Is there any cardio that is easy on the legs?

Amylynn

Hello

I have been working out for the last 2 months about 3x per week for an hour a day. The last 3 weeks I decided to step it up & work out 5-6x per week for about 1 1/2-2 hours a day because I want to accelerate my weight loss. When I started 2 months ago, I weighed 261 lbs. I want to get down to 190 lbs. with my 1st mini-goal being 230 lbs. Currently, I weigh 246 lbs.

Cardio plays a big part in my exercising because I have so much weight to lose. It is to my understanding that I need to be doing at least 30 mins of cardio each day I work out, and then I alternate the muscle groups that I weight train on. My problem is that because every form of cardio I do involves my legs, my legs are killing me:sad:

Are there any forms of cardio that will burn a decent amount of calories but won't be so hard on my legs? Also, any suggestions to direct how I workout to maximize weight loss would be greatly appreciated:flowerforyou: .

Amylynn

Also, I am looking for ab exercises that a person with a big belly can do because I feel like my belly gets in the way when attempting to do some ab moves.

Opera_Bound

My suggestion is to swim - if you're able. I live in Florida so I realize the amount of time per year we can swim outdoors is deifnitely different from those who reside north of us. Anyway, swimming is a great cardio workout as you have to manage your breath while using all muscle groups. Even consider a water areobics class. Yes, you'll be using your legs, but it's far less impact that running/jogging.

:flowerforyou: Hope that helps! Best of luck to you!

Edestiny7

Yes, my first thought would be swimming. Or those Elipticor machines are supposed to be easier on your knees, not sure about legs. For abs, have you tried sitting on the floor while holding a medicine ball and touching the medicine ball to the floor on your right, then on your left? So it is a twisting motion. A personal trainer at our gym gave that to us to do. And a basic crunch should work, regardless of your belly. You only curl your shoulders off of the ground, you do not completely sit up. Hope that helps.

sjcply

Elliptical machine or arc trainer are less impact on your legs than running/jogging.
good luck!

leavinglasvegas

I agree about water aerobics. I've not tried it, but I know some people who have. My old boss took a class because she had major back problems and she LOVED it! I've always heard good things about water aerobics.

Also, I like to use the stationary bike when I'm sore from alot of running, power walking, or high impact aerobics. And the "Walk Away the Pounds" DVD's are a good medium as well. But they aren't really a tough workout in my opinion. I like the burn, WATP doesn't burn.

For the abs, try a exercise ball and some pilates. If you have On Demand they have a 12 minute ab workout that is pretty good. Its simple enough, but still burns real good.

Congrats on your loss so far! Thats awesome!

katia30

THE BEST CARDIO FOR LEGS IS STEPPING ONE HOUR EVERYDAY ...

aippolito1

I think you're overdoing it. Do no more than one hour per day and just try to make it more intense instead of 1 1/2- 2 hours per day. It's a lot. I know you have a lot of weight to lose, like you said, but you will seriously burn out - and probably injure your legs - if you're working out this much. On days you strength train, do less cardio. Do your weights FIRST (this helps burn more carbs & sugar, which accelerates what the cardio is doing to your fat) and then do like, 30 minutes of cardio. This will allow your body to rest more instead of working it so hard all in one day. Or split up your work outs if you want to keep doing 2 hours. Do one hour in the morning and then do an hour of something different in the afternoon or at night.

If you've experienced a slow in weight loss, it may be because you're working too hard. Your body needs time to recooperate so don't overexert yourself - it will only slow down your weight loss and hinder all your hard work up to this point.

etarre

For ab moves that aren't crunches, how about anything in plank position? Just holding plank position on your forearms is a great ab firmer, and you can also do side plank for your obliques.

If you get bored, you can try plank twists:
http://www.bobbimccormick.com/?p=4781&cpage=1

Bee28

You could try punches. A lot of videos I've done use boxing moves and if done with a lot of energy punching can really get your heart rate up.

blondie76

You could try punches. A lot of videos I've done use boxing moves and if done with a lot of energy punching can really get your heart rate up.

love shadow boxing total upper body workout!!

Amylynn

Thanx to everyone who replied. I will try to do some of these suggestions. Maybe I am overdoing it a little as one person suggested. I started with only doing 1 hours per day & was losing weight, so maybe I should just stick with that. But, I love swimming so that I will definately try.

perrim

I had a health coach tell me that too much more than 60 minutes of cardio a day ends up having diminishing effects on the body, so you're best off limiting yourself to 60 minutes a day. Personally, I LOVE the elliptical. You may also want to try the stationary bike. Swimming is a great suggestion too.

In re: abs. I'm sure there are others that will disagree with me on this, but for ME, I don't do much of any strength training or ab work until I'm at or very close to my goal weight. The times when I've done ab work in particular at a heavier weight, I feel like I build muscle underneath the fat, but the fat doesn't disappear, so my stomach actually feels bigger. I'd rather concentrate all of my efforts on cardio workouts (keeping in mind that I'm building some muscle and core strength just from that ) until I'm close to where I want to be to maintain, then maybe start with more strength training and ab work.

jerren

Is the concern for your legs about impact? Because cycling is zero impact.

cynthiaj777

Elliptical machine or arc trainer are less impact on your legs than running/jogging.
good luck!

Completely agree! I don't do the treadmill anymore. You can burn more calories on the elliptical, and it is WAY easier on your body.

sparklebritches

On leg "rest" days, I ride my recumbent stationary bike and keep the resistance low and the speed high.

smae1980

Elliptical machine or arc trainer are less impact on your legs than running/jogging.
good luck!

Completely agree! I don't do the treadmill anymore. You can burn more calories on the elliptical, and it is WAY easier on your body.

I love my elliptical, but while it is easier on the knee joints, it still works the muscles in your legs, I always feel it in my quads and calves the most, especially on higher resistances

PixieGoddess

See if your gym has a rowing machine. You can usually plant your feet and work more of your upper body and core than the legs.

And I know how the "belly in the way" feeling goes! I agree with the suggestion of plank exercises. I also have a couple dance workout dvds that have ab segments that are STANDING, so I feel like my tummy gets in the way a lot less than floor-based moves like sit-ups and whatnot.

froggergrrl1390

It is still raining here in Nor Cal so I recently purchased a Gazelle. It definitely gives you a work out and records your time, distance, calories burned, and avg. speed. I absolutely love it!!!

chrisdavey

By the sounds of it you are doing slow to medium state steady training if you can last for an hour and a half. I think if you mixed it up a bit with some shorter duration high intensity stuff that isn't leg focussed like boxing, body combat class or something like that that you would be able to have a bit more recovery time for the legs. Having said that, if you chuck in some kicks on a bag session I think it is even more intense

Amylynn

I may have given the wrong impression. I don't do cardio the whole time I work out. I usually start by doing 30 mins. on the elliptical, then I lift weights (I alternate doing legs one day & arms the next), I follow that with a few stomach exercises (but I don't feel like they are very effective because my belly gets in the way), then I finish up with 10-20 mins on the treadmill usually walking at a 3 mph pace just to cool down.

It's just that my legs have been soooo sore and it seems like any form of cardio you can do primarily tends to be hard on the legs. I don't have bad joints or anything, it's actually my muscles that hurt really bad.