Advice for cardio needed

morticia16

Hi. My fitness trainer that I meet every 6 weeks or so changed my cardio from treadmill and stationary bike to elliptical and recumbent bike. Elliptical is fine but I hate the sitting bike. She says it's good to change since the recumbent bike works different muscles (?). Anybody with some knowledge as to why I should give this recumbent thing a try? Otherwise I go back to good all stationary or treadmill...

Witchdoctor58

Go for high intensity interval training no more than every other day. Do other cardio intervening days if you do it daily. You can change cardio each time you workout. You can change a workout greatly on just a single piece of equipment, depending upon how you use it.

Go to the internet, to a site like fitnessblender, where you will find infinite ideas.

Boredom and hating the workout means you will not do it. You may need a different trainer if yours is too rigid.

rassha01

Cardio is for the heart and associated equipment, do what you like and will stick to for cardio. If you are going to try working muscles, do some strength training i.e. free weights!

kelseyhere

She's right that you should keep switching it up to work different muscles, but there is no point forcing yourself to do a workout you don't like. That is unmotivating and makes you want to quit. Ask for other alternatives - what about a rower machine? Works upper body too and to me is much more fun than the recumbent bike. Another option for cardio is swimming, dancing, boxing, or what about riding your bike outside? Outdoor cardio workouts are more effective that machine workouts because you use more muscles adapting to the land. Think of running on a trail with lots of turns and bumps and rocks to jump over compared with a treadmill where you just put one foot in front of the other. Whatever exercise you do, you should enjoy it so you want to do more. Don't think of it as either/or, there are so may effective ways to get cardio that are much more fun.

BrianSharpe

I'm not a fan of recumbent bikes either but, supposedly, they engage your glutes in a manner similar to standing on an upright bike. If true this would be beneficial to runners as glute strength can significantly improve injury resistance.

If your trainer can't clearly explain exactly why she makes a specific change it may be time for a new trainer.

AJ_G

Cardio is done for calorie burn, not for muscle building, unless it's HIIT. Sounds like you're just doing steady state cardio, so do whatever you prefer. Trainers like to switch things up like that to make it sound like they are progressing you and moving you forward, it's mostly just for show...

morticia16

Thanks everybody for the replies. Very useful. i guess I should have explained more - I work out 3-4 days a week. I do cardio and strength. Since I have back problems, I am for the time being sticking with the machines and will probably try free weights in a couple of months. For cardio, I do swimming and, on the days I am in the gym when I use machines, I do cardio there since too time consuming to swim on those days. All in all, I agree that most probably I need to change my trainer...

DesdemonaRose

I use both bikes and the recumbent bike does work your legs differently than a upright. If you have a bad back it's MUCH easier on it than a upright. I love the recombent bike because I can read while I work out. A statonary one, of course. I put a lot of resistance on it though, as much as I can handle without my legs really giving out. It's been great for my knees. I have been doing homework during lunch instead of biking and my "worse" knee is starting to get touchy again. The upright bike helps a little with my knee issue, but not as much as the recumbant.