Should I reduce my cardio?

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SolidGoaled
SolidGoaled Posts: 504 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Lately, I am finding that I have to go all-out in order to get my heart rate up to a place where I am burning enough calories (per my Polar FT7) I do TurboFire (intense cardio) 5-6 days per week. I have trained my heart to be so efficient that I have to really push hard for those calorie burns - I am thinking of dropping down to cardio for 4 or 5 days per week and just being more diligent with my diet. I do eat my exercise calories, and I think that I am starting to rely on the cardio almost too much and not paying enough attention to my diet. And I am afraid that I may have trained myself into a level of fitnes that requires too much of myself to maintain. (Whew - did that sentence make any sense??)

Is there any remedy for a too-efficient heart rate, or is this foolish of me to worry about?

Replies

  • acknan
    acknan Posts: 261 Member
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    Though I am far from in good shape, I noticed the same thing. What used to be a great burn in a walk or treadmill session is nothing now and I am not ready for running yet. I also eat more than I should but use exercise to compensate. I need to reevaluate how I am going to make this work. I'm not ready to have the restrictive diet that I have seen from many people here, but I don't want to rely on workouts to get me through. Today's was bad for me and now I know dinner will likely put me over or I won't feel satisfied...

    Looking forward to hearing responses and advice.
  • living_4_me
    living_4_me Posts: 38
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    I would think that you should be celebrating such a level of fitness. Perhaps you need to switch up your routine a little bit? Maybe try different videos or different circuits? There is no reading why you can't refocus on your diet and keep pushing the limits of physical fitness!

    That's my perspective:) If I were in your shoes (and I work out hard very frequently), I would keep pushing the boundaries!
  • living_4_me
    living_4_me Posts: 38
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    By "reading" I meant "reason" - lol I just finished a workout and it's time for me to eat! Apparently my brain need some fuel:) lol
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
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    I find the same thing. 1 - switchup your workouts and 2) make sure to adjust your heart rate monitor strap to comfortably tight. I continually do this but just yesterday I noticed it was lose - and I burned 100 more in a 60 min workout than I did a few days before!
  • emyback68
    emyback68 Posts: 89
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    I have the same problem, my resting heart rate is 56, so it takes a lot to get going. I do switch up my workouts a lot, and have added additional strength training (in place of some of the cardio).

    My cardio machine of choice is the elliptical. What I do to get my heart rate up is jump roping. Sounds silly, but jump roping for more than a minute or two is really tough and gets your heart rate really going. So I get my heart rate up, then jump on the elliptical. Sometimes I take breaks to add in the jump roping if I am not able to keep my heart rate way up during the workout.
    Also, using hand weights while on the elliptical machine, and increasing the resistance (I do low/hi resistance intervals) seems to keep my heart rate in a burning zone.

    1200 calories just isn't enough, but it is what I need to be eating to lose weight. So I need to exercise to make up the difference.
  • SoCalSwimmerDude
    SoCalSwimmerDude Posts: 480 Member
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    I think thats a pretty normal circumstance when your getting into great shape. Even when out of shape, I can swim 1-2 miles with no problem whatsoever if I don't push myself.

    Like others have said, switch up your cardio routine. Even though I used swimming as my own example of whats easy, its a great workout that will push all of your muscles AND your cardio. If you don't want to get in the water, then doing a rowing machine is a fantastic exercise which also works out all your muscles while giving great cardio (just be sure to have proper form lest you get injured). With rowing, you can get in a rythm and its actually kinda fun.

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