🔥 8 better cardio alternatives to running

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Welcome to The BarBend Newsletter! Here’s what’s going on in today’s newsletter:

• Dumbbell leg workouts for killer wheels

• How to get in your cardio without running

• A review of OWYN premade protein drinks

Workouts

Flash Some Leg

Dumbbells can often seem like the all-star of upper body day, but they can often be forgotten during leg training. Loaded leg presses and brutal sets of heavy squats may seem like the only option for layering intensity, but the humble dumbbell offers some of the best leg workouts you’ve ever experienced. And we’re here to teach you all about it.

Far from just being a crutch to lean on when you don’t have access to a full gym, training your legs with dumbbells can give you just about all you can handle. Using a single dumbbell in the “goblet squat” position provides you with a way to squat with a load nearer your center of gravity than a barbell back squat, loading your legs and activating your core. Then there are killer moves like the Bulgarian split squat and Romanian deadlift that will tax your legs from your quads through your hammies.

Check out our five favorite dumbbell leg exercises for goals like fat loss, muscle gain, and more!

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Cardio

Runner’s Sigh

Let’s face it, aside from a few sick people who really ought to get some help, the rest of the rational human world hates running. Since the marketing powers behind Big Shoes have stuffed the idea that “running = cardio” into our heads since the 1970s, you can be somewhat forgiven for spending most of your life thinking that conditioning just has to suck.

Well, let’s take a little money out of Phil Knight’s pocket and come to our own conclusions about cardiovascular training. Can’t do it on your own? Discover these cardio alternatives to running, approved by a personal trainer.

Getting your heart rate up and blood pumping can take many different forms, from the tranquility of walking through nature to the fun, party atmosphere of a group fitness class. Not everyone was born to run, so don’t let the monotony of slogging through a jog be the boss of you. Check out these eight cardio alternatives and translate your joys into better health for your heart and lungs.

Reviews

OWYNed and Operated

Sadly not named after Glendower or any other hero from the sovereign states of Wales, Only What You Need (OWYN) offers a high-quality, premade protein that seeks to rival conventional DIY powder mixes.

In this review from BarBend’s team of product experts, we examine how this convenient, “pop it and chug it” mixture holds up. From its vegan ingredients to its essential amino acid-rich blend, does this on-the-go protein infusion make cleaning stinky shaker bottles obsolete? Find out if your taste buds, wallet, and macro needs all converge in a thousand points of light onto this protein shake.

Poll

How Do You Cardio?

Quick Hits

🛷 Push This: Twenty years after EliteFTS began selling the Prowler sled — and 19 years, 11 months after the term “Prowler flu” was used to describe the post-workout nausea caused by brutal sessions — the iconic push sled remains one of the most disgusting pieces of fitness equipment ever designed. If you have a strong desire to get fit while also, paradoxically, hating your life, you need to check out the unique benefits of the Prowler.

💪 Mutate Into This: We don’t know exactly what Darwin would say about Nick Walker’s 24-inch arms, but it’s a reasonable assumption he would, at the very least, be somewhat impressed. Nick shares his two pet exercises that are helping him escort his huge guns back to the Olympia this year.

🏋️ (Don’t) Bench This: We love the barbell bench press here at BarBend. Everyone does, right? Well, count six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates as someone who absolutely loathes this gym staple. Check out why he hates the flat barbell bench and see if you agree.

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