HELP! I hate cardio

apriltrainer

I don't do CARDIO at all.(And i used to be a marathon training coach a few years ago!) I just lift heavy. Just 3 days a week. I actually look better now than when I used to do cardio almost daily. Taking one day off for me after each session does wonders. Now it doesn' t mean I am just sitting on my butt though. I walk alot. Purposeful walking. To work, to get groceries. I don't do it for "exercise." I just make it part of my daily routine. So if I could count anything as cardio, it would just be walking.

Anyways, cardio isn't necessary to lose weight if you watch what you eat and lift with purpose.

crisanderson27

Cardio is NOT a must. The only cardio I do is 5 minutes of raquetball before I lift 3 days a week. I eat at a moderate calorie deficit. My clothing sizes have decreased dramatically since doing this.

What Lori here said.

Although she didn't mention that she hikes 1-2 days a week for peace of mind...and this does help her get in basic health type cardio (which we really shouldn't neglect). As her trainer...I can most certainly attribute the fact that she's gone from a very tight size 12, to a size 6...in less than a month, to the strength training/relaxed diet program I have her on.

She was hiking, and actually substantially more active, prior to us working together...yet the changes were nowhere near as dramatic.

I do a ton of hiking in the fall which will probably make up my cardio during those times. Right now it's just SOOOO hot here in Arizona to go hiking. I miss it like crazy though.

Nobody has answered my question on how long should I rest between lifting days? Is rest needed after every lifting day?

My trainer has me lifting 6 days a week alternating between upper and lower with abs every day. I do run 3 days and week and on off days I do something else like Zumba/kickboxing or an elliptical. Treadmills and ellipticals CAN be fine. Time flies if I'm doing either with a friend or I have my mp3 player

Again...over training is far, far worse than under training.

Jynus

Cardio is NOT a must. The only cardio I do is 5 minutes of raquetball before I lift 3 days a week. I eat at a moderate calorie deficit. My clothing sizes have decreased dramatically since doing this.

What Lori here said.

Although she didn't mention that she hikes 1-2 days a week for peace of mind...and this does help her get in basic health type cardio (which we really shouldn't neglect). As her trainer...I can most certainly attribute the fact that she's gone from a very tight size 12, to a size 6...in less than a month, to the strength training/relaxed diet program I have her on.

She was hiking, and actually substantially more active, prior to us working together...yet the changes were nowhere near as dramatic.

I do a ton of hiking in the fall which will probably make up my cardio during those times. Right now it's just SOOOO hot here in Arizona to go hiking. I miss it like crazy though.

Nobody has answered my question on how long should I rest between lifting days? Is rest needed after every lifting day?

My trainer has me lifting 6 days a week alternating between upper and lower with abs every day. I do run 3 days and week and on off days I do something else like Zumba/kickboxing or an elliptical. Treadmills and ellipticals CAN be fine. Time flies if I'm doing either with a friend or I have my mp3 player

Again...over training is far, far worse than under training.

oh agreed, but it's very hard to overtrain imo. mostly people confuse overtraining with under eating and under sleeping.

Take this persons total workout routine. I'm willing to bet if you were to take this same person and toss them on any roughneck crew, they would get obliterated by the heavy labour. So that begets the question, is everyone whos doing heavy labour overtraining?

SerenaGrace5

Thanks for posting this! I can't stand running, but I love dancing and I did ballet for 10 years when I was younger. For all you dancers out there, I would really recommend Dance Off the Inches DVD and pack - sold at Walmart for $9. It's tons of fun and really gets you into a sweat! Good luck!

mfoy94

You dont have to be running to do cardio, I walk at a decent pace (3.0 on treadmill?) but I also do it at an uphill incline. My heart rate is in the cardio realm but I am not running because I HATE it. There are all sorts of alternatives, find one that works for you.

gp79

Make it something you enjoy. If doing 4 sets of 20 repetitions of something with 30 second in between sets gets your heart rate up enough, choose 3 or 4 exercises and get busy.

bumblebums

Cardio is NOT a must. The only cardio I do is 5 minutes of raquetball before I lift 3 days a week. I eat at a moderate calorie deficit. My clothing sizes have decreased dramatically since doing this.

Exactly. If all you are looking for is weight loss, you do not need to do cardio.

There are health benefits to cardio, though, so it's worth investigating the various options to find something you enjoy. You got some good suggestions already, but just good old walking is great. Do you like dogs? Perhaps volunteer to walk dogs at a nearby shelter. It doesn't have to be all about gym torture.

jadedone

I don't like cardio either. But I have found 2 things do help me get it in.

1. circuit training

You already mentioned you are dong a few things that are keeping your heart rate up, these count. You can go to the next level and create a circuit. Basically cut down your breaks a bit. Lift weights. Instead of resting, move on to the next exercise. And even mix in body weight things. Jumping jacks, lunges, skaters, knee raises....and all kinds of other stuff. Just don;t take a real break between sets. This is super effective

2. intervals

Cardio puts me to sleep. But if I am doing a set of intervals (and you only need 20 minutes) you can "go fast" for 15-45 seconds. Then go normal pace for 1-2 minutes. You'll be concentrating so hard on your fast and slow breaks, time will pass quickly.

Have fun and good luck!

jadedone

Cardio is NOT a must. The only cardio I do is 5 minutes of raquetball before I lift 3 days a week. I eat at a moderate calorie deficit. My clothing sizes have decreased dramatically since doing this.

Disagree. Cardio is a must for heart health. Not for weight loss. You need to do *something* to elevate your heart rate. But it doesn't mean a cardio machine.