What do you do when you can't do cardio?

Tomorrow is a rest day from cardio and I found out the hard way that jump roping counts and I can't do that on non-cardio days since my legs can't take it. So my question is what do I do tomorrow? I need something that burns some calories that isn't of my normal activities but usually i go on the treadmill or elliptical or bike or something. So what now?

Do cardio anyways? or lift.  Doing cardio 6 days a week wont hurt you.

try some strength training-- lifting weights, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. BUT be sure to do a short warm up (5 min cardio) and stretch out really well first ( if you stretch in under 5 minutes it is NOT enough) or you can hurt yourself. (Mild stretching afterwards is always a good idea too.)

I found this out AFTER I injured my rotator's cuff (shoulder).

Good luck!!

Lift weight. Or take a day off.  Do you take any days off? If not you should.

You're going to think this is crazy, but I took up belly dancing a couple of years ago for the same reason. I have stress fractures in both legs due to high school sports and can't do 5 or 6 days of cardio. You might check at your gym and see what types of dance classes are offered, but belly dancing is not only great for building muscle (and getting rid of love handles and toning the hard-to-work tummy area) but gets your heart-rate up, builds core strength, and is FUN! Do it for an hour and you'll be amazed at how tired you are. Do it for a few weeks, and you'll notice the muscles in your abdomen are beginning to tone. The best part is that you don't need to go to the gym to do it - you can do it if you have 10 minutes free on a lunch break or if it's raining outside and you don't want to go out. If you get advanced, you can even do belly rolls and some other moves while walking, driving (and even laying in bed!).

You also might consider doing yoga or pilates to build core strength. The new muscle will burn more calories and you'd be surprised at how much your heart rate goes up! There is nothing better than burning calories AND building muscle at the same time! Oh, and the weight loss isn't a bad side effect either!

Hope that helps :)

go for a nice long walk. thats what i do on a day that is non-cardio non-lifting. or like others have noted - if you don't already lift weights it would be a good start~

 

Yeah, I did some extra walking today between classes and I walked to the store.

I would love to learn how to belly dance, have you seen the show shimmy? If I could get that online I would probably watch it and workout with it, since I don't have a tv.

I am trying to get into weights bu the nearest place is the gym, which I work at and I know nothing about them. I wouldn't mind if I could grab some for my room and follow along with a video to learn what I am actually suppose to be doing.

We do have a yoga class twice and week on campus, on Mondays and Thursdays. I also think that we have a belly dancing class but I am not sure when it meets. I wouldn't mind going to either of them but it can be a real hassle having to take a bus back to campus after I get done with work.

I just realized that I probably should try to fit a class or two into my schedule between homework and studying. 

As for days off, I am not really sure. Mondays and Wednesdays, I go to the gym and go on the treadmill and elliptical.  I want to add a third day to that probably Friday or Saturday. I am just starting out working out and trying to fit everything in my schedule. 

I really don't like to take days off either unless I'm really exhausted. But when I do, I usually go for a friendly walk around the block or do my own little yoga at home. Sounds pretty gay, but I just turn on some music and "stretch" all different muscles for 20-30 mins to get completely loose.

Cardio can be done every day -- its the weights you need to rest from.  You can do a light cardio day -- like others have said do a nice leisurely walk or just hop on a bike and pedal you don't have to go all out every time you do a cardio workout in fact its good to do a light workout every so often.

You should row!
It is the best low impact, total body workout. It seems like no one ever considers doing it though. You should def. try it!