method in which to burn fat. 

I’ve already gone over why cardio should never be your primary driver in the journey of losing weight, feeling good and looking great. Remember, that’s always gonna be about that calorie deficit.

Strength training is the superior activity in terms of building up your total daily energy expenditure (or TDEE). This simply means that strengthening muscles leads to better calorie burn and a slightly faster metabolism.

In other words, you’ll burn more calories at rest if you have better and stronger muscles at your disposal.

Great, so where does cardio come into play? As a fantastic sidekick in the journey.

And make no mistake about it, just like Frodo needed Samwise and Batman needs Robin, you’ve got to have that sidekick in order to defeat the forces of evil once and for all.

So in short: You should be doing cardio. 

In this article, I’ll break down a few ways to do cardio that aren’t running. No need for a treadmill or elliptical or whatever piece of cardio equipment you have collecting dust in your garage:

• Why cardio is important for overall health (and fat loss)
• How much cardio you actually need in order to boost your health and performance
• My favorite ways to do cardio that aren’t running
• A few sample cardio routines you can perform today (no treadmill or elliptical required)

Let’s get into it.

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The Undercover Benefits of Cardio

Steady state cardio improves your performance in the weight room. It also burns calories.

And yeah, by the way, it increases your stamina when you’re ready for the sexy time with your partner.

I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t all want to improve at each and every one of these ways to do cardio that aren’t running. Both are much more fun and creative.

Just sayin.

A few additional bonuses to cardio activity:

• It’s easier than strength training and much safer (and less technical) than having to worry about proper form with heavy weights
• Increases lung capacity
• Builds cardiovascular endurance
• Improves blood flow
• Promotes better sleep
• Reduces the risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some forms of cancer

A well-rounded fat loss program should include all methods of improving health. That means hitting your calories and protein. It means getting stronger in the gym. And it means adding in some cardiovascular movement.

What good is it to look awesome and be strong enough to pick up your kids if you can’t keep up with them when your toddler takes off running in the playground or at the park anyway?

Everyone should be performing some kind of cardio.

How much do you need?

A few times per week is enough to see the benefits and bolster your fat loss efforts. But, I’d prefer you find some time to move every single day, though.

However, that might be a tad unsustainable for your schedule.

The key is to find the right form of movement that works for you, and your goals, and your lifestyle.

My favorite ways to do cardio that aren’t running

Low Impact Cardio (Walking)

The most available and free and easy to execute form of exercise is oftentimes to the most overlooked.

Simply get up off your ass and walk around.

Seriously. That’s it.

Walking is my favorite form of cardio. For good reason:

• It’s low impact––walking does not batter the knees, back, and other joints the way a traditional jogging or running session does.
• I can multitask while walking––use the time to catch up on an audiobook or a podcast while burning some calories.
• It’s meditative––Instead of trying to consume content all of the time (like you’re doing right now and like we do most of the time in our constantly plugged in society), use the time to instead unplug. Crank up a guided walking meditation. Or, here’s a novel idea: just turn off all of the electronics, leave ‘em at home and opt to experience the sights and sounds of the area on your own.
• Walking can be done just about anywhere––sure, I live in the most walkable city in the world (New York), but stop thinking that you need to live in a metropolitan city in order to get moving.

If you’re stuck inside at a sedentary job, you can still opt to move the legs by walking the hallways, taking the stairs or simply marching in place.

My suggestion and recommendation for all of my online coaching clients is to aim for at least one daily walk of about 20-30 minutes at a clip. Yes, you can conceivably break this up if you absolutely have to do so.

Ideally, you’d want to build this up to about 45 minutes per day.

From a calorie burning perspective, it’ll really improve your fat loss progress once you make this a priority.

Sprinting (Uphill, Up the Stairs, or in the Sand)

One of the best wide receivers to ever play the game of football is a shining example of how amazing a few wind sprints up an incline can be for your health and performance.

Jerry Rice, aka The GOAT (or Greatest Of All Time) was famous for his six days per week personal workout routine. Which included hours spent running about five miles every morning along a hilly trail.

Nothing special here. Just some traditional steady state cardio work through a few trails and paths.

What set these workouts apart from the rest were how he would find the highest, baddest hill along the way and then perform 10 all-out 40-yard sprints up the hill.

Here’s more on the GOAT’s conditioning program.

It helped shape him into the future Hall of Famer that would go on to crush records still held by him today:

• Receptions (1,549);
• Receiving yards (22,895 yards);
• Most 1,000-yard receiving seasons (14);
• and Total touchdowns (208).

For those that don’t care about football, those above numbers are stupid good.

Sprinting up a hill or up the stairs are actually safer on the joints and back. And both promote more activation in your glutes, too. Opting for sprints in the sand challenges your feet and core to stabilize yourself against the uneven surfaces.

All options are far more challenging than your traditional sprints on a flat surface.

You do not need to train like a professional athlete to get the benefits of sprinting, or even up-hill sprinting. Simply pick a day out of your week and aim to run for a distance or time that you find challenging.

You’re looking for a perceived level of exhaustion of about a 7-9 on a 10-point scale (with 10 being you want a White Walker to impale your lungs with a frozen spear to survive the pain).

Do this once or twice per week to really reap the benefits of maximum cardiovascular output.

Jumping Rope

It’s not just for kids anymore.

Thanks to the folks doing all of the double-unders at their local CrossFit Boxes, jumping rope is back in fashion for grown-ups, too.

For good reason.

Skipping or jumping rope is efficient, burns a ton of calories and requires only one piece of equipment.

You do not have to be a master of the rope skips or even have your double-under perfected to reap the benefits of this cardio method. In fact, if this is your first go-around since you were in grade school P.E. Class (do they even have P.E. Class anymore?), you’re going to suck at it.

Embrace the suck. Keep practicing. You’ll get better over time.

Here’s a quick circuit you can incorporate on your conditioning days or as a finisher after your main strength workout:

Circuit 1
Jump rope (30 seconds), rest (30 seconds)
Repeat five times total

Circuit 2
Jump rope (40 seconds), rest (20 seconds)
Repeat five times total

Circuit 3
Jump rope (30 seconds), rest (30 seconds)
Repeat five times total

Rest 30-60 seconds between each circuit. The total workout should last about 16-20 minutes, depending on the rest intervals.

Kettlebell Swings

If you’re looking for a minimal home gym setup, there are few pieces of equipment that can provide as much flexibility as the kettlebell.

Kettlebells are fantastic for conditioning work.

But we’re going to focus solely on the Swing. It’s my favorite kettlebell movement … for good reason.

When performed properly––and not like some weird looking slow-motion squat––the explosive hip drive of the kettlebell works the entire body, with emphasis on the posterior chain.

That’s the booty, in case you were wondering.

Be sure to grab an appropriately-sized kettlebell. I’m just not a fan of anything lighter than about 25-30 pounds. Those pink 5-pound kettlebells are an insult to our existence.

Once you’ve got a good KB in hand, get to work with the following setup(s):

• Set a timer for 10 minutes and perform as many KB Swings as possible with perfect form. Rest only as needed. Terminate the workout if/when form begins to break down.
• Crank out as many KB Swings as possible in 30 second intervals with 15-30 seconds of rest in between for 5-10 minutes as a finisher to your strength programming.
• Aim to perform 100 KB Swings as fast as possible with good form. Time yourself and beat your score the next time through.

Lift Weights Faster

If you enjoy picking up heavy shit but loathe the idea of running or jogging in place for extended periods of time, good news: you can still get a cardiovascular workout by lifting.

The key is to perform at a high level of effort and intensity. Then you’ll need to focus on an interval or duration of effort that is consistent with shorter rest periods. In other words, no time to check TikTok in between your working sets. This is all about maximizing the time you have with as much work as possible.

The short rest periods maximize calorie burn and boost metabolic rate, both during and after the workout. This period of recovery is just enough to allow for as close to maximum performance in that next period of intense work. And that is what we should all be aiming for: maximum performance.

Take this following circuit for a spin and you’ll feel like you just ran a few windsprints up a hill with Jerry Rice.

1. DB Push Press x 10 reps
2. Alternating Reverse Lunges x 12 reps/side
3. DB Alternating Row x 10 reps/side
4. Plank x 60 seconds
5. Walkout to Push-up x 12 reps

Instructions: Perform each movement (1-5) in order for 3 total rounds, resting 20 seconds between each exercise in round one, 30 seconds between each exercise in round two, and 45 seconds between each exercise in round three. Rest 45 seconds between each circuit.

Sled Work, Tire Flipping or Battle Ropes

These garage-gym, dungeon-style workout routines with unconventional equipment can make things really fun and add some variety to your plan.

The key is to treat the various forms of new style equipment usage as cardio, not primary methods of strength training.

When you add them in as a finisher or conditioning tool, you’ve got the perfect companions to lifting heavy shit a few times per week.

Grab something heavy that can slide on a surface of your choosing. Then spend a few minutes pushing and pulling that heavy object around.

If you have access to a huge and heavy spare tire, that works, too.

Or you can opt for a round of battle ropes.

Talk about full-body conditioning. Every single fiber of your being is involved in these kinds of movements.

Set a timer for 20-30 minutes and go to work pushing, pulling and/or flipping and throwing things as much as possible with minimal rest. A setup could look like this:

• Tire Flips
• Battle Ropes
• Sled Pushes
• Sled Pulls

Perform each movement for one minute, rest for one minute, and then continue to the next exercise. Complete as many rounds as possible in 20-30 minutes.

Complexes

Complexes are some of my favorite ways to do cardio that aren’t running. They’re a fantastic conditioning tool. If you’re new to this type of training, here’s a quick primer:

A complex routine consists of exercises strung together in seamless movement patterns that typically work the entire body. You perform a complex by picking up a barbell, dumbbells or kettlebells and flowing in and out of the various movements without putting down the weight.

Complete the assigned reps for each movement in the complex flow before taking a minimum amount of rest and then repeating for several rounds.

A lot of coaches use complexes as a strength building routine. But, I think that’s flawed. You should still focus on the progressive overload traditional model of strength training (like I explain in more depth in this article) as your core programming.

Complexes should be treated as a form of high intensity cardio. And therefore should not be performed more than 1-2 times per week.

Why are complexes so awesome?

Let’s break it down:

• Increased endurance
• Increased fat loss
• Spiked EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption … this allows fat loss to continue long after your workout is over)
• Lean muscle development

All of those benefits come into play with just 25 minutes of work. Granted, it’s a strenuous and pretty taxing 25 minutes of movement. But complexes should be on everyone’s programming if you’re someone with a tight schedule hoping to maximize your time with a surefire routine to kick some ass.

Let’s set the scene with a couple of complexes to get you started:

Complex 1: Barbell
1 – Romanian Deadlift 5 x 8
2 – Bent-over Row 5 x 6-8
3 – Curl 5 x 4-8
4 – Push Press 5 x 6-10
5 – Front Squat 5 x 6-12

Complex 2: Dumbbell
1 – Hip Hinge to Row 6 x 8
2 – Hammer Curl to Overhead Press 6 x 8
3 – Front Loaded Squat 6 x 8
4 – Alternating Reverse Lunges 6 x 8
5 – Farmer’s Carries 6 x 8

Boom. Two brutal complexes that can get you started on your journey.

If you want to play around with the rep schemes and sets/rounds, you could increase the number of total rounds or reps.

Likewise, the rep schemes do not have to be the same for every movement.

The key to making the complex work for you is to find the right amount of weight and schedule the appropriate number of reps to go along with that resistance.

Ideally, you’d pick the most taxing weight for the most difficult movement in the sequence.

For example: You might be able to crush 195 pounds on the front squat, but struggle to put up 95 pounds on the overhead press. In this scenario, you’ll choose the weight that allows you to lift the relevant resistance for the press. To increase the difficulty of the front squat, you’d simply add more reps to that exercise.

In other words, it’s totally cool if you’re cranking out 15 reps of the front squat per round, while aiming for 5-6 reps on that overhead press.

Get creative with it. Take control of your workout.

Sex

All movement counts, right?

Look, even if you’ve lacked the stamina to stay strong for a marathon session, doing some horizontal hip thrusts with your partner is a great way to burn calories, relieve stress and bond with your significant other.

Oh yeah, it’s also fun. Duh.

Although, it’s important to note that slamming away like a jackhammer is probably not the idea of an awesome time for most women. Just saying, fellas. Marathon sessions can actually be quite overrated.

Anywho.

If you’ve been practicing the above ways to do cardio that aren’t running, you’ve likely been able to increase your stamina for this cardio sweat session.

As your coach, I always recommend tracking your progress on the key movement patterns. Therefore, you should probably practice this activity quite often in order to check improvements in technique, form, stamina, etc.

You now have an excuse to go do some fun stuff with your consenting partner of choice.

And it’s all in the name of good cardiovascular health.

Let me show you additional ways to do cardio that aren’t running … 

I’m here to help you out. 

If you have any questions, reach out. I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “Ways to do cardio that aren’t running” and I’ll answer any questions you have to make this work for you.

Or you can hit me up anytime on the socialz on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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