How long are your cardio. Sessions ?

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  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    My sessions are anywhere from 25 minutes to 180 minutes.

    The length of time is not important as long as you are not injured & eating enough. Its all depends are the goals you've set for yourself.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I have a serious question... because I seriously do NOT understand.

    Why people do XX minutes on the Treadmill and then XX more minutes on the elliptical... or vice versa.

    What is the deal with that??
    Can be a whole host of reasons:

    Goal achieved (5k run, 20 minutes intervals etc.)
    Variety - elliptical (especially with arms & legs) works muscles very differently. Similar idea to switching between sit ups and hanging leg raises, similar but different.
    Only one piece of equipment might have a TV. :smile:
    More variety - same as sometimes doing lat pull downs, sometimes wide arm pull ups, nice to mix it up.
    Not hogging equipment - same as not hogging the squat rack when others want a turn.
    Feet getting numb or pins & needles is common on elliptical.
    Boredom - treadmill bores me to tears and I only do it because I need to for sport and the perverse satisfaction of doing something I've always been poor at. (Can't run outside due to injury BTW)

    That's kind of what I thought- I just- if I'm doing cardio on XX equipment- I usually just do it. I don't want to change. So to me it seems odd... but I suppose it works- most of the time anything over 30 minutes is over kill anyway! LOL

    for me, when i'm not running or sprinting (YAY SPRINTS!) cardio is boring as heck and the only other cardio type workout i like doing (swimming) i dont have the stamina to do for 45-60 minutes. so it's not unheard of for me to do 20 mins each on the versaclimber, rower and bike in order to get in my 60 mins of consistent heart rate over 145 BPM

    with you on the sprinting- I'm much rather go do 100 yard sprints than run for 45 minutes- it just takes SO LONG- and it's mind- numbing- I don't mind it occasionaly- but it's hard to 'push' a run when it's a long steady state type deal. Just keep going- different than pushing- you just keep running lol.
    To me it's all boring- so I guess it doesn't matter what equipment I'm on- I rate them in different levels of boredom- but they are all still boring. I watch netflix on the stair master- or spinning bike. Can't be bothered otherwise. But I guess that's why it's weird to me- because it's boring either way- so I might as well be bored on one machine and not have to stop doing what I'm doing- wipe down and go get another and lather rinse repeat!
  • jjking54
    jjking54 Posts: 113 Member
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    I do weights and then cardio three times a week.

    I do a 10 minute warmup on the stationary bike. Then my strength workout takes around 40-50 minutes. After that, depending on the time, I'll do another 35-50 minutes on the stationary bike, sometimes a tempo ride, sometime intervals, sometimes "hills."

    On the weekend I'm going to add another hour on the stationary trainer at home, but then, during the warmer months I'm a cyclist so I'm laying down my base miles now.

    Yes, long bouts of cardio can be boring, but as long as I have music in my ears I can ride for a long time.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    My cardio sessions are almost nil and very short. I'm working on changing that.
  • Chain_Ring
    Chain_Ring Posts: 753 Member
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    Dreadmill is horrible. I'd go buy a mtn bike and ride it like you stole it.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Yeah, my mountain bike rides are usually around 2 hours, but it's winter so those are like twice a month. IF I try to make myself get on a machine in order to stay in shape for the mountain biking, the most I can do is 45 minutes.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    I do about 8 hours of cardio per week on average.
  • doughnutwretch
    doughnutwretch Posts: 498 Member
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    Currently in a cut so 30 mins w/ 5 min cool down before work Mon-Fri and usually some on one or both weekend days. Next week the time will go up to 35 w/ 5 min cool down. Also try to squeeze in some time on the weekend to play ball, just for fun.

    During maintenance and bulk cycles, just a few times a week for 30-35 mins plus some basketball, biking, Frisbee, swimming, etc for fun.

    Cardio is important for cardiovascular health and endurance, but it sounds like you're spending a lot of time in the gym doing cardio. Why not incorporate some lifting into the mix? Hit the weights for 30-45 minutes and then finish out your session with 20-30 mins cardio. Your muscles will thank you.
  • jnb143
    jnb143 Posts: 62 Member
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    30 minutes or so on tredmill 5x a week.

    Hopefully I can get a response to this questions:

    If you are wanting to just lose weight, should I increase my cardio time amount and not focus on weight training?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Dreadmill is horrible. I'd go buy a mtn bike and ride it like you stole it.

    central new jersey- i'd lose weight because I'd probably be on life support being fed through a tube if I rode a bike around here...:( conrete jungle and all

    I'll take the safety of the gym- but yeah- mountain biking is killer.
  • blondee5711
    blondee5711 Posts: 5
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    My trainer told me to keep my cardio sessions under 45 mins. 30 mins per session is ideal, and she had mentioned that if I was doing cardio to lose weight, to go to the gym twice a day for two 30 min sessions instead of all at once for an hour. I'm not saying this is for sure how everyone should do it, but that's the way it had been explained to me. :)
  • ChaplainHeavin
    ChaplainHeavin Posts: 426 Member
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    I do cardio 3 times a week: 47 minutes on my Nordic Track Skier and 17 minutes doing high intensity aerobics such as running in place, mountain climbers, squat jacks, jumping jacks, etc. The reason for the numbers are simple: According to MFP, I need to do 47 minutes on the Nordic Track to burn 400 calories, which is the goal I set for myself. The number 17 is merely because that's as long as it takes. I do the Skier and aerobics because both require endurance, which I'm wanting to build up on.

    Twice a week I do my strength training which only includes push ups in 3 different positions. I'm planning on implementing hands weights tonight in that workout. Not sure if it would make much of a difference or not (adding the hand weights, that is).
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 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 ??

    Congrats on your commitment to getting some cardio hours!!

    Yes, the body benefits from long periods of exercise (cardio). And yes, it also benefits from shorter, more intense periods. You could structure your weeks with a larger goal in mind - getting stronger, faster, building for more endurance, targeting fat burning, working on sprints, etc...depending on your needs and goals.

    Typically, when doing a lot of cardio work, your body needs a rest and recovery week (usually 5 days long) every third or fourth week. That rest week allows your body's muscles and soft tissue to supercompensate and prepare to be loaded with effort for the next 2-3 week training block (which should stress the sytem a bit more than the prior training block).

    I've been doing about 8 - 12 hours of cardio a week since January 6th of this year (training for the cycling season - and racing). It's a very structured training plan with specific goals (12 week cycling base building plan that will max out around 15 hours per week).

    If the jogging/running hurts your knees, spend more time on the spin bike as it is low impact. Provided you have the seat height and fit adjusted correctly, it should be much better on your knees. It's not difficult to burn 500-600 calories per hour on the bike doing a pretty easy effort (heart rates between 135 - 150). PIck up the effort, and the calorie burn increases. You could do some intervals during one or maybe, at most, two sessions per week to increase the intensity. I would suggest trying to avoid what we call "junk miles" or "junk cardio" where your heart rate is down below 130. Unless you are using it for a 30 minute recovery spin or a warm up, or to get the blood flow going before weight training. There's really not much benefit to low intensity cardio in the length of sessions you mention and if you are going to spend time doing some cardio, you may as well bump it up to an intensity that stresses your system.

    For me, 60-90 minutes on the spin bike/trainer is considered a short session this time of year. Weekends I shoot for 2 or 2 1/2 hours on Saturday, and 2 - 3 on Sunday. I don't find it boring as I've got a big screen TV to watch (or music) with 2 floor fans blowing on me at gale force to keep me cool. And I can toss in intervals every now and then to focus on those efforts and the recovery between the efforts. I'd be outside on the bike, but it's the middle of winter and everything is covered in snow and ice at the moment.

    Without knowing your needs, a typical week based on what you mention you currently are doing, could be...

    Monday: lower body weights
    Tuesday: 60 minutes in heart rate Zone 2 on the spin bike or favorite cardio machine
    Wednesday: upper body weights and core work
    Thursday: 60-90 minutes of cardio that includes some intensity (Zone 3 and Zone 4)
    Friday: 30 minutes cardio recovery; 30 minutes core work
    Saturday: Endurance cardio session of 90 mnutes
    Sunday: Endurance cardio session of 90 minutes to 2 hours

    I would say a minimum of 6 hours a week would be a perfect fit for a time crunched person to get enough cardio in to keep fit. If you have more time, you can really fire up the fat burning. Or if you are training for some sort of endurance event, you can slowly increase your weekly training load to build for a few months to the event.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    My trainer told me to keep my cardio sessions under 45 mins. 30 mins per session is ideal, and she had mentioned that if I was doing cardio to lose weight, to go to the gym twice a day for two 30 min sessions instead of all at once for an hour. I'm not saying this is for sure how everyone should do it, but that's the way it had been explained to me. :)

    What kind of trainer were they, most of that is pure hokum
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    My trainer told me to keep my cardio sessions under 45 mins. 30 mins per session is ideal, and she had mentioned that if I was doing cardio to lose weight, to go to the gym twice a day for two 30 min sessions instead of all at once for an hour. I'm not saying this is for sure how everyone should do it, but that's the way it had been explained to me. :)

    get a new trainer- she's an idiot.

    sorry not sorry.
  • JONZ64
    JONZ64 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    20 minutes for running and 10 for intervals
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    0 minutes.

    Unless you count how much my heart rate elevates when I get ready to eat. Then it's more like 2 minutes. lol
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    30 minutes or so on tredmill 5x a week.

    Hopefully I can get a response to this questions:

    If you are wanting to just lose weight, should I increase my cardio time amount and not focus on weight training?

    If all you're interested in is losing weight, then yes, ditch the weights...

    In all seriousness:

    When you're in a deficit the body loses fat, water, and Lean Body Mass, so the scale can move faster this way.

    When you lift in a deficit you're preventing as much of the LBM loss as possible, so you lose mostly water and fat. The scale may not move as fast, but the tape measure can move just as fast (if not faster). You may not get to the "weight" you want, but you'd probably pass the "mirror test".

    Also, none of this matters if your diet isn't straight.

    Diet for weight loss, and exercise for fitness.
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
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    Depends. Right now I do 30 minutes a day. Next month when I start my duathlon training and then my half marathon training after that it will be longer.

    I also lift weights 5 days a week.
  • thevoice1973
    thevoice1973 Posts: 55 Member
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    45 minutes , 5X / week

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