Do I *have* to progress on cardio?

herringboxes

I use the treadmill two days a week for cardio, and lift three days a week. I’ve always been the absolute worst at jogging/running - no, worse than that. Bottom of the barrel.

With intervals, I’ve made a small amount of progress in how long I can jog, over the past few months. But the progress has stagnated. I find myself pushing really hard and going nowhere, and sometimes my efforts threaten my lifting days (I have chronic fatigue and don’t recover normally from exertion).

I like lifting. I don’t care about cardio, I do it just because you should do cardio. I’m not running a 5k, I do not care about burning calories, I don’t enjoy it. I don’t care any more about the bike, stair, or elliptical machines, and real life sports are not realistic due to disability.

Can I just phone it in and just do the same effort each time, less than everything I’ve got, and put my energy into lifting? Do I really need to push myself?

And if I can, can I also either quit running or just do like one three minute interval and then just walk at an incline otherwise? I notice I can tolerate incline walking much better than jogging at zero incline, and the machine claims I burn more calories doing that. I don’t care about the calories but is it possible I’m getting a better cardio workout when the machine claims higher burned calories?

SafariGalNYC

I would do an exercise you enjoy rather than one you dread. I found that I love spin classes.. but have disdain for the dreadmill.

the more I enjoy a workout.. the more I do it. Maybe save cardio for daily steps or a sprint.. rowing, calisthenics..there are other ways to get your heart going. Might as well have fun doing it. 😉

PeachHibiscus

I hate running. Both of my parents ran and they were in great shape so I figured I'd give it a shot back in my 20's. I hated it. I hated the pounding. I hated how it made my knees feel. I did a few races and liked the race atmosphere but hated the actual running part. So I stopped and bought myself a new bike. Because I always loved biking. And I rode everywhere. And it was so much fun I never really thought of it as exercise. But it was and I had the legs to prove it.

Life's too short to waste time on something you hate. Maybe there's another cardio out there you'll enjoy? Swimming? Rowing? Aerobics? Aqua aerobics?

herringboxes

I don’t realistically have another choice due to disability. Actually, at some point I won’t even be able to get to the gym and will be entirely homebound, so I’ll have to some jumping jacks or some crap like that at home.

I’m willing to do the treadmill, but do I have to make progress or can I just do the same effort each time and call it good enough?

Lietchi

I wouldn't trust the numbers the machine gives you.
Perhaps use this calculator to compare (set to net calories):
https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs

But calories aren't the only reason to exercise of course and don't necessarily correlate with how good it is for your fitness level. If you don't enjoy running... Any exercise you do is better than exercise you don't do.

As for progressing: it's not mandatory if you already have an adequate fitness level. My BF runs the same distance and the same speed each time.

cmriverside

I've tried running and also hate it.

Why do you think you have to progress at running? Walking on an incline is perfectly fine. That's pretty much all I do, hill-walking and hiking. A little resistance and body weight stuff, but nothing extreme. I may not be winning any medals, but at least I do it five days a week for 90 minutes.

We're both lapping that person on the couch. :flowerforyou:

yirara

No, you don't have to progress, and you don't have to do cardio if you don't like it. One thing: you're not getting better with cardio by pushing yourself hard every time. You get better by running longer. And you do that by slowing down. Yeah, if you hate running it's likely boring, but slow and longer builds cardiac endurance, mixed with some shorter, faster runs. If you hate the threadmill so much, have you considered running outside? Or doing anything else outside, like hiking, cycling, inline skating, swimming, doesn't matter what. If all of it sounds dreadful then don't do it.

Retroguy2000

If you had specific goals, then yes you should progress with cardio.

e.g. if you want to improve your VO2 max, so you can run a 5km faster, or some other reason, then you'd want to keep progressing. Or if you want to burn X calories in a session, then as you lose weight and/or get fitter, it will take fewer calories to do what you did before, and therefore you should progress with increased resistance or higher pace.

It sounds like you don't care about any of that.

So I would suggest the right amount of cardio *for you* is that which does not interfere with your lifting. Or as others said, if you can find a different cardio that you enjoy more then do that instead, though I know you said you have limitations.

Would you be interested/able cycling or rowing? I know people love Zwift, where you can race against others. Or skating?

Djproulx

herringboxes wrote: »

I use the treadmill two days a week for cardio, and lift three days a week. I’ve always been the absolute worst at jogging/running - no, worse than that. Bottom of the barrel.

With intervals, I’ve made a small amount of progress in how long I can jog, over the past few months. But the progress has stagnated. I find myself pushing really hard and going nowhere, and sometimes my efforts threaten my lifting days (I have chronic fatigue and don’t recover normally from exertion).

I like lifting. I don’t care about cardio, I do it just because you should do cardio. I’m not running a 5k, I do not care about burning calories, I don’t enjoy it. I don’t care any more about the bike, stair, or elliptical machines, and real life sports are not realistic due to disability.

Can I just phone it in and just do the same effort each time, less than everything I’ve got, and put my energy into lifting? Do I really need to push myself?

And if I can, can I also either quit running or just do like one three minute interval and then just walk at an incline otherwise? I notice I can tolerate incline walking much better than jogging at zero incline, and the machine claims I burn more calories doing that. I don’t care about the calories but is it possible I’m getting a better cardio workout when the machine claims higher burned calories?

If you're that unhappy with doing any type of strenuous cardio efforts, then my suggestion is stop doing them. Reading your post, I'm leaning towards the following::

Re: First bolded comment: Lack of perceived progress for the amount of energy your expending is not worth it to you, specifically because it may compromise your lifting efforts. My two cents: Stop doing it.

Re: Second bolded comment: You do cardio exercise because you "Should" do it. For what?? I"m guessing that you're just trying to maintain heart health, and not much more. You can do that with walking at a leisurely pace.

Re: Third bolded comment: Can I just phone it in. "YES" per my response above.

Re: Fourth bolded comment: You say that you don't care about calories, so who cares what the machines say? (jogging at zero incline vs walking at incline) If you do in fact care about the "better workout", then by all means walk at incline. I will tell you that many of my training friends have reduced the amount of pure running they do in favor of some vigorous uphill walking/hiking. These folks have maintained outstanding cardio health using this approach.

I'll close by saying that I'm assuming you are simply trying to maintain heart and lung health, and if that's the case, I'd suggest that walking is a great option.

AnnPT77

herringboxes wrote: »

I don’t realistically have another choice due to disability. Actually, at some point I won’t even be able to get to the gym and will be entirely homebound, so I’ll have to some jumping jacks or some crap like that at home.

I’m willing to do the treadmill, but do I have to make progress or can I just do the same effort each time and call it good enough?

You don't have to make fitness progress. You can just maintain, or even regress a bit (if you reduce total load, which is a complex concept potentially encompassing duration, frequency, intensity, and specific cardio activity type). There are no "cardio police". This is all about your personal goals and preferences.

Easy steady state cardio is beneficial for health. It's worth doing.

It would be somewhat more advantageous health-wise to do some amount of more intense cardio (intervals, or short continuous bits), if your health situation (and boredom/irritation tolerance ) allow that. Once a week for a few minutes would have benefits, even.

From my reading, without getting deep in the weeds about CV fitness, some higher intensity work benefits the body in slightly different ways than low-intensity steady state. (Most of the people trumpeting about how they do all high intensity all the time aren't getting the well-rounded benefits of a mix of intensities, either, BTW.)

Generally, if people are asking how much cardio do for basic good health, I point to the official guidelines about 150 minutes of moderate cardio weekly, or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio, or a proportional combination, ideally spread over at least 5 days of the week.

But you don't have to do that, either. No one is going to require you to optimize any aspect of your fitness, unless you require it of yourself. Sub-optimizing anything can be a perfectly reasonable thing, IMO: No human can optimize all of the many things we need to do some of (eating, exercise, education, charitable activity, creative enterprises, financial performance, blah blah blah). We all choose.

P.S. I rarely lift. That's absolutely sub-optimal, and I know it. I don't apologize for it. What makes me eye-roll is when people sub-optimize (anything), but rationalize that what they're doing is actually better than doing what is broadly recognized as more optimal, and sometimes even urge others to adopt their "better" course. You're not even remotely doing that.

ninerbuff

herringboxes wrote: »

I use the treadmill two days a week for cardio, and lift three days a week. I’ve always been the absolute worst at jogging/running - no, worse than that. Bottom of the barrel.

With intervals, I’ve made a small amount of progress in how long I can jog, over the past few months. But the progress has stagnated. I find myself pushing really hard and going nowhere, and sometimes my efforts threaten my lifting days (I have chronic fatigue and don’t recover normally from exertion).

I like lifting. I don’t care about cardio, I do it just because you should do cardio. I’m not running a 5k, I do not care about burning calories, I don’t enjoy it. I don’t care any more about the bike, stair, or elliptical machines, and real life sports are not realistic due to disability.

Can I just phone it in and just do the same effort each time, less than everything I’ve got, and put my energy into lifting? Do I really need to push myself?

And if I can, can I also either quit running or just do like one three minute interval and then just walk at an incline otherwise? I notice I can tolerate incline walking much better than jogging at zero incline, and the machine claims I burn more calories doing that. I don’t care about the calories but is it possible I’m getting a better cardio workout when the machine claims higher burned calories?

Nope. Just like you DON'T have to progress in lifting. I'll vary my cardio occasionally. But I run intervals at 10.0 max 3 days a week. No reason to try to run faster or harder. I'm not going to race, nor attempt a 5K even.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

herringboxes

Thanks, everyone.

Yes, I’m doing it just for basic cardiovascular health, that’s it.

I do walk as well but don’t have control over the pace, so it’s quite leisurely. Unfortunately, I’m going to be losing my walks as well soon.

Honestly, when I posted I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that I won’t be able to get to the gym at all soon, so the question is moot. However, if something changes (and also in the meantime), I think I will indeed just do sessions at an effort that feels like I did something but not worry about killing myself to progress.

Fortunately, when I lose gym access I will simultaneously have more time and space to exercise at home, so I do have something to look forward to. I can spend time on stretching, and I have a desire to work toward a pull up and proper pushup. I have a doorway pull up bar and while that is not Olympic standard lol I’m sure I can make gains nevertheless. Onward!

ninerbuff

herringboxes wrote: »

Thanks, everyone.

Yes, I’m doing it just for basic cardiovascular health, that’s it.

I do walk as well but don’t have control over the pace, so it’s quite leisurely. Unfortunately, I’m going to be losing my walks as well soon.

Honestly, when I posted I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that I won’t be able to get to the gym at all soon, so the question is moot. However, if something changes (and also in the meantime), I think I will indeed just do sessions at an effort that feels like I did something but not worry about killing myself to progress.

Fortunately, when I lose gym access I will simultaneously have more time and space to exercise at home, so I do have something to look forward to. I can spend time on stretching, and I have a desire to work toward a pull up and proper pushup. I have a doorway pull up bar and while that is not Olympic standard lol I’m sure I can make gains nevertheless. Onward!

Pick up a suspension trainer. They're cheap and can be stowed away whenever you don't workout. And you control the resistance.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

herringboxes

I’ve got a barbell and some weights 💪
That’s the main thing I’ll be working on.

kshama2001

While I do do a lot of cardio, I have not run since I left the military and no one could make me run anymore

Because I'm heat intolerant, since mid June I've been getting most of my cardio in the gym. I'm really looking forward to the cooler weather when I can hike in the woods again. Before I hurt my ankle, I made intervals by seeking hillier terrain.

xrj22

I think the research on cardiovascular risk says that brisk walking is almost as good as running, and that the total amount of time per week is more important than intensity. Of course for absolute maximum benefit, high intensity is a little better, but for being reasonably healthy, walking is better than nothing and better than torturing yourself.