how often should i be doing cardio?
stines72
Posts: 853 Member
i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
0
Replies
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I do cardio once a week for one hour, mostly because I find it boring. Most of my exercise comes from strength training and and poling.
I used to do it 5 days a week, but I found it wasn't necessary to lose weight when I could just reduce what I ate.0 -
I do cardio once a week for one hour, mostly because I find it boring. Most of my exercise comes from strength training and and poling.
I used to do it 5 days a week, but I found it wasn't necessary to lose weight when I could just reduce what I ate.
thanks for the response.
bump.. could use more opinions0 -
I do 30 minutes every day. But, different forms.0
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Everybody is different. I do cardio (generally) every day, but the lenght and intensity vary. For example today was a 'long" day for me, 2 hours. But tomorrow I will only do 20 minutes and at a very easy pace and will do elliptical or stationary bike as opposed to running or race walking, so it is also slightly cross training0
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But, i also find that over 40 minutes of cardio just makes me ravenous.0
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I believe you should do more strength training, but that is just my opinion.0
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My doctor told me to at least walk for half an hour everyday,given the fact that i live a sedentary life.
I do high intensity cardio 5 days a week for 45-50 minutes (bodycombat classes, aerodance which is not too demanding actually, and sometimes spinning. I was told here that it's too much cardio and the posters who said this are probably right.
If you feel your progress is slowing down you might want to do less cardio.
I also do weight training (body pump classes) 3 times a week,though sometimes i swap the classes for a full weight training workout routine at the weights room.
Depending on what you call cardio, 6 days a week might be really too much! If you feel tired and are making progress stop and get some rest. You're body is sending you signs that it needs resting so pay heed to them
In those weeks i feel tired for whatever reason i skip the gym and just go for a long walk at a slow pace and i go shopping and stuff. But i make sure i don't take the bus or subway
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What are your goals?0
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i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
Hmmm 5'3 106 about 5hrs of cardio a week and you want to know if 6 is too many? In all honestly you can add more cardio but resistance training would be more beneficial for changing your body composition0 -
I do HIIT 4-5 days a week, for no more than 40 minutes a day. That being said, maybe only 6 minutes max of each session consists of cardio. The rest is all strength/body weight training.
This method has given me far superior results, in terms of body composition and inches lost, than slaving away at 60 minutes of cardio every day. I also have a ridiculous amount of energy by comparison.
Just a thought.0 -
I like to do cardio 2-3 times a week for about 30-45 minutes. Most of my exercise comes from strength training but I do like to keep my cardio up if I can make time for it.0
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i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
I''m 5'1" but even so everyone is different. You don't need to do so much cardio if you don't want to. I love running so I do it just as much as I lift weights. But I found after running marathon after marathon (and hitting the gym for weights) that I still gained weight. Losing weight is all about calories, not cardio. Of course you burn some calories but not near as much as all the HRM's say and it is insignificant when you have enough fat reserves on your body.
Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.
Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.
Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.
Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.
If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.
My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Wishing you the best! -Bobbie0 -
i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
I''m 5'1" but even so everyone is different. You don't need to do so much cardio if you don't want to. I love running so I do it just as much as I lift weights. But I found after running marathon after marathon (and hitting the gym for weights) that I still gained weight. Losing weight is all about calories, not cardio. Of course you burn some calories but not near as much as all the HRM's say and it is insignificant when you have enough fat reserves on your body.
Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.
Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.
Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.
Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.
If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.
My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Wishing you the best! -Bobbie
stated from a master...nice post Bobbie 0 -
Bump0
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i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
I do cardio everyday which mostly includes running for around 45 minutes.
I don't do strength training. I don't go to gym. I am a self-trainer.
Cardio increases your stamina and burns carbs+fats.
P.S. : If u are busy, do a brisk walk from source to destination and then destination to source. If u feel more tired, then take a break or do some low impact abs workout, stretching (it helps) and then continue OR take rest and continue later.0 -
duplicate0
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My routine is pretty simple.
Monday - 1 hour cardio (usually a spin class)
Tuesday - Strength training
Wed - rest + restorative yoga
Thursday - Strength
Fri - 1 hour cardio
Sat - Restorative Yoga
2 days strength + 2 days cardio + 2 days simple yoga and stretching
If I'm having a rough week, or am tired I will cut out the cardio and just focus on strength. Since I've adopted a primarily strength based routine, I've seen my body change drastically. This wasn't so when I was doing mostly cardio. With the cardio heavy routine, I lost more weight but didn't see any major changes in my appearance.
Edit: I've taken my body fat from 34ish% to 17% this way. The weight lost wasn't a huge amount (20 pounds) but the visual change is mostly thanks to body re-composition.0 -
i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
I''m 5'1" but even so everyone is different. You don't need to do so much cardio if you don't want to. I love running so I do it just as much as I lift weights. But I found after running marathon after marathon (and hitting the gym for weights) that I still gained weight. Losing weight is all about calories, not cardio. Of course you burn some calories but not near as much as all the HRM's say and it is insignificant when you have enough fat reserves on your body.
Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.
Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.
Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.
Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.
If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.
My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Wishing you the best! -Bobbie
How many times are you going to post this wall of text? Can you answer the OPs question without making every post about you? It makes it very difficult for people to accept your advice when it seems that you don't even take the time to actually respond to them INDIVIDUALLY.0 -
Less when you start lifting.0
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Less when you start lifting.
this.
my cardio is to lift weights faster.0 -
What are your goals?
^^^ This!0 -
How many times are you going to post this wall of text? Can you answer the OPs question without making every post about you? It makes it very difficult for people to accept your advice when it seems that you don't even take the time to actually respond to them INDIVIDUALLY.
fu<k. i love you.0 -
It depends on you and your stamia. I usually do it 4-5 times a week.0
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I run/walk about 70 minutes every other day and do garden work, bike, swim or walk on the other days so I guess I get cardio daily. I know the weight lifters will say you can't tone up or look 'pretty' just by doing cardio but they are wrong. I am proof of that. I have no fat on my legs and it's obvious that it is muscle. My arms are the same way and trust me, both looked reallyyy bad before I started exercising! My tummy and back could use bigger muscles so I will add some strength training and hopefully some floor exercise this winter to have more muscle definition there. I'm far from being an expert but I'd say do what you will want to KEEP doing and change it up when you're ready!
Good luck!0 -
I do 80-100 minutes 4-6 days a week. This leaves me no time for strength training, so I wouldn't recommend it. I have to use my bike as my main form of transportation and that is why my cardio is so time consuming.0
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Cardio 5-6 days a week.
30 minutes on lifting days and an hour on non lifting days.
The days I do an hour I break it up because I lose interest so I do 20 minutes in my lunch break and the remainder after work at the gym or somewhere else.0 -
i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
I''m 5'1" but even so everyone is different. You don't need to do so much cardio if you don't want to. I love running so I do it just as much as I lift weights. But I found after running marathon after marathon (and hitting the gym for weights) that I still gained weight. Losing weight is all about calories, not cardio. Of course you burn some calories but not near as much as all the HRM's say and it is insignificant when you have enough fat reserves on your body.
Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.
Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.
Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.
Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.
If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.
My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Wishing you the best! -Bobbie
How many times are you going to post this wall of text? Can you answer the OPs question without making every post about you? It makes it very difficult for people to accept your advice when it seems that you don't even take the time to actually respond to them INDIVIDUALLY.
Give it a rest Bobbie, I'm so sick of seeing the same cut and paste post in countless threads..............geeze.0 -
i usually do 5 days a week of cardio bc i have 2 days where im busy all day and cant do any... but ive found the time to hit the gym on one of those days now so if i go to the gym today that will make 6 days/week of cardio
but im pretty tired. i usually do an hour of cardio 5 days/wk +/- warmup (usually only 5 min warmup/cooldown)
im getting plenty of nutrients but im thinking maybe 6 days of cardio per week is too much? i was thinking maybe on that 1 extra day i could just do 30 min instead of a full hour.
i dont know.. how much cardio do you all do? what is too much or too little?
oh and btw i am 5'3 and 106.. 105 goal weight and have lost 24 pounds so far
we have the same stats! I only do cardio 30-60 min ONCE a week (I hate it...) I do strength the other 4 days nd maintain my athletic frame quite easily on this 0 -
I agree with the general message of cardio + strength = well balanced workout schedule. I do cardio 2-3x per week, strength training 2-3x per week and Yoga once (or more if I feel like I need it). This also keeps me from getting bored. If you need help coming up with a plan, I suggest that you check out Jamie Eason's 12 week schedule at Bodybuilding.com (it's free!).
Good luck!0 -
What are your goals?I believe you should do more strength training, but that is just my opinion.
thank you everyone, iwas at the gym so i couldnt respond to you all in time
my goals... just to get to 105 and maintain and cut my fat down.. not sure of my actual body fat percentage right now but my scale fluctuates between 17%-23%
i do weights every 2 days and my routine loks like this right now (i increase the amount of weight as i progress, used to be a lot less)
arm curls - 30 pounds 9 reps 3 sets
tricep pull down 70 lb 9 reps 3 sets
shoulder press 30 pounds 8 reps 3 sets
lat pull down - 70 lb 9-10 reps 3 sets
chest press - 35 lb 8 reps 3 sets
chest incline - 30 lb 8 reps 3 sets
and i do obliques and abdominal leg raises on inbetween days
also i eat 1300-1400 calories per day. the things i eat are low in fat content and i eat a lot of fish and chicken, tons of fiber in my diet (unintentionally) drink tons of water (intentionally and because im thirsty)0
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