New here, my cardio is so bad I need cardio bootcamp

I definitely sympathise. Im 260 so running hurts a little and I cant do it for long so im doing anaetobic stuff for now so I can get my body ready and it helps to boost weightloss. Once I drop 30# I will start to look at treadmills and begin walking. I hope to build up to jogging. Good luck

The first step is the hardest. If you have a friend that can walk with you and hold each other accountable for getting your walks, I think helps tremendously.

Hi everyone, I am a former runner (usually 45 mins every day after school), and since then I have been nothing but a video game zombie and heavy drinker. I recently stopped drinking and have been eating much healthier, but I have such bad cardio that it is hard to get enough exercise in to improve it.

I really want to get a regular exercise routine, I am well aware of all the good things keeping your body active can do, but I'm just so out of shape that anything more than a slow jog floors me. I'm hoping I can learn from some of the more experienced people here and send myself to cardio boot camp.

On April 10th last year when I signed up here at MFP, I walked for five minutes with a cane after being almost housebound due to Lupus for a year. I got rid of the cane after about a month and today walked continuous 65 minutes at " walk the dog " speed....and still have rampant systemic Lupus .
When I first started I increased my walking time by a couple of minutes one week and my speed the next, switching things off each week. I still do the same increasing both on alternating weeks.
I am old(er ) and that is maybe all I can do as far as exercise is concerned and that is fine with me. I assume you are much younger and once you lose some weight you probably can do a lot of different things in regard to exercise. For now I think just walking is a good thing. It will get you moving, burns calories, increases self esteem and gets you prepared for more exiting sports. Just start with what you can do and build on that. You will be surprised what you can do in a month or two if you just hang in there.
Good Luck !

I agree walking would be best to start with

nothing wrong with a slow jog....run until you want to stop but know you don't need too and then run 1 minute longer...finish up with a 10 min walk....each week add a minute to your jog. You will get there. No one said it had to be fast.

My cardio is certified bad....I had a heart attack a year and a half ago and spent a minute and a half dead. The first big positive to come out of it was I quit smoking...then for most of the year and a half since I haven't done much else about it. Medications hit and miss, exercise even more so...mostly I could just work up a sweat contemplating the idea.

Anyway, a couple months ago I seemed to have had an epiphany. All of a sudden without a lot of planning I didn't miss my medications a single time, that seemed to motivate me to get my refills on time. From there, again without actually thinking about it, I began walking, something I really enjoyed when I was younger....and, thinner. I'm in the Phoenix area so daytime anything (110-degrees) is out, but one night, I grabbed my pocket transistor radio and took off for a walk. The idea was about 15 minutes out and 15 back. All went well to the 13 minute mark and the small of my back began to ache....another 3 or 4 minutes and I was in agony but still had to do the 15 minutes back. Got back, sat down and within about 5 minutes my back was fine. It wasn't a spasm....just either an unused muscle that wasn't used to being erect that long, or one used in walking. The "old me" would've just said...okay, walking isn't good for me and quit.

The "new-me" instead figured....okay, I can't do 30 minutes, but I CAN do 15, so I broke it into and early morning and a night walk. Now some 4 weeks later I can do the whole 30 minutes, so I'm now doing a 30 minute in the morning and 30 in the evening and a dip in the pool swimming freestyle and treading water for 30 minutes.

Two things have happened. Not only can I say, I've seen a result of exercising...my time has expanded significantly, but also for the first time in my life I can honestly say, I actually feel better.

That then led to watching what I eat, which is what brought me to MFP...the food and exercise diaries have become real motivators for me...almost obsessive about it.

I've decided my total goal is to be losing 65 to 70 pounds. That will get me back to my college weight and take me from a BMI of 34, to a much healthier 24. The NIH recommends a loss pace of 1 to 2 pounds a week with an initial goal of a loss of 10% of ones body weight....for me, that means 24 pounds and given about 26 weeks left to the end of the year...my initial goal is 24 pounds by Dec. 31, 2014. That kind of weight loss would likely take me off my blood pressure meds. Not to mention what it would do for my heart not having to lug that 24# around all day.

Start small and you might find yourself also becoming obsessed at getting back where you were. Try not to wait till you die to take action....dying isn't that bad...worse would be diabetes or the damage that can be done to your back, hips and mental state....any combination of those is worse then dying because they will end up immobilizing you, and while you're still above ground, your life will be over if you're restricted from those things you enjoy that make your life worth living.

If you need a friend to commiserate with let me know....