Cardio lovers HELP!

You're inside so it's bound to get boring. Go outside run or Cycle explore the world it's lovely out here even in bad weather

the best way i found was to mix it up, running on treadmill, walking outside, step aerobics (from my much bashed out 20 year old Cher video!!), stability ball and some kickboxing workouts. good for your body this way as well as you work all the muscle groups

julie

Yeah, forty minutes on a treadmill is pretty grim...and unless you are training for something specific, the PTs at my gym seem to be pretty much in agreement that it isn't as effective to spend ages on one thing.

I try and mix it up a bit - one workout I do goes like this:

Round 1
Row 3 mins
Run 6 mins
Cycle 6 mins
Stepper 3 mins

Round 2 - higher intensity, shorter period
Row 2 mins
Run 4 mins
Cycle 4 mins
Stepper 2 mins

Round 3 - again, increasing intensity - pretty much all out
Row 1 min
Run 2 mins
Cycle 4 mins
Stepper 1 min

No rest between moving to different apparatus, and I feel like I've done much more than if I'd spent 40 mins on an eliptical trainer at a steady pace.

Of course, you do get gym snobs staring at you because you've only used one bit of kit for a couple of minutes - usually the same ones who spend an hour walking on the treadmill (having driven to the gym).

... it isn't as effective to spend ages on one thing.

Define effective?

For building the aerobic base then long slow (relative) is the way ahead, to improve ability to operate at higher intensities then a combination of tempo and interval is the way ahead.

What you describe is predominantly working the lower limbs, with the row working core and upper, You'll get similar effects actually spending longer on each machine but using a variety of sessions; sustained, tempo or interval. Certainly less disruptive to others than tying up four machines for your session.

Hi guys,
So I see these people at my gym, on the elliptical/treadmill, and they just GO and GO! now I do cardio, usually 30-40min, but I HATE every second of it. I haven't been working out very long (6 months)and I am wondering if in time, as my body becomes stronger, if I will actually enjoy it?
For those of you who enjoy your cardio, have you always enjoyed it? Or did the enjoyment come in time?

Hopefully, you love the endorphin rush you get from sustained cardio work!!!! And the stress relief.

I spend a lot of itme indoors on an exercise bike (thanks to it being the coldest winter since 1979 here in the Midwest). I'm not going to say that there are "not" moments of boredom, because there are. During the warm months, I am out on my bike which provides a lot more stimulation so boredom does not creep into the equation.

It helps a lot to be following a structured training plan rather than just hopping on and going for "some time" on a machine. As mentioned above, structured training will have different intensity levels and different durations so some days you are doing recovery cardio of just 30 minutes, some days you are doing intervals within a 60-90 minute session, some days you are doing long, slow, and steady such as 2 1/2 - 3+ hours, and at least one day you are resting. I think if you had a plan to follow so each day you knew how long and at what intensity you were going to do the session, it helps provide a goal. Accomplishing each daily goal is a nice task to complete and helps remove some of the boredeom by providing a great sense of satisfaction. Couple that with the endorphin release that kicks in about 20-30 minutes into a nice intensity session - and whoa!!! Talk about a free drug!!!!

I barely even get warmed up during a 30-40 minute session, but with time - you get used to it. Music, television, etc... can help alleviate the boredom if you have access to that. I've got 5 1/2 hours on the hamster wheel this weekend. But I'm used to it. And the caloric burn adds up like a meter in a Taxi cab which makes it all worth it.

Think about getting a 6, 8, 10, 12 week plan that breaks it down into daily, and weekly goals that are more task oriented and allows you to keep your eye on the ball better.

Best of luck.

Sometimes I will mix it up and do 10 minutes each on 3 or 4 different machines. Exercising outside in Michigan is really not an option right now. The only one I cannot stand is the stationary bike. I know many people love it, but I HATE it! I have no idea why.

Define effective?

Sorry, I was trying to explain how I make my workouts more interesting then spending forty minutes or so on one machine (where I would be only working one area anyway). That's why I don't spend longer on each machine - I find, personally, that I will tend to get bored on longer sessions so like to mix it up. I know I could get similar results varying sessions and doing longer, but that's the point; I don't want to do longer on a particular machine.

OK, so if I can play that back. By effective you mean something that you'll actually do, then that's fair enough. Different people are motivated by different things and as upthread the prospect of spending 40 minutes on a hamster wheel in an air conditioned room really does not appeal to me either.

Notwithstanding that there is no real physiological reason to do what you describe, and if anything the calorie consumption is probably a bit less than you'd get from doing a tempo or interval session on a single machine, or using a similar machine cycle for longer periods.

And part of going down that route was because (as you handily edited out of your quote) the PTs in my gym said that it wasn't as effective .

Without being clear about what you meant by effective it wasn't really important, it also depends on what motivates them