Ask A Genius 1236: Why does Rick hate cardio?
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/01/08
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Why don’t you like cardio?
Rick Rosner: Why don’t I like cardio?
I don’t like cardio because it’s uncomfortable and boring. With weights, I used to read between sets at the gym before COVID-19, and that made the gym a little less boring. I’d only read for about 20 seconds to be courteous. I knock out my sets fast. Resting between sets is unnecessary unless you’re going for a max. If you’re trying to hit your maximum, you must wait about 90 seconds between sets to recover as you work up the ladder. Otherwise, do your sets—bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
Since COVID, I stopped reading between sets because I wanted to get in and out of the gym as quickly as possible. I can go to the gym and do 25-leg presses in eight minutes. Working out the way I do does not take a lot of time, but cardio takes time. It’s boring and uncomfortable, and I just don’t like doing it.
To do cardio properly, you have to push yourself to the point of discomfort. Also, one of my hips is borderline arthritic. It’s not severe, but I feel it if I try to run more than a hundred yards. I’m not in terrible cardio shape because the way I lift weights includes some cardio benefits—I don’t rest between sets. However, if I try to run more than a short distance, I risk irritating my hip. For all these reasons, I’m not a fan of cardio.
I do get some cardio. We live in a house with stairs, and one of my gyms has 42 steps between the ground and second floors. I’ll run up those. So, that’s my one nod to cardio.
Could I be in better cardio shape? Sure. Carol, for example, walks or hikes five to ten miles daily. When she visits our kid, there’s much walking involved. Her resting pulse is in the 40s, like 48. She’s in excellent shape. My resting pulse is around 72, maybe lower when lying down or sleeping. So I could improve.
That said, I get a ton of exercise the way I work out. It doesn’t involve much running, pedalling, or any of that other stuff.
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