How long are your cardio. Sessions ?

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vsprocket04
vsprocket04 Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I go to the gym 3 times a week and each session i do 40 mins epilator machine ( burning around 350 cals) and 40-50 mins treadmill, walking at a high incline and a fast pace as jogging/ running hurts my knee, (burning between 500-550 cals) i also do a few reps of arm weights/ torso machines in between. Also if I really feel like pushing myself ill do the gym bike at the end, but maybe only between 10-15 mins.

Does the body benefit from long periods of excersie or should I be aiming for shorter time/ more intense ??
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Replies

  • FitMelody4Life
    FitMelody4Life Posts: 106 Member
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    You are overdoing it in the cardio department and that can cause muscle wasting, not to mention aren't you just bored out of your mind doing cardio for that long?. You should be focusing more time on weights. Focus on large muscle groups and compound exercises. Don't ditch cardio but make it challeging and keep it under 45 minutes.
  • vsprocket04
    vsprocket04 Posts: 26 Member
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    I don't get bored, the time really flies but thanks.for your advice!
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    25 minutes give or take. My main focus is weight lifting now that I am at maintenance.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    It depends on what are your goals. If you want to build muscles, you need more strength training and less cardio. If you have no set goals and just enjoy it or are trying to burn calories or improve overall fitness, you are doing more than fine :)
  • Hungry_Annie
    Hungry_Annie Posts: 807 Member
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    It depends on the day...but I usually do half an hour of cardio minimum. Some days I do more, like last night I did 55 minutes on the treadmill and bike.
  • donnat238
    donnat238 Posts: 309 Member
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    Normally 60 minutes on the elliptical 5-6X a week.
  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
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    It varies, depending on what I'm doing that day, how happy my knees are or aren't and what I did the day before. I spend about an hour at the gym when I go (5, sometimes 6 days a week, although if it's 6 days, its because of yoga on saturday) and if I'm focusing on strength training, I'll only do about 15 min on the elliptical. On lighter days when I'm just doing ab/core work, I'll do about 30-35 minutes. Maybe once a week I skip the floor altogether and do laps for about 30 min.
  • seamonster1203
    seamonster1203 Posts: 118 Member
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    It depends on how active I've been during the day. If I'm in the office all day then I do more cardio, if its a weekend and Ive been running around all day, then I just do less at the gym.

    Your body is designed to walk around looking for food all day so you gotta somehow mimic that if you got a less active lifestyle. Also depends on how intense your cardio sessions are. You can walk super slow for 8 hours straight, or you can sprint for 30 second intervals. You pretty much gotta figure out what works for you and know theres no one rule fits all when it comes to shaping our bodies.
  • Kupe
    Kupe Posts: 758 Member
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    My cardio session are all out doors, so if it is a run it is minimum of 40 minutes and a ride can be anything up to 4 hours. Trust me I got no muscle wastage as one of the previous poster mentioned. It all depends on what your goals are. I also do heavy weight training, its all about finding the balance.
  • cardinalsfootball
    cardinalsfootball Posts: 167 Member
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    45 minutes. I find that's long enough for me and works for my schedule 5 days per week.
  • zb786
    zb786 Posts: 22 Member
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    Im looking to lose 30lbs. I tend to 30mins of cardio 3 times a week hiit training 2 times aweek and body sculpt exerises. evry week I tend to swap and change compared to my mood. overall i work out 5 times a week no more than 30mins at a time.
    I tend to get bored very quickly. ;]:smile:
  • Buddhasmiracle
    Buddhasmiracle Posts: 925 Member
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    Cycling 6 days a week alternating between 60 minutes or 120 minutes. Eliptical trainer for 35 minutes if the weather is lousy. I've recently added weight training 3xs a week.

    I enjoy cycling and am building up to 50 miles daily. I am not a performance cyclist.
  • xscat
    xscat Posts: 80 Member
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    I run 4.5~5.5 miles a day for 5~6 days a week on a treadmill(usually 6mph~7mph speed); I do 50 min elliptical instead of running when I feel like it... I love running. I find it soothing and fun on its own.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I go to the gym 3 times a week and each session i do 40 mins epilator machine ( burning around 350 cals) and 40-50 mins treadmill, walking at a high incline and a fast pace as jogging/ running hurts my knee, (burning between 500-550 cals) i also do a few reps of arm weights/ torso machines in between. Also if I really feel like pushing myself ill do the gym bike at the end, but maybe only between 10-15 mins.

    Does the body benefit from long periods of excersie or should I be aiming for shorter time/ more intense ??

    Just snorted my coffee imagining a gym with an epilator machine!! That would be forty minutes of hell..... :laugh:

    How long are your cardio. Sessions ?
    At the moment my weekly routine is 2 x 1 hour (which could be rowing, Spinning, elliptical, squash or rarely running) plus one session of 2 hours cycling. In the summer the long session can be a cycle of anywhere from 2 hours to 6 hours depending on distance and training goals.

    Does the body benefit from long periods of exercise or should I be aiming for shorter time/ more intense ??
    Completely depends on your goals. Long duration, low intensity will generally improve your endurance. Shorter time more intense for speed / power. Also depends on what you enjoy - please don't forget you are supposed to enjoy exercise.

    BTW - cardio doesn't cause muscle wasting unless your nutrition is poor. You would either have to severely under eat, be extremely lean already or be training to a level beyond elite endurance athletes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Depends...I've just started training for a 1/2 century and a metric century so a bit more than usual.

    Monday - Rest Day

    Tuesday - 45-60 minute easy paced ride AM or lunch; weight training PM

    Wednesday - 60 minute steady paced ride

    Thursday - Cardio Cross Training...generally about 20 minutes running the stairwell at work and then a 20-30 minute moderately paced walk to cool down and have some alone time with my brain. Weight Training in the PM

    Friday - Rest Day

    Saturday - hard spin followed by some muscular endurance body weight and resistance band work

    Sunday - Long Ride Day (gets incrementally longer each week)

    Barring actually training for something, I generally don't do any cardio beyond about 60 minutes save for a hike here and there and I might take a little bit longer ride or something on a weekend just because.

    Really, you'd be better served to find a bit more balance in your fitness regimen if you're just working out for your basic fitness.
  • FindingMyPerfection
    FindingMyPerfection Posts: 702 Member
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    Cardio?


    I play tag with my boys for 10 min every 2 hours but that's about it!
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
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    Anywhere from 10 minutes of HIIT, to 30 minutes of running (Working on my 5k), to 2+hrs of walking.
    From what I've seen from reports, the only time you have to worry about burning muscle is when you are working out at a high rate (Like running) over 45-60 minutes and do not have a supply of carbs in you to burn, and that is just because all the easy to convert fat has been used.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    It varies depending on the day and how much time I have available. I've been known to spend up to 11 hours on my bicycle in one day. Sometimes I crank out 20 minutes of very hard intervals. I aim for a cumulative cardio workout of 1+ hours a day at 65%-95% of MHR.
  • dmoppy
    dmoppy Posts: 45 Member
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    25 minutes give or take. My main focus is weight lifting now that I am at maintenance.

    Similar to the above for me. I walk/jog for 10 minutes before I lift on Chest and Back days followed by 20-30 minutes of HIIT using a treadmill with a pattern of 2 minute jog, 1 min high intensity run 4x week. On leg day I only do the warm-up but no HIIT, and nothing (or just basic walking) on my rest day.
    When I was losing I ran (treadmill or outside) for 60-90 minutes 3-4 times/week. Yes, I should have started my lifting then but I wanted the weight off as fast as possible – not the best idea but I needed the reinforcement of the loss. Now that I started lifting 3 months ago I can’t believe I didn’t begin it sooner. I thought I would miss the “regular” cardio/run more than I do but the HIIT scratches at least part of that itch.
    .

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