Cardio Question

tbduarte

I am 350lbs and have high blood pressure. The options at my gym are bike, elliptical, lateral elliptic and treadmill. What should I do that I can start out slow and build up as my cardiovascular health gets better.

TR0berts

I'm not familiar with lateral elliptic.

But any of the others can fit what you've described. You can start at low intensity/resistance/speed/incline - depending on which piece of equipment - and increase as it becomes easier. Pick one and try it. If you like it, keep doing it. If not, try another until you find something you like.

BrianSharpe

I'd suggest mixing them up, depending on how long / how frequently you plan on going to the gym you can either divide up your sessions between two different pieces of equipment or 1 day bike, the next treadmill etc. to have a little variety and to cross train (biking compliments walking / running as both activities use different muscles)

As mentioned above, start out slowly and build up. Good luck!

jemhh

I would walk on the treadmill, 15-20 minutes to start, 3x/wk. Next week add 5 minutes or a fourth day of walking. Work up from there a little bit at a time and as you work up you can up your speed. Don't feel like you need to be speed walking at this time.

becca_rup23

Start with whatever you like the most! Then try to mix it up every now and then or go longer periods of time

HRKinchen

The bike and lateral would probably be kindest on the knees as you build strength. You could alternate between them to vary your workout.

pondee629

If you find that you prefer one over the others, (start out sampling each) use that one the most, be sure to mix it up a little. Just to keep variety. On any machine you pick to start, keep it easy, (if you can't sing "Happy Birthday to you" without getting out of breath, you're going too fast), don't knock yourself out at the start and increase your time on the machine, week by week, little by little, as you progress. You're looking for movement at an easy pace. Your "race", in the beginning, is not based on speed but rather on distance/time doing the exercise. Go longer, go slower, better than faster and shorter.

The easy answer to your question: "What should I do that I can start out slow and build up as my cardiovascular health gets better." The one that you will do regularly.

BeeerRunner

I would try them all and find out what works best for you. Elliptical and the bike will be lowest impact, but I typically burn more calories on the elliptical...probably because my arms are moving too.

Once you're comfotable in using each machine, I would also recommend using a hills or intervals workout on each so it's more challenging. If you walk on the treadmill, do the same where you raise the incline for a short duration.

I find it beneficial to use a variety of the cardio equipment so I work out different muscles and don't get too bored.