Is high intensity cardio worth it?

dennis_n

I can honestly say I never liked the feeling of burning lungs and my heart trying to jump out of my chest. I can go for an hour of brisk walking with very short sprint intervals on the treadmill that sums up to 450 calories, but I totally hate falling short of breath in the middle of an exercise. Is there a point to this? I'd rather have some enjoyment when I exercise so that I don't end up falling out of habit because I'm over exerting myself

katrinadulce

For me, the enjoyment came only when I could run a mile without stopping or passing out.
I never ran. I hated it. That stupid mile around the field in gym? I always walked. What's more, not only was I overweight, but I also had asthma so my lungs would burn and I got a metallic taste in my mouth when I jogged a tenth of a mile. I never ran.
Until I started walking.
Especially long distance walking. About 3 miles into a 5 or 7 or 10 mile walk I started to get a crazy impulse to run. Eventually I started a C25K program, and I really enjoyed it, but only made it halfway through. Old habits die hard. But I am starting to do the long distance walk thing again and starting to feel the urge to run. I think that will be my goal in October - to finish the C25K program and see if my lungs explode.

Do you find that you are AS out of breath as you were when you started?
I didn't start feeling natural about it until my legs and lungs got a bit stronger.
Also, even though I find that I get a much better muscle workout walking or running outside, I actually find it much harder to breathe when walking or running inside. I don't know what causes that, but I do.

jrek521

I found that high intensity cardio got easier the more that I did it. It's one of my favorite exercises now. I also run, although I can't say that it's fun. Both have been very helpful with my weight loss. I noticed small improvements over weeks/months, instead of "one day it sucked, and the next day it was great."
Good luck!

onefortyone

I run and the reason I was short of breath when I started running was because my breathing wasn't right (too many shallow breaths, not enough deep ones). A couple of weeks later, running for 20 mins and breathing pretty comfortably. Not as comfortably as when I'm on the sofa, but not distressingly uncomfortable. I'm not knocking walks - I go on hour long walks with my hubby and my friends, it is fun, and it hardly feels like you're burning calories.

But I like variety! I like pushing myself - this whole weight loss thing involves a mindset of pushing myself and I definitely think it's a good habit to get into. I grew up as a swimmer but fell out of the exercise habit as a teen, so to me it feels like rekindling with what I am good at and find rewarding.

Plus, to me it's definitely worth it to burn 450 cals in half that time and then go home and relax lol.

SideSteel

I'd rather have some enjoyment when I exercise so that I don't end up falling out of habit because I'm over exerting myself

Or falling out of the habit because it's not fun and it sucks.

Provided you can find an activity or mode of exercise that you enjoy, that is compatible with moving you towards your goals, then opt for the enjoyable stuff, IMO.

LULU4178

The debate rages on between benefits of steady elevated heart rate during exercise and interval training. What works with exercise is doing something you enjoy because then you will do it. For example, i don't really like running but I run because I feel great when I am finished with my 5-8 miles and a sprint at the end.

If you enjoy walking, then walk. Walking counts. Doing anything that makes you sweat counts. Keep going! I took a break from watching everything I ate today. I enjoyed it, logged it, and will try again tomorrow. There is no point in not enjoying life.

Mr_Knight

I can go for an hour of brisk walking with very short sprint intervals on the treadmill that sums up to 450 calories...

Unless you're pushing 250 pounds at an insanely fast 6 mph, you are vastly overestimating your walking burn.

Proper sprint training - meaning truly all-out bursts of 20 seconds or so - burn extremely few calories because the duration and repetition is so short.

That said, the most important aspect of training is finding something you're willing to do consistently - if that's walking instead of running, so be it, better that than sitting on your kiester. :drinker:

ana3067

If it's the type of cardio you LIKE and it's working well with your goals, then yeah it's fine. I like LISS and MISS, I've tried HIIT and I used to do an hour of cardio as intense as I could (so yes, burning lungs did happen haha) and, well.. I lost weight, but I was skinny fat. I'm still losing weight with MISS and LISS, and I do them more for DOMS after weights, but I do plan on incorporating a 20-30 minute LISS or maybe MISS session on Wednesdays this year just to get in a bit more exercise overall and to further improve my cardioascular health. But for me, high intensity is just not worth it because I don't enjoy it. I can't read on a machine if I'm doing high intensity and I would probably wind up overtraining or tiring myself out!

JazzFischer1989

I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in dance classes so despite hating that out-of-breath feeling (I have asthma), I've kind of learned to push through it and endure - and of course I use an inhaler because ain't nobody got time for asthma attacks.

Overall, I think it's one of those things that require you to build up muscle memory in order to have a comfortable - or at least tolerable - experience. Running was a bit of a challenge for me bc fatigue + boredom = I don't want to do this anymore, lol. But after forcing myself to do it twice a week, it actually became something I wanted to do and I've gotten to the point where I can do 3 miles without stopping. It's an awesome feeling, working really hard and actually seeing progress. That alone is motivation to continue, in my opinion. Labored breathing and all.

Junebuggyzy

What you said, is you don't enjoy it. I may be simplistic, but my feeling is only do exercise you enjoy, or you may start to resent it. I love Zumba; yes, I get sweaty and winded, but since it's fun for me I don't mind that stuff. I have tried the Tabata workouts, and I'm thinking they are similar to HIIT, if that is what you are talking about. I didn't enjoy the Tabata.