Ways to do cardio indoors

username4321

Hi there!
I have been trying to get fit and have been going on walks with bursts of running (im not fit enough for continual running for long periods yet) grand and I'm enjoying it. I also do some toning exercises at home and running up the stairs too.

However, with the vile weather I havent been able to get outside my door!
Also I cant run the wet weather because Ive eczema in my ears and the wind hurts a lot.

I know that running up and down the stairs is cardio but it gets really tedious as you can imagine.
I can't afford a gym membership. There is a park near me so walking and running is ideal but what is a good way of doing cardio indoors when you cant go outside?

I have one fitness dvd but its not great tbh and very boring.

Sorry if this is a really silly thing to ask!!

cardio,shoot me

Burpees!!!

skelliser

if ya can afford it and are committed to using it get a elliptical trainer/cross-trainer. i think they are brilliant for cardio.
i have one and i use it every weekday for 30-45 minutes for a quick cardio blast.

ronbyrne2005

As above, theres loads of workouts on youtube, try a few, do lunges, bodyweight squats etc.
Why cant you wear earmuffs or hooded jacket outdoors?

username4321

Ive tried burpies and running on the spot etc but never last more than 15 mins, maybe Im just really unfit?

Sorry I don't mean to come across like a complete div, this forum is really intmidating.
How much would a decent 2nd hand cross trainer cost??

skelliser

around 100-150 euro, i got mine for ~120, i think

cardio,shoot me

Thats the point dude, burpees are meant to be hard, if you can last 15 minutes at first, thats good,means they are hard for you. Cardio doesnt have to be hours on end. Just keep doing burpees, bodyweight squats, push ups, ledge dips until you cant go anymore, take a 5 minute break and do more. Keep pushing yourself and you will get fitter.

LimeFruitGum

I've never heard of burpies, I must look that up :-)

I got a pedometer last week and it has been pretty interesting (in my nerdy way) to see how much walking you clock up in a regular day. They're only 10-15 quid.

CatFromHue

you could try skipping
a skipping rope is about a fiver
or try circuits training, 8-12 exercises i.e. push ups, lunges, burpess, running up the stairs...... etc. and have say 30 sex break between each exercise. do say 3 sets in total.
doesnt sound like much but its a killer

jumpguy

I agree with the skipping rope idea, excellent cardio, although if you're crap at skipping (like me) most of the cardio can come from the rage of tripping over the rope.

neilmct.com

kettlebell / skipping rope and a timer


home gym for less than £100 - just add in some bodyweight stuff and you are good to go !

CatFromHue

hmmm with a name like jump guy i thought you'd agree with the skipping idea
its pretty tricky to start off alright, try 1 min going forward, then 1 min backward, then 1 min on either leg.
do that a few times a week and after a few weeks you'll only be throwing the rope across the room in a rage once or twice!!

Wobbuffet

CatFromHue wrote: »

try circuits training, 8-12 exercises i.e. push ups, lunges, burpess, running up the stairs...... etc. and have say 30 sex break between each exercise.

Well that'd definitely be a strong indoor cardio workout!:D

MissRibena

Maybe not your cup of tea but exercise DVDs have my vote. I'd get bored just jumping around on my own but somehow having the DVD makes it less so. Karen Voight does good (American) ones and Billy Blanks' TaeBo ones are really great. Most celeb ones are rubbish but Davina McCall's and Nell McAndrew's are fairly tough too and include good strength exercises. I have a load of them and work out a full week's schedule based on DVD's and building up my running on the non-DVD days. I change it round when it gets easier and to avoid boredom.

I've seen Tony Harton's P90X series get great reviews on American sites. This looks 'man friendly' to me and it's in my wishlist on amazon.

Obviously you have to be sensible and use your own knowledge to fill in any gaps in the instruction (sometimes form on strength exercises is very poor on DVDs). But I can honestly say that I work out far harder in my sitting room than I ever did in the gym and I can do boxing, aerobics, gym ball, pilates, yoga, dance, 'bootcamp' and strength exercises in the comfort of home.

It's not expensive - €10 or €15 would get you one easily. A heart rate monitor would be no harm to make sure you're pushing yourself enough too.

Killme00

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

Burpees!!!

*100

Colm_OReilly

www.simplefit.org might be a good one for you. Exercise routines that get progressively harder as you improve.

You'll need a pull up bar but you can pick one up from Argos for less than €15 I'd say.

aye

CatFromHue wrote: »

you could try skipping
a skipping rope is about a fiver
or try circuits training, 8-12 exercises i.e. push ups, lunges, burpess, running up the stairs...... etc. and have say 30 sex break between each exercise. do say 3 sets in total.
doesnt sound like much but its a killer

I'm starting a circuit class next week in Stillorgan if your interested.

http://www.smartfitness.ie/classes.html


Otherwise buy a skipping rope from ebay, a good one, not one in lifestyle.
as cardio said, burpees are great.

BossArky

username4321 wrote: »

with the vile weather I havent been able to get outside my door!

If you are really stuck indoors then the following may help motivate you. Nelson Mandela did a lot of running on the spot when imprisoned. The following details Wolfie Kodesh talking him out of running around outdoors in a white's only area.

Wolfie Kodesh in Life underground with Mandela wrote:

About 5:00 in the morning, I woke up and heard these camp stretchers squeak ... I looked and I saw him sitting on the end of the stretcher, putting on long-johns, and then the suits ... that athletes use ... and I said to him, "Well, what's going on here?" He said, "I am going to start running" ... I said, "Well, I am not going to give you the key to go out. You can't go running around." Then he got up, in his tracksuit, and he started running on the spot.

So that was his running. I thought, "Oh well, if you want to run on the spot, good luck to you. I am going to sleep." I went to sleep and about a half an hour afterwards I woke up again, and he's still running on the spot ... sweating and heaving and it went on for about an hour, this performance, and each time I just turned over and went to sleep again.

At the end of it all, I noticed he did a few frog jumps across the flat, jumping up ... he had his hands out like this, and he jumped so that he could kick his hands underneath ... that took at least an hour. So I said, "That's all right, you can do this but not me." He says, "No, tomorrow ... you going to join me" ...


So came the 'morrow ... and I got into a tracksuit, and I ran for about a quarter of an hour. I was quite fit, but not as fit as all that, to do this. Then by the time the end of his stay with me, I was doing an hour. He did more than an hour. He did about two hours, I think. The whole performance. I was very thankful in a way, because when I went to confinement, that's what I did to keep fit. I ran on the spot ...

More here

Antisocialiser

Thank me later!

rubadub

username4321 wrote: »

. I also do some toning exercises at home and running up the stairs too.

If you want toning you should take up resistance exercise. I could not imagine doing cardio in my house, I cycle and walk everywhere I can, so I do a fair amount of cardio- but I do weights indoors.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

www.simplefit.org might be a good one for you. Exercise routines that get progressively harder as you improve.

You'll need a pull up bar but you can pick one up from Argos for less than €15 I'd say.

Yes that site is great, also gymnastic rings can give a great workout with very little equipment involved. THe removable chinup bar on irish lifting is down to €40 now
http://www.irish-lifting.com/product_info_equipment.php?products_id=270

Antisocialiser wrote: »

Thank me later!

Thats a killer forearm workout

edges

Antisocialiser wrote: »

Thank me later!

Thankyou!

Burned a few calories watching that!!!