So, I got cleared to do cardio, where to start?

Kosterc4383

After an ablation, and a huge lifestyle change, going from bedbound, to housebound, to now putting in 10.000 steps a day. Where do I start doing cardio? I lost 14kg, staying in range calorie wise is a struggle, just no cravings/appetite. Did 20 minutes of stationary bike while hooked up to machines and got a amazed 👏 from the team. But as I was housebound for a good 15 years, how do I start cardio. I used a fitbit to stay in fatburn(and have to work harder and harder to stay in that). How to start running, are my joints going to hold up?

Lietchi

Well, the only way to find out is to try?
If you want to stay running, I would recommend a run-walk interval program like Couch to 5k.
The run intervals should be slow enough that you can still hold somewhat of a conversation.

Alternatively, depending on how fit you are, you could do as I did and just start by walking, increasing distance, incline and speed, before moving on to run-walk intervals.

VanVanDiane

I’d second the advice above. C25K is a great way to begin, and don’t be afraid to repeat days or weeks as necessary before moving on if you need it. You may find (as I did) that it’s your tendons rather than your joints that don’t want to play ball at first. Take it slow and listen to your body and you should be fine.

Kosterc4383

Yeah with walking so far not injured bones muscles or tendons. Just the bursa is struggling with the repeated motion. And even sometimes I needed my gp to clarify it was again just bursa that got inflamed, and i could keep walking with painmeds I still not trust my body. As I walk on walking shoes should I start walking with running shoes?

elisa123gal

order some gel heels from amazong. I wear those with my Nikes and it protects my bursa..as it is taking FOREVER to heal from a tendonitis injury. The gel heel protector and Dr. Feet insoles.. wow.. what a help and difference.

JaysFan82

I started my journey at 388.6 on Feb 2022.
There's no way my knees could handle running so I started by swimming laps until I got under 300. Then I moved onto the Elliptical until I got under 275. Now I'm at 217 and run 5km a day 5 days a week. This whole process was very gradual. I started running on the treadmill at 4.5 mph for 20 minutes and built up to 30 minutes at 6.0mph where I am today. Competing in my 4th 5km race of the spring/summer this weekend and I have another one the following weekend.

Mind you, I wear a knee braces on each knee and make frequent trips to the Physiotherapist so it's not like how I used to just get up and go in my early 20s (I'm 41 now). It just requires some extra self care. Proper stretching, diet etc....

clairatt19

I'm 5'10 195 with it all around my middle. I'm swimming and on the bike and about to start running. I have a torn meniscus in my left knee and a little concerned about the run. Look, I'm not advocating it, but I get my knee injected about every 3-4 months and walk and work etc with no pain. I also had custom insoles made a few years ago in response to fascieitis, and that helps as well. The running on pavement may put that to the test. We shall see.

BrianSharpe

First, forget that the fatburning zone exists (it's technically a real thing but only of interest to endurance athletes who want to tap into fat stores as an energy source rather than burning glycogen) it has nothing to do with weight loss.

You don't mention what your current weight is so my gut feeling is to approach weigh bearing exercises cautiously. If you've been sedentary for a long time my inclination would be to focus on walking first and cycling, if you have access to a pool, swimming. When you can comfortably walk at a reasonably brisk pace for at least half an hour then you coul think about incorporation some short slow running intervals (when I started running I couldn't even go a full block without feeling like I was dying).

If you want to run it's worthwhile going to a dedicated running shop that can do a gait analysis and get properly fitting appropriate shoes. Listen to your body, I'm pretty sure that if you asked any runner they'd tell you that they became victims of their own enthusiasm and managed to injure themselves by going too far, tooo fast, too soon. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

If it turns out that running's not your thing don't feel bad, there are lots of other great activities out there.

Kosterc4383

So I am 211lbs/96kg. I was really sedentary as moving was just a struggle. I gained 35kg over 15 years. Than when I started to recover from heartsurgery I gained really fast 10 kg. It didn't make any sense to me but I cut out sugar and went to eat more food, so I am down now 14kg. Swim nearly everyday. I walk the 2000 steps to the pool when it is below 30c/86f. If hotter I cycle. I swim 1 km. 40 length of 25m. Than I walk back. The walk to the pool is my run target, nothing crazy. I cycle with no effort. My butt will hurt before I get tired.

Kosterc4383

BrianSharpe wrote: »

First, forget that the fatburning zone exists (it's technically a real thing but only of interest to endurance athletes who want to tap into fat stores as an energy source rather than burning glycogen) it has nothing to do with weight loss.

So, my approach had been to double my resting heartrate. 60 to 110/120.when I stand still to pet a dog, change music my heartrate drops to like 80.I can keep going for 3 to 4 hours before my body demands to be fed more than a banana. I am than not in a cardio heartrate. That start quite a bit higher. Should I move shorter amounts of time at a higher heartrate? Goal is not to loose weight. Goal is to be healthy. Weight will drop when I can move better. And yeah, I can move better when I loose weight.

AnnPT77

Kosterc4383 wrote: »

BrianSharpe wrote: »

First, forget that the fatburning zone exists (it's technically a real thing but only of interest to endurance athletes who want to tap into fat stores as an energy source rather than burning glycogen) it has nothing to do with weight loss.

So, my approach had been to double my resting heartrate. 60 to 110/120.when I stand still to pet a dog, change music my heartrate drops to like 80.I can keep going for 3 to 4 hours before my body demands to be fed more than a banana. I am than not in a cardio heartrate. That start quite a bit higher. Should I move shorter amounts of time at a higher heartrate? Goal is not to loose weight. Goal is to be healthy. Weight will drop when I can move better. And yeah, I can move better when I loose weight.

It's hard to say. The 220-age (and similar formulas ) are inaccurate for a lot of people, so it's hard to know what intensity you're really at. Just as an example, I'm 67, 220-age is 153, but 153 is right around anaerobic threshold by RPE (rate of perceived exertion), and I believe my max is more like 180. (It's genetics more than training, and it's not that higher is better, or lower is better, when it comes to HRmax.)

Generically, for health, just being active - getting your heart rate up - is the key thing.

For general cardiovascular (CV) fitness, usually the best approach is to start by spending some time to build endurance at moderate intensity (brisk walk kind of intensity, but can be any reasonable activity). Then, after a few weeks/months (depending on starting fitness), begin to add in some shorter but more intense bits, either as short more-intense steady state with a warm up and cool down, or as higher-intensity intervals (not necessarily true high intensity all-out intervals).

Ongoing CV fitness tends to be best served by a mix of longer low-intensity work, and smaller amounts of higher intensity work. Elite CV athletes - who have the best coaching in the world - don't train all high intensity all the time. There's no reason for us regular duffers to do that.

If you want to run (for example), then couch to 5k apps tend to take that gradual-increase kind of approach to intensity. There are similar training programs available for other sports (bike, row, etc.).

RPE works fine as a training guide - potentially better than heart rate ranges, if you don't have any idea what your true HRmax is. You can test HRmax with either submaximal or max tests, but it's not a good idea to even try that until you have reasonable base fitness in place. It's . . . intense.