Here is a video of me juggling some kettlebells. I started with two 35 pound bells and moved down to one, so that I might do more tricks. Most people like to run for cardio, for some ungodly reason. Jim Wendler once said to ask yourself the following question: "Is what I am doing awesome?"
Gymnasts do awesome shit that most of us can't/don't do.
Picking up heavy shit is awesome too.
Certainly, getting your cardio with a weighted object is far better than wearing shitty padded shoes, and running besides smog blowing cars, especially while you're breathing heavily. Also, the good thing about lifting for cardio is that you can actually gain muscle and strength too, as opposed to losing both. Here's a good cardio feat: Steve Justa carried a 700lb Barbell for half a mile. He is a big advocate of carrying heavy shit.
Looks pretty awesome to me.
The point is, there are some things you can do to make your life more fun, you're training better, and your ego through the goddamn roof. In the world of lifting, this type of stuff is called GPP (general physical preparedness). It gets your heart going too, and it works out your core. So what can you do to get good cardio and not suck at life at the same time? Here are a few options:
Farmer's walks: Grab some heavy shit, preferably two things, one for each hand and walk a distance.
Pull a sled. Or something heavy. Some people do trucks, you can also do cars. Use a harness, attach to the object and walk.
Battle ropes. Take a thick rope, and grab it and use your whole body to shake the damn thing. I saw Bud Jeffries (www.strongerman.com) do this for fifteen minutes straight. You can also make a ton of dick jokes in process.
Carrying an atlas stone. An atlas stone is a big spherical stone. Carry it. Shoulder it. Do it all for a time period.
Flip a big ass tire. For time.
Swing/snatch/juggle kettlebells. Go for time. Try to increase your time every time. You can read more about what you can do with swinging kettlebells at www.strongerman.com as well. Bud lost over a hundred pounds by upping the ante on his swings, and watching his food consumption.
Swing a sledgehammer. Hit something rubbery, like a tire. I don't think I need to explain this one.
Carry a loaded barbell on your back. Walk with it.
Lock out a deadlift, and carry it somewhere.
The Jack Reape deadlift challenge. Deadlift 315lbs for however many reps you can in 30 minutes. My friend Faizal Enu RKC (http://faizalenu.blogspot.com/) managed 154 reps.
This is just a sampling of how to work your heart out and not suck it up. Obviously, many of you will enjoy one thing more than another. I enjoy the kettlebell work. It gives me nice goals to set, and a swell way to track my progress. Work with what you got. If you don't have some of things, you can use other things. Sandbags can substitute some things too. In Basque Country, one portion of their strongman competitions is to chop wood. If you don't have a sledge hammer and a tire, chop wood. These all work your core better than bosu balls. Fact of the matter is, any time you hold on to something heavy you have to work your core out. Get to it. Also, check out Bud's website and Faizal's blog. They are good friends, and directly responsible for my current strength levels.
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