Going to try doing longer cardio sessions.

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hiyomi
hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
in Motivation and Support
Tomorrow I'm going to try doing an hour and a half of cardio instead of the 50 minutes I've been doing now. Mostly all on a stationary bike >_< with the 50 minutes sessions I'm doing now, I think I feel like I have enough energy still for longer workouts >_< I hope I can make it :D wish me luck, and any tips for longer cardio sessions would be appreciated :D
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  • Jessb1985
    Jessb1985 Posts: 264 Member
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    Good luck, I'd also suggest upping your intensity instead of the duration. Example go hard/fast for 45 seconds to a minute and then recover for a minute and repeat 20 times, see how you go :)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Tomorrow I'm going to try doing an hour and a half of cardio instead of the 50 minutes I've been doing now. Mostly all on a stationary bike >_< with the 50 minutes sessions I'm doing now, I think I feel like I have enough energy still for longer workouts >_< I hope I can make it :D wish me luck, and any tips for longer cardio sessions would be appreciated :D

    Don't go too intense, and eat carbs before hand to cut down on chances of dipping into muscle burn off which starts happening to some degree around 60 depending on your fitness level.

    Once a week can be fun. Since on a bike, crank the tension and stand up often.

    Otherwise use your extra time to do activity that will help actually retain your muscle - lifting.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    Do you have a specific endurance goal that long? The reason I ask is that around 45 mins is where you get diminishing returns from extra cardio, and start getting unnecessarily catabolic. If you have endurance goals, then it's worth it. If not, you might get more out of increasing the intensity so you're spent within the 50 mins.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    how about spending 45 mins doing some strength training instead?
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    OMG I could never eat carbs BEFORE working out..... it sends me to sleep. I did 2:15 of cardio the other day.... I felt fantastic. Normally I will o just under an hour. Now I mix cardio & strength in on session of 2 hours instead. Makes me so pumped I love it.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
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    how about spending 45 mins doing some strength training instead?
    Dis one.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    how about spending 45 mins doing some strength training instead?
    Dis one.

    *nods*
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
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    Maybe you don't like strength training. And I won't push that on you. But perhaps instead of doubling your low impact cardio, step it up a notch, provided you are able to do so health-wise. Do some HIIT or something that takes a little more oomph. You may not want to go for 90 minutes if you're doing something like that.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    How about upping the intensity of your cardio so that you only have to spend 30 minutes or less?

    Or do some strength training like others suggested.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    unless you are planning on a race or a competition that involves long sustained cardio, i'd suggest upping the intensity rather then the duration of the exercise.
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    Why not try HIIT? More bang for your buck and you'd get better results than doing a longer time? I used to do that and my time was better spent doing a higher intensity for a shorter time and doing strength training.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
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    I didn't realize how much preferable to most people strength training is. I am doing some lifting after my usual 50 minutes of cardio, about 20 minutes. Is it still better to more strength training? :D
  • Controversial
    Controversial Posts: 157 Member
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    Since you apparently like the bike, have you tried a Spinning class? They are incredibly fun (imo) and work you SO much harder than you can on your own. I burn about 700-1000 cals/hr in my class, depending on the resistance and how hard I push.

    And yes, I lift too. You do not have to choose.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I didn't realize how much preferable to most people strength training is. I am doing some lifting after my usual 50 minutes of cardio, about 20 minutes. Is it still better to more strength training? :D

    Yes, and reverse the order, or else your cardio will just tire out your muscles and you can't use them to the same level.
    Full benefit from lifting is only when you put a heavy load on them, not because they are tired.

    Lifting 45 min, then easy 15 cardio.
  • paxbfl
    paxbfl Posts: 391 Member
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    Why not try HIIT? More bang for your buck and you'd get better results than doing a longer time? I used to do that and my time was better spent doing a higher intensity for a shorter time and doing strength training.

    EXACTLY this! Do a 2-minute warm-up, then do 6 4-minute intervals of light intensity (1 min walk), moderate intensity (1 min jog), high intensity (1 min run), and full intensity (1 min sprint). Then do a 4-minute cool-down to make it 30 minutes total. Stretch, grab a drink, and then LIFT for 30 minutes.

    That will be a GREAT workout!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Do you have a specific endurance goal that long? The reason I ask is that around 45 mins is where you get diminishing returns from extra cardio, and start getting unnecessarily catabolic. If you have endurance goals, then it's worth it. If not, you might get more out of increasing the intensity so you're spent within the 50 mins.

    I was going to say something similar. OP...what exactly are your fitness goals that you are wanting to increase the duration of your cardio like this? As others have noted, you would get more benefit incorporating some heavy lifting and increasing the intensity of your cardio on certain days rather than duration.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
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    Well, I'm just trying to lose alot of weight ATM. I am 268, and want to get down to 200, then later 180lbs. I am eating 1500-1800 calories a day. I would like to gain muscle also, but my main focus right now is losing weight. I am lifting weights as well as the cardio, wanted to increase cardio though
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Why not try HIIT? More bang for your buck and you'd get better results than doing a longer time? I used to do that and my time was better spent doing a higher intensity for a shorter time and doing strength training.

    This ^^ In my experience, intesity makes a bigger difference in overall fitness than duration. And doing HIIT really helps with endurance when you do a longer workout. For cardio, I think it's a good idea to do both steady state and HIIT. And as others have mentioned, don't forget to include some strength training.
  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,215 Member
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    As others have said, less duration but more intense cardio and weight lifting is a better approach. You reach diminishing returns with too much exercise.

    Also, for most people, diet trumps exercise. You can't out-exercise a less than optimal diet.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Well, I'm just trying to lose alot of weight ATM. I am 268, and want to get down to 200, then later 180lbs. I am eating 1500-1800 calories a day. I would like to gain muscle also, but my main focus right now is losing weight. I am lifting weights as well as the cardio, wanted to increase cardio though

    Here's the thing...your calorie goal already has a weight loss deficit built in. Exercise is awesome, but not necessary for weight loss here. Exercise for fitness, heart health, endurance, strength...use your diet for weight control. When you do a lot of exercise, you have to be able to fuel it...if you don't fuel it, you're actually creating bigger problems for yourself.

    Just be patient...set fitness goals for yourself that have nothing to do with weight loss...you will thank yourself later. Also, weight lifting should be of equal if not more focus if you're talking about burning fat...building lean body mass burns more fat than all of the cardio in the world. Notice, I'm not saying calories...I'm talking fat...lean body mass burns up a lot of fat calories long after your workout is complete. Cardio pretty much just burns those calories when you're working out. The focus of your cardio should be heart health and overall cardiovascular fitness, not burning a bazillion calories.

    Remember that weight loss is slow...it should be...slow is the only way to do it safely and in a healthy manner. Just be patient with it. I workout 6 days per week...I do 3x weekly of intense cardio (30 minutes Aerobic HR zone)...3x weekly of light cardio (30 minutesin fat burn HR zone) and 3x weekly heavy lifting. To date I've lost 20 Lbs (some of those before MFP) and I've done it by controlling what goes into my body, not killing with cardio.

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