Cardio

rbccfields

I HATE cardio. I get 10 minutes in on the stair stepper or 10 on the treadmill at the highest incline. Anyone have any suggestions to how long a cardio session should be.. And how to make it fun? I just started my journey to a new life style, and help would be appreciated! Thank you!

IvanOcampo

i don't do cardio at the moment, but when i'm losing weight, i usually do things like spin classes.. sometimes i venture into other group fitness classes ..
more often than not, i do a 30 minute HIIT session, or sprint work on the treadmill (ie, run as fast as you can for 30 seconds, jog for 30 seconds, repeat for 30 minutes).

hncary

Maybe you would enjoy weight lifting or another form of exercise more? A lot of people on here don't really seem to like cardio. I personally enjoy it, but some ideas to help you get through it more easily- make a playlist that really gets you pumped up and excited to work out or watch a show that you really enjoy while you do it. If you really hate it though then I suggest maybe finding something you like better because you will be most likely to stick to something if you enjoy it.

trusty48

Not sure if this will help- but I try to do 30 minutes at a time on some kind of cardio machine. I try to use different machines all the time- alternating between the cycles, treadmills, ellipticals, arc trainers and stair climber. Since I'm always using a different machine it doesn't get quite as boring.

The other thing I try to do is distract myself while I'm doing it. I often play with my phone, listen to my favorite upbeat music and watch cooking shows while exercising. When I was in college, I would always try to read homework while I was on the cycle.

If you hate it- you might be trying to go to hard. There is nothing wrong with starting out with an easy pace. You will find that your endurance will build surprisingly fast.

Nyappykim

When I first started using the treadmill, I'd take turns running on one day and walking with an incline on the next day. For running days, I started off walking at a comfortable speed, and then kick up the speed and run for 2-3 minutes and repeat for 30 minutes. On walking with incline days, I'd just walk at a pace a little faster than my comfortable speed for 30 minutes at a decent incline. As I got used to it, I tried pushing myself and added more running time and less walking periods, or increased my incline and walking speed. After doing that for a couple of weeks, I just included them both during my now 60 minute cardio workout - run for as long as I can, and when I'm not running, switch to an incline until I'm ready to run again. I am absolutely exhausted halfway through, but once I'm finished, I feel terrific.

SnuggleSmacks

I pull up Netflix on my phone while I'm on the treadmill or elliptical. It's easier to go for longer if your mind is occupied.

LKArgh

rbccfields wrote: »

I HATE cardio. I get 10 minutes in on the stair stepper or 10 on the treadmill at the highest incline. Anyone have any suggestions to how long a cardio session should be.. And how to make it fun? I just started my journey to a new life style, and help would be appreciated! Thank you!

For health reasons alone (as in having a heart without problems) the minimum is about 15-30 minutes cardio per day, dependign on intensity. This is irrelevant of weight loss goals, increasing performance in sports etc. There is no added benefit from trying to make it hard, especially if you are only going to invest like 10-20 minites per day, the calories you are going to burn at the highest incline (I am assuming you are doing this to increase calories burned, apologies if I am wrong) will not really make a huge difference. If you hate cardio machines, just skip it completely and go for a walk or a jog or put on some music and dance, the benefits will be the same.

Marmitegeoff

If you do not like it you will not stick at it for long. Find something you love. I love cycling, I set myself a goal of 20 - 30 miles and find that I have done 40 when I get back, there is always something new to explore.

ThomasLangley83

As far as gym equipment is concerned, my favorite machine is a lateral machine. It has many different setting and challenges. Now if you're like me where I have a hard time getting to the gym regularly, you might look into kickboxing videos. I have 4 of them and I'll tell you. I shred fat like no tomorrow. I'm always looking for something different to keep it exciting.

peterjens

Do something you like to do - indoors or outdoors. A sign at our fitness club says to limit cardio machine to 20 minutes if people are waiting to use the machine - so that's how long I do cardio. Period.

RoxieDawn

If you hate cardio only doing 10 minutes each on two different machines..well I will say this...FIND SOMETHING YOU LOVE...

You have to make your own journey fun. I am lucky because my fitness goals went from walking in my neighborhood, to elliptical, recumbant bike, jogging and now I lift weights and still do cardio..

The more I tried to get moving the more I moved. The more I moved the more I wanted to get fit. The more I wanted to get fit, the more I wanted to look fit, feel good and look my muscles from time to time...LOL

ATTTITUDE is key here..

999tigger

rbccfields wrote: »

I HATE cardio. I get 10 minutes in on the stair stepper or 10 on the treadmill at the highest incline. Anyone have any suggestions to how long a cardio session should be.. And how to make it fun? I just started my journey to a new life style, and help would be appreciated! Thank you!

1. You dont need to do any exercise to lose weight, be at a calorific deficit and you will lose.
2. Its better if you do a mix of both cardio and resistance work if you wnat the full health benefits of exercise.
3. Cardio can be anything that gets you moving (no need for the gym) and ideally it should be raising your heart rate.
4. Having a strong heart is important for your general health.
5. Start wherever you are, at whatever level of fitness and just seek to improve. If you cna only do 5 minutes then try and do 6 or 7 the following week and build steadily. The calorie burn from 10-20minutes is not going to be large , maybe 75-150 (unless it was something intense).
6. Agree with the others that you need to find soemthing thats fun or you dont feel is exercise. Swimming, dancing, yoga, zumba, walking as an activity. Have variety.
7. Make it easier listen to music or a podcast.

The NHS suggests adults should be looking at 1h15m of vigorus activity per week or 2h30 mins of moderate activity.


ps i do a lot of ccardio as well as resistance. the cardio can be rewarding, it gets you more food, but also can make you feel a lot better as your health improves. the key is to keep at it and keep improving.

MeanderingMammal

rbccfields wrote: »

And how to make it fun?

Avoid doing it in the gym. I'm bored to tears after about 5 minutes on a dreadmill or a stationary bike. Go for a run outside, or go for a ride.

peter56765

Oftentimes we hate something simply because we're new to it and we're just not all that good at it yet. When I started, I couldn't even walk fast for more than 5 minutes without feeling winded. Instead of being invigorated by exercising, I felt like a failure. Give it time and don't rush to increase your intensity. You're not going to suddenly achieve good heart health after only a week or two. But if you stick to it, you will start to see and feel a difference not long after that.

In that vein of thinking, I'd be cautious with trying to make exercise into a 'fun' activity. Exercise is like an education: you get out of it what you put into it. It's never going to be fun in the way partying, eating or goofing off on the internet is fun. It's a slow process that requires effort and it only pays off in the long term. The flip side of "find an exercise that's fun to do" is "don't do it if it's not fun" - and therein lies the trap. I personally don't find ANY exercise to be all that much fun, but I do it for the same reason I brush my teeth, wash the dishes, go to work and take out the garbage: because it's the responsible thing to do. That's not to say that these things are always drudgery and you can't enjoy them or at least take satisfaction in doing them. It's just that you shouldn't really have the unreasonable expectation that "exercise should be fun".

beemerphile1

I hate treadmills and the like because they are so mind numbing. Now that the weather is improving, most days I am able to go outside and walk, bike, or run. The constantly changing scenery makes it much more enjoyable.

giusa

Here's great informative posts to read (without the fluff) to get started...the OP in each thread are very nice and answer any questions you may have...

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308750/so-you-want-to-start-lifting-great/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

teacton11

Remember when you were a kid and loved to go run and play OUTSIDE?

mwyvr

Nyappykim wrote: »

When I first started using the treadmill, I'd take turns running on one day and walking with an incline on the next day. For running days, I started off walking at a comfortable speed, and then kick up the speed and run for 2-3 minutes and repeat for 30 minutes. On walking with incline days, I'd just walk at a pace a little faster than my comfortable speed for 30 minutes at a decent incline. As I got used to it, I tried pushing myself and added more running time and less walking periods, or increased my incline and walking speed. After doing that for a couple of weeks, I just included them both during my now 60 minute cardio workout - run for as long as I can, and when I'm not running, switch to an incline until I'm ready to run again. I am absolutely exhausted halfway through, but once I'm finished, I feel terrific.

Really great answer.

To the original poster, if you were a runner in training starting at square one you would never start your program with steep hills or intense track intervals. Instead you'd focus on putting down a base to build on.

Try starting at pace and intensity that you can maintain for 30 minutes. If that's a brisk walk, so be it. Onward and upward from there!

As for making it fun, you might try to do your cardio outside. I dislike treadmills and stair machines but love running or walking or hiking or trail running outside.

If I was i doing my cardio indoors I'd turn to podcasts or music. Outside I don't run with phones on, partly for awareness and safety but mostly because I find the environment stimulating enough.

I did start my running off with music, months ago, but stopped because I found it distracting and got in the way of working on my form and pace. Still, early on when I was gasping and unable to run 1km without stopping, distraction was my friend!

_Waffle_

teacton11 wrote: »

Remember when you were a kid and loved to go run and play OUTSIDE?

I was buzzed by a few low flying geese this morning. They're so beautiful and when they flared their wings to land it made such a cool sound. I also saw the cutest baby ducks sitting under their mother's wing staying warm while I thought the light drizzle felt fantastic. A snake about to strike turned out to be a stick. LOL.

A.K.A. running outside. Not bored for a minute.

FitPhillygirl

I don't know that there is a set amount of time for doing cardio as everyone's level of fitness is different. I usually can do my HIIT workouts for 30 to 45 minutes, or steady state cardio for an hour or more.

TeaBea

rbccfields wrote: »

I HATE cardio. I get 10 minutes in on the stair stepper or 10 on the treadmill at the highest incline. Anyone have any suggestions to how long a cardio session should be.. And how to make it fun? I just started my journey to a new life style, and help would be appreciated! Thank you!

I used to use a treadmill. I parked a TV in front of it, stayed the course (for awhile). Other people will listen to audiobooks while using a piece of cardio equipment. If this is to be a new lifestyle change you have 2 choices: find a way to make it tolerable, and accept that this is not your favorite thing (like going to the Doctor) or move onto something else. Keep looking for the next thing. It can be a sports league, it can be outdoor activity. Find something you do like.

Cardio is just part of the equation - you don't need to do it everyday. Resistance training is important too.