Gym or no gym???

Does this sound like a good work out routine for a 21 year old 282lbs women of 5'10'' who does not have any stamina whatsoever?

Treadmill on 3.5 for 10 minutes
Sauna for 10 minutes
Doing laps in a pool for 2 hours
Treadmill again for however long i can manage

I'm only saying 10 minutes on 3.5 because after 3 or 4 minutes of that ill be starting to get tired and in pain.

Does that sound good for a beginner?
What do you usually do in one work out, or whats your workout of choice, I love swimming i burn almost 1000 calories an hour!!
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Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    That is a lot. You are talking about doing that all in one day? How often do you do this? What are your goals in regard to exercise? What are you hoping to achieve?
  • madxprofessor
    madxprofessor Posts: 81 Member
    That is a lot. You are talking about doing that all in one day? How often do you do this?

    I used to do that every single day, or at least 6 times a week. I lost 30 pounds in a month i stopped going becuase i moved far away from the gym
  • shadowofender
    shadowofender Posts: 786 Member
    I had to start slow because I was just in an awful place. And by slow I mean, if I walked a mile, it took me 22 min, I could AT MOST do 30 min on any machine...I can't swim at all so I dunno there.

    Now I handle at the very least 30 min on a machine, usually about 45-60 (I go on my lunch hour) with walks in the evening outside. I can do a mile in average of 14min now, but I usually do 3 or so at a time. So its all about starting where you can handle it and working from there. It's ok if you can't do too much in the beginning. Any forward progress helps.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!
  • madxprofessor
    madxprofessor Posts: 81 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    What you are listing is like, all cardio. Where's the strength training? :huh: Some women claim they want to lose weight before strength training, but this is not recommended. Lifting weights is essential for preserving muscle mass while you lose body fat. Incorporate some heave lifting sessions for at least 20-30 min 3-4 times a week, and that plan will be great. :flowerforyou:
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.

    I'm sorry, but this is wildly inaccurate. Leisurely swimming burns 700 cals? Don't I wish, but unfortunately, no. Perhaps 60 minutes of balls-to-the-wall, gasping for air swimming, but certainly not a leisurely swim. This isn't to say swimming can't be a great workout, but the calorie burn your tracker quoted is waaay off.

    If you are interested in what kind of burns you are getting from your exercise, invest in a heart rate monitor. That's the only way to get a very accurate reading of your burns.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    what are your goals that you need to work out 3+ hours a day?

    there are better ways to build stamina and it's basically by working out smarter. add in some strength training with programs like strong lifts, starting strength, new rules of lifting for women, strong curves, etc
  • jmt08c
    jmt08c Posts: 343 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.

    I'm sorry, but this is wildly inaccurate. Leisurely swimming burns 700 cals? Don't I wish, but unfortunately, no. Perhaps 60 minutes of balls-to-the-wall, gasping for air swimming, but certainly not a leisurely swim. This isn't to say swimming can't be a great workout, but the calorie burn your tracker quoted is waaay off.

    If you are interested in what kind of burns you are getting from your exercise, invest in a heart rate monitor. That's the only way to get a very accurate reading of your burns.


    Sorry to burst your bubble...but you're wrong. Swimming is one of the most high burning calorie exercises you can do. When training in college i would burn 2500+ in a 2 hour workout-that is balls to the wall intensity. If she is overweight and has to move a lot through the water then it takes more energy because there is more resistance. This is assuming she is swimming laps of course and not floating, which is what I would consider a leisurely swim. I'd say 700 calories/hr would be close to accurate as long as she is moving continuously for the most part.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.


    What's your pace per 100/m. (700 cal / hr for leisurely swimming is wishful thinking, running at 6mph gets me 756 cal/hr)


    Sorry to burst your bubble...but you're wrong. Swimming is one of the most high burning calorie exercises you can do. When training in college i would burn 2500+ in a 2 hour workout-that is balls to the wall intensity. If she is overweight and has to move a lot through the water then it takes more energy because there is more resistance. This is assuming she is swimming laps of course and not floating, which is what I would consider a leisurely swim. I'd say 700 calories/hr would be close to accurate as long as she is moving continuously for the most part.

    Did you read the OP? She has a hard time walking @ 3.5 mph on a treadmill for more than 10 minutes. You'll get no disagreement from me that swimming laps at a high intensity is a hard workout (I can run 20km @ 6:00 / km easier than I can swim laps for an hour) but we're talking about this thread.......it's all about context.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Does this sound like a good work out routine for a 21 year old 282lbs women of 5'10'' who does not have any stamina whatsoever?

    Treadmill on 3.5 for 10 minutes
    Sauna for 10 minutes
    Doing laps in a pool for 2 hours
    Treadmill again for however long i can manage

    I'm only saying 10 minutes on 3.5 because after 3 or 4 minutes of that ill be starting to get tired and in pain.

    Does that sound good for a beginner?
    What do you usually do in one work out, or whats your workout of choice, I love swimming i burn almost 1000 calories an hour!!

    2 hours of laps? Running a 5k is easier than 30 minutes swimming laps.

    If you can roll for 2 hours nonstop, you have pretty good stamina and cardio conditioning. Good job! If that's the case, don't bother with 10 minutes of running, go longer.
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    2 hours of laps plus all that every day? Wow that's a long time. There are other exercises that are quicker and will be just as effective.

    As someone else said, look into weight training and what about the rowing machine?
  • ianthy
    ianthy Posts: 404 Member
    Hi

    I am not an expert but just someone that gets bored easily. I would think about some strength training - maybe kettle bells. Plus an alternate workout - for when you feel that you don't want to spend all of that time in the pool. For example if I am not able to do the gym - then I power walk for 60 mins.

    Have fun!
  • Deborah271
    Deborah271 Posts: 73 Member
    That sounds like a lot of exercise in one day! When I started this program I knew that I needed to add exercise for faster results, so I asked myself what can I live with each day. For me, I choose to exercise around 45 minutes six days a week to get my weight off faster. When I reach my goal, I would like to do only 30 minutes a day, I feel that this is something I can maintain everyday. Good luck and keep going, you are doing great.
  • navygrrl
    navygrrl Posts: 517 Member
    You shouldn't need to do anything for 3+hours, unless it's sleeping or work. :laugh: I would say to start with walking, whether on the treadmill or outside, and just increase time/speed when you feel comfortable. Definitely add in some strength training. I was losing weight with my diet, but my body really started changing for the better once I added strength training.

    Good luck. The best advice I have for a beginner is not to try to rush things and take it slowly so you don't burn yourself out.
  • EllaIsNotEnchanted
    EllaIsNotEnchanted Posts: 226 Member
    If you can stick with it then it is a good program.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    That sounds like a lot of exercise in one day! When I started this program I knew that I needed to add exercise for faster results, so I asked myself what can I live with each day. For me, I choose to exercise around 45 minutes six days a week to get my weight off faster. When I reach my goal, I would like to do only 30 minutes a day, I feel that this is something I can maintain everyday. Good luck and keep going, you are doing great.
    Agreed,

    Probably too much to start out.

    Also the effectiveness of workouts when you get tired can go into the tank.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.

    Do you wear a heart rate monitor with a chest strap when you swim? If not, it's inaccurate.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.

    I'm sorry, but this is wildly inaccurate. Leisurely swimming burns 700 cals? Don't I wish, but unfortunately, no. Perhaps 60 minutes of balls-to-the-wall, gasping for air swimming, but certainly not a leisurely swim. This isn't to say swimming can't be a great workout, but the calorie burn your tracker quoted is waaay off.

    If you are interested in what kind of burns you are getting from your exercise, invest in a heart rate monitor. That's the only way to get a very accurate reading of your burns.


    Sorry to burst your bubble...but you're wrong. Swimming is one of the most high burning calorie exercises you can do. When training in college i would burn 2500+ in a 2 hour workout-that is balls to the wall intensity. If she is overweight and has to move a lot through the water then it takes more energy because there is more resistance. This is assuming she is swimming laps of course and not floating, which is what I would consider a leisurely swim. I'd say 700 calories/hr would be close to accurate as long as she is moving continuously for the most part.

    Once again, where are you getting a 2500+ burn from? If it's from the MFP database, it's inaccurate. MFP significantly overestimates calories burned. Unless you were wearing a heart rate monitor with a chest strap during your swims, you will not get an accurate amount of calories burned.
  • rachelrb85
    rachelrb85 Posts: 579 Member
    2 hours in a pool? I turn into a prune after 30 min!

    That seems like a lot of cardio. You can definitely get in a good strength training workout in 30 min a day 3x week.
  • sheedy17
    sheedy17 Posts: 128
    why not walk at a slower pace? if you can only do 10 minutes on 3.5, why not do 20 minutes on 2.0

    Id skip the sauna, the minute you take a drink, you will gain back what you lost, I would use sauna more for relaxing after a workout
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.

    I'm sorry, but this is wildly inaccurate. Leisurely swimming burns 700 cals? Don't I wish, but unfortunately, no. Perhaps 60 minutes of balls-to-the-wall, gasping for air swimming, but certainly not a leisurely swim. This isn't to say swimming can't be a great workout, but the calorie burn your tracker quoted is waaay off.

    If you are interested in what kind of burns you are getting from your exercise, invest in a heart rate monitor. That's the only way to get a very accurate reading of your burns.


    Sorry to burst your bubble...but you're wrong. Swimming is one of the most high burning calorie exercises you can do. When training in college i would burn 2500+ in a 2 hour workout-that is balls to the wall intensity. If she is overweight and has to move a lot through the water then it takes more energy because there is more resistance. This is assuming she is swimming laps of course and not floating, which is what I would consider a leisurely swim. I'd say 700 calories/hr would be close to accurate as long as she is moving continuously for the most part.

    Maybe more resistance in terms of surface area, but she has floatation advantage that leaner swimmers do not have. So, less energy keeping a float. It might be a wash.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.

    Just floating, TO ME, would mean not even stanging on the bottom of the pool. If you are floating, moving your legs, arms, etc constantly to stay afloat then yeah, you are gonna get a decent burn, but how many people actually do that?

    I am going to venture to say when you are in the pool for an hour you are not treading water, floating, or swimming that whole time. Much of it is spend with your feet on the ground in the bottom of the pool I would presume.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I'm not sure where the sauna fits in (other than they're really nice and relaxing....) and I'll echo jemhh's comment of it being a lot if you're doing it every day.

    Based on your comment of being tired after 10 minutes on the treadmill I also find it doubtful that you are swimming at a sufficient intensity to be burning 1000 cal / hr. The best estimates I've seen put swimming (in terms of caloric expenditure) at a slow pace around the same as a brisk walk (at your weight walking 4 mph would burn about 340 cal / hr)

    Don't, however, let the lower caloric burn discourage you, there are so many other health benefits associated with regular exercise. You will also find that the longer you keep at it consistently the better you get at it which in turn permits you to exercise at a higher intensity which leads to greater health benefits.

    Stamina comes with time and consistency....keep it up!

    When i put in my fitness tracker that Ive been LEASURLY swimming for 60 minutes it says i burned over 700 calories, when you swim even just floating, you are using every single muscle in your body. Also my nutritionist and fitness coach confirmed this. Along with every single calories tracker ive ever used for work outs.


    What's your pace per 100/m. (700 cal / hr for leisurely swimming is wishful thinking, running at 6mph gets me 756 cal/hr)


    Sorry to burst your bubble...but you're wrong. Swimming is one of the most high burning calorie exercises you can do. When training in college i would burn 2500+ in a 2 hour workout-that is balls to the wall intensity. If she is overweight and has to move a lot through the water then it takes more energy because there is more resistance. This is assuming she is swimming laps of course and not floating, which is what I would consider a leisurely swim. I'd say 700 calories/hr would be close to accurate as long as she is moving continuously for the most part.

    Did you read the OP? She has a hard time walking @ 3.5 mph on a treadmill for more than 10 minutes. You'll get no disagreement from me that swimming laps at a high intensity is a hard workout (I can run 20km @ 6:00 / km easier than I can swim laps for an hour) but we're talking about this thread.......it's all about context.

    Agreed swimming is great exercise but you aren't burning as much as you think...

    If I swim leisurly for 1 hour is it under 500 per MFP so I take about half those...so probably about 250...

    As well why so much in one day? I at most did 45-60mins a day...starting out it was 20-30mins...

    If you are interested in getting healthy fine exercise...but weigh loss comes from your deficit...and you can exercise all you want but if you aren't in a deficit you won't be losing weight and if you are over estimating burns like 1k for 1hour...you will be over estimating your burns.
  • jmt08c
    jmt08c Posts: 343 Member
    Once again, where are you getting a 2500+ burn from? If it's from the MFP database, it's inaccurate. MFP significantly overestimates calories burned. Unless you were wearing a heart rate monitor with a chest strap during your swims, you will not get an accurate amount of calories burned.
    [/quote]

    I didn't need a computer telling me how many calories I burned when I was ingesting 8000-10000 calories daily and not gaining a single pound. 11 2 hour swim workouts 6 days a week with extreme intensity. I was swimming 10000+ yards every day. Simple math says I was burning 2500 minimum.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Once again, where are you getting a 2500+ burn from? If it's from the MFP database, it's inaccurate. MFP significantly overestimates calories burned. Unless you were wearing a heart rate monitor with a chest strap during your swims, you will not get an accurate amount of calories burned.

    I didn't need a computer telling me how many calories I burned when I was ingesting 8000-10000 calories daily and not gaining a single pound. 11 2 hour swim workouts 6 days a week with extreme intensity. I was swimming 10000+ yards every day. Simple math says I was burning 2500 minimum.

    I'll take that as a no, you didn't wear a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. Therefore, you don't know how many calories you were burning.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Once again, where are you getting a 2500+ burn from? If it's from the MFP database, it's inaccurate. MFP significantly overestimates calories burned. Unless you were wearing a heart rate monitor with a chest strap during your swims, you will not get an accurate amount of calories burned.

    Just going to pipe up here, when I do a hard half hour, my HRM tells me I'm in the 550- 650 kcal range for burn.

    Multiply by 4= 2200-2600 range.

    Now that's for me, and I'll be damned if I can work that intensity for 2 hours, but there are people who can. Is the person claiming the burn one of those? Don't know, don't care. I do find it plausible however, especially considering my n=1.
  • 6ftamazon
    6ftamazon Posts: 340 Member
    I'd get some strength training in there. It makes a huge difference in your body shape, and I've noticed the weight just dropping off since I've started. Not to mention it's good for your body and energy to strength train. Just start off with some basic body weight exercises and work your way up.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I'm not going to touch on exactly how many calories you are burning. However, my only concern with doing something like this every day is how will you keep it up long term? Do you plan to do that and, if not, do you have a plan to adjust your eating to account for burning fewer calories? I see the weight loss process as training for life after weight loss. Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is the hard part. What's your long term plan?
  • RachelSteeners
    RachelSteeners Posts: 249 Member
    Hey! I'm 5 11" and started at 262lbs, so we're kinda similar. I started by going for brisk walks for as long as I could; normally 20-30 minutes around my neighborhood. Then after a week or so I moved onto the exercise bike (because I could sit down) and did this for around 30 mins a day, on a low-ish incline, until I felt I could take my workout up a notch by increasing the incline. I then tried the elliptical and have stuck with that since. It's my preferred machine at the gym. After about a month or so I was able to do intense interval workouts on the elliptical. I get my heart really pumping!
    If you have access to a pool, that's great too. But two hours sounds like a lot.
    All the best, R