Rise and Exercise

When people say cardio the first word that comes into mind is aerobics, soon after that I start thinking about yoga, and Tai Chi and want-to-be workouts that— common let’s be honest— don’t really count. Cardio was never meant to have such bad connotations; in fact, it is actually the number one doctor recommended item to be improved upon. When it comes down to it cardio is all in the intensity.  So the bloggers here at Rise and Exercise got together and devised a few simple ways to increase intensity during your workouts.

• Harder is smarter.

When it comes down to it, not just in exercise but in life, harder is actually smarter.  You want better grades, well shoot try harder.  You want more money, work harder.  You want a better physique, yup, you guessed it.  Harder is smarter.

So instead of prancing around for a little while on your yoga mat get outside and run, not to dis yoga some types can be very effective.  However the kind you are doing in your living room, probably isn’t taxing you the same way an instructed session would, just trying to be honest is all.

• Pump up the volume.

As it turns out psychologist say that music can actually aid you, by helping you to help yourself lose weight.  Turns out those hard core rock and roll bands aren’t the bad influence everyone thinks they are. (Truthfully, they probably are a bad influence.) Research suggests that music will do a number of things for you. One of which, create a pseudo-mutant endurance sort of like Beast from X-men.  Music has also been shown to reveal a measurable amount of mood modification. Hmm. Go figure.

Mainly what you need to do is get a big fancy pair of head phones, turn your Ipod to full blast and then continue on by trying to blow your eardrums out of your skull. During the time your brain is being bombarded with loud synthetic poly-dynamic rhythms, try to pay attention to what your body is doing. – We are legally obligated to state loud music may cause hearing loss.

This is how you pump up the volume.

• Sound Sleep.

Many people consider this to be a valuable waste of time.  However, it is valuable, but it is not a waste.  Turns out, not sleeping is more of a waste than sleeping is.  Getting a good eight hours of sleep a night is going to provide you with a lot more energy during the day, the type of energy you can only get rid of by hardcore intensive cardio exercise.