Other kinds of cardio exercises?

[tehk]

I know there are several health/exercise experts here, so my question is simply "Are there any kind of cardio exercises one can do that exclude running/biking/stair climbing + anything that has to do with leg movement?"

Here's the reason:
Lately I've been experiencing soreness (and pain) in my leg joints, and when I went to see a doctor, they said that I was suffering from a case of "wear and tear" and that my joints were very weak. To give you an idea of my situation, everytime I take a step, my joint "cracks" where the leg connects to my pelvis (similar to the cracking of a knuckle in your hand). They adviced me to stop doing exercises that would extensively use my legs.

Throughout my diet + training regiment, I have lost approx 70+ lbs, and gain a fiar bit of muscle (lost a bit now due to lack of weight training.. heh.. damn Thanksgiving threw me off! lol). I still have alittle bit of excess fat (especially in my gut around), and because of my experience, I know the importance of cardio exercise.

I know swimming is a good cardio exercise that won't strain my joints, however there aren't really any pools available in my area. So any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Jason]

Hmmm...I prefer to use a eliptical machine myself but I think that still would be no good..My only suggestion would be circuit training. Other than that I'm kinda drawing a blank..Also would this help you out at all??

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17222

 

[Leon]

swimming is the best i can think of. it utilizes almost all of the muscles in the body, is virtually non-impact, and you get to oogle chicks in swim suits. all things that will get your blood pumping

 

[tehk]

all things that will get your blood pumping

 

[kmanick]

I's go with swimming too.
I'm doing a 1/2 marathon in March so I've been going back and forth between running and using an Elliptical machine. I have a pool at my house so in the summer I swin a lot more
Also try this
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...7027?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1
I was experiencing severe joint pain about 6 months ago. I started taking one a day and in 2 weeks my joint pain dissapeared.
Great stuff.

 

[Drew]

If you have joint problems, finding a pool is probably the way to go.

Also, while it's probably a little cold in your neck of the woods for this, kayaking is one of my personal favorites - it's a great arm workout that also really kicks up your heartrate.

Finally [YourMajesty] sex is supposed to be an excellent cardio workout, provided you have any endurance worth speaking of [/YourMajesty].

 

[darren]

There are recumbent bikes, and i've also seen "arm bikes" that work essentially like an exercise bike, but you work your arms.

 

[nitelightboy]

I'd have to say go for the pool. After I blew out my knew, my physical therapist strongly recommended swimming some laps (after a few months of recovery of course) since it's VERY low impact on joints, and utilizes virtually every muscle in the body. My mom started doind some pool exercises after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and it's really helped her alot. Plus pools kick ass.

 

[ScareRaven]

If you can skip rope, then do it. It's easy to break a sweat and good for the legs (not so much for the knees unless you've got good shoes), and also good for the wrists and forearms.

Decent shit man. I usually don't have time for treadmills and elipticals before working out, so this works just fine.

 

[usagi]

Are you stretching afterwards? Doing the right stretches will ease the pain and doing the wrong stretches can actually cause the pain. For years I did straddle stretches. When I quit my knees stopped hurting.