A Cardio Medley

You know, sometimes cardio doesn't have to be some detailed, carefully planned extravagance to be effective.

The other night I was driving home from Boot Camp and saw a beautiful lake with a dock. I pulled over and grabbed my jump rope. On the dock, there was a step for me to jump on (formally known as a seat or bench), stairs to run (that led to a gazebo) , and I had my jump rope. It was actually a tough little work out. Here's how it went:

Jump Rope: 2 minutes
Box Jumps (or you could box step ups with one leg at a time): 2 minutes
Jump Rope: 3 minutes
Box Jumps: 1 minutes
Stairs: 5x

I repeated that for about 30 minutes and my heart rate stayed up most of the time, besides the times I let it recover. It was fun and spontaneous, yet it didn't feel like a forced work out because I was at a beautiful lake with a fountain. Now that's Texas for ya, but I'm sure you can find something around your neighborhood that has a few landmarks that could make a great cardio workout. Just use your head and you'll be surprised what you can come up with :)

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Box step ups on electrical boxes (we did it the other night at Boot Camp, it was fun :)
  
• Stepping up and down on a curb as fast as you can for a minute
• Walking up and down your street with a 5 lb weight above your head. It's harder than it sounds, trust me
  
• Using a mailbox (most likely brick, and wide) to squat against for one minute
  
• Pull ups on monkey bars at a near by park (you may want someone to give you a lift)
  
• Stairs-anywhere, anytime, come on...