Cardio

i don't do cardio at the moment, but when i'm losing weight, i usually do things like spin classes.. sometimes i venture into other group fitness classes ..
more often than not, i do a 30 minute HIIT session, or sprint work on the treadmill (ie, run as fast as you can for 30 seconds, jog for 30 seconds, repeat for 30 minutes).

Not sure if this will help- but I try to do 30 minutes at a time on some kind of cardio machine. I try to use different machines all the time- alternating between the cycles, treadmills, ellipticals, arc trainers and stair climber. Since I'm always using a different machine it doesn't get quite as boring.

The other thing I try to do is distract myself while I'm doing it. I often play with my phone, listen to my favorite upbeat music and watch cooking shows while exercising. When I was in college, I would always try to read homework while I was on the cycle.

If you hate it- you might be trying to go to hard. There is nothing wrong with starting out with an easy pace. You will find that your endurance will build surprisingly fast.

I pull up Netflix on my phone while I'm on the treadmill or elliptical. It's easier to go for longer if your mind is occupied.

If you do not like it you will not stick at it for long. Find something you love. I love cycling, I set myself a goal of 20 - 30 miles and find that I have done 40 when I get back, there is always something new to explore.

Do something you like to do - indoors or outdoors. A sign at our fitness club says to limit cardio machine to 20 minutes if people are waiting to use the machine - so that's how long I do cardio. Period.

rbccfields wrote: »

I HATE cardio. I get 10 minutes in on the stair stepper or 10 on the treadmill at the highest incline. Anyone have any suggestions to how long a cardio session should be.. And how to make it fun? I just started my journey to a new life style, and help would be appreciated! Thank you!

1. You dont need to do any exercise to lose weight, be at a calorific deficit and you will lose.
2. Its better if you do a mix of both cardio and resistance work if you wnat the full health benefits of exercise.
3. Cardio can be anything that gets you moving (no need for the gym) and ideally it should be raising your heart rate.
4. Having a strong heart is important for your general health.
5. Start wherever you are, at whatever level of fitness and just seek to improve. If you cna only do 5 minutes then try and do 6 or 7 the following week and build steadily. The calorie burn from 10-20minutes is not going to be large , maybe 75-150 (unless it was something intense).
6. Agree with the others that you need to find soemthing thats fun or you dont feel is exercise. Swimming, dancing, yoga, zumba, walking as an activity. Have variety.
7. Make it easier listen to music or a podcast.

The NHS suggests adults should be looking at 1h15m of vigorus activity per week or 2h30 mins of moderate activity.


ps i do a lot of ccardio as well as resistance. the cardio can be rewarding, it gets you more food, but also can make you feel a lot better as your health improves. the key is to keep at it and keep improving.

Oftentimes we hate something simply because we're new to it and we're just not all that good at it yet. When I started, I couldn't even walk fast for more than 5 minutes without feeling winded. Instead of being invigorated by exercising, I felt like a failure. Give it time and don't rush to increase your intensity. You're not going to suddenly achieve good heart health after only a week or two. But if you stick to it, you will start to see and feel a difference not long after that.

In that vein of thinking, I'd be cautious with trying to make exercise into a 'fun' activity. Exercise is like an education: you get out of it what you put into it. It's never going to be fun in the way partying, eating or goofing off on the internet is fun. It's a slow process that requires effort and it only pays off in the long term. The flip side of "find an exercise that's fun to do" is "don't do it if it's not fun" - and therein lies the trap. I personally don't find ANY exercise to be all that much fun, but I do it for the same reason I brush my teeth, wash the dishes, go to work and take out the garbage: because it's the responsible thing to do. That's not to say that these things are always drudgery and you can't enjoy them or at least take satisfaction in doing them. It's just that you shouldn't really have the unreasonable expectation that "exercise should be fun".

Here's great informative posts to read (without the fluff) to get started...the OP in each thread are very nice and answer any questions you may have...

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308750/so-you-want-to-start-lifting-great/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Nyappykim wrote: »

When I first started using the treadmill, I'd take turns running on one day and walking with an incline on the next day. For running days, I started off walking at a comfortable speed, and then kick up the speed and run for 2-3 minutes and repeat for 30 minutes. On walking with incline days, I'd just walk at a pace a little faster than my comfortable speed for 30 minutes at a decent incline. As I got used to it, I tried pushing myself and added more running time and less walking periods, or increased my incline and walking speed. After doing that for a couple of weeks, I just included them both during my now 60 minute cardio workout - run for as long as I can, and when I'm not running, switch to an incline until I'm ready to run again. I am absolutely exhausted halfway through, but once I'm finished, I feel terrific.

Really great answer.

To the original poster, if you were a runner in training starting at square one you would never start your program with steep hills or intense track intervals. Instead you'd focus on putting down a base to build on.

Try starting at pace and intensity that you can maintain for 30 minutes. If that's a brisk walk, so be it. Onward and upward from there!

As for making it fun, you might try to do your cardio outside. I dislike treadmills and stair machines but love running or walking or hiking or trail running outside.

If I was i doing my cardio indoors I'd turn to podcasts or music. Outside I don't run with phones on, partly for awareness and safety but mostly because I find the environment stimulating enough.

I did start my running off with music, months ago, but stopped because I found it distracting and got in the way of working on my form and pace. Still, early on when I was gasping and unable to run 1km without stopping, distraction was my friend!

I don't know that there is a set amount of time for doing cardio as everyone's level of fitness is different. I usually can do my HIIT workouts for 30 to 45 minutes, or steady state cardio for an hour or more.