How much, how long, how often...

lizziebeth1028

Cardio...what's your opinions -

How much cardio should we be doing?
How many times a week?
How many times at a intense level?
How many times low impact?
Does age start to play in it?
I walk A LOT everyday (to and from the office 1.89 miles) in addition to regular work outs. How 'cardio' is walking?

I'm 53 but have been working out since I was 19 so I'll still in good shape cardiovascular - wise. But I have noticed that some of these new trends of work outs - P90X, Insanity, Crossfit ect....are just too intense for me. Am I wimping out?

tigersword

I don't do any cardio, currently. I'm concentrating fully on strength and weight training. When I do cardio, it's generally only for about 30 minutes at a time, moderate intensity.

I feel weight training is more important to build up muscle strength and endurance. Cardio will improve automatically with it, however, cardio will not lead to strength gains.

scottb81

It depends on your goals. If it is for basic fitness then three times a week for 30 or 40 minutes each time is enough. If it is to burn calories then as much as you need to do to reach your calorie goal is enough. If it is to run races then as much as you can do without getting hurt is enough.

I don't think age has much to do with it until you reach around 80 years or more . I am 52 and run around 11 times per week for a total of 90 to 150 minutes per day (with one day of rest). I know of one person who is 80 that runs two to three hours per day.

At 53, you can still do all those cardio trends if you want to. You just have to start where you are at right now and build enough cardio fitness to reach that goal.

In my opinion, walking is good for burning calories, but it is not so good for building cardio fitness. It is just not intense enough.

BerryH

To lose weight, we don't NEED to do any cardio work. If anything, modern research tends to lean towards weight training being better for fat loss. For heart health, the British Heart Foundation suggests 30 minutes a day on at least five days a week, and at a level that makes you slightly out of breath and feeling warmer.

I wouldn't go intense for more than three days a week, and I'll always have an easy day afterwards, and one complete day of rest after the hardest. If you don't need it, you could probably go harder!

I run, so I make sure my cross-training days are low- to no-impact. Impact is good, though, especially as we approach middle age, as it helps prevent osteoporosis.

Age does play a factor, BUT if you do it by rate of perceived exertion (RPE) you're always working at a suitable level for yourself.

I wouldn't rule out a workout for intensity because of age, but remember it's not just your personal fitness, if you just don't like it, it's a complete waste of time and money as far as I'm concerned!