How long should I do cardio for

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kaitiedid91
kaitiedid91 Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm on a journey to lose 115 pounds, I've been going for 30 mins on the elliptical but my feet usually start to get numb after that long so then I move to the bike and do another 20 mins, this has been working well for me, but I'm wondering if that is a good strategy for me or if there's something I should be adding? I'm a 24 year old female and put on muscle very easily so don't particularly want to start strength training, mostly I'm looking to burn calories :) any advice would be really appreciated!

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  • gdyment
    gdyment Posts: 299 Member
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    Unless you're taking steroids I wouldn't worry about bulking up. 115 is a big target so maybe do both. Extend the bike to 30 (so an hour total), and maybe on Sunday go for an hour brisk walk as well. Something enjoyable.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    Lift your feet off the elliptical occasionally to prevent numb feet.

    It's impossible to bulk up in a calorie deficit. If you gained muscle in the past, you weren't in a calorie deficit. When i lost weight, it mostly did strength training and little cardio. All movement burns calories. :+1:

  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Exercise less - Eat Less. No-brainer.
  • kaitiedid91
    kaitiedid91 Posts: 11 Member
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    What kind of strength training do you suggest? I've done strength exersizes in the past but that was about 7 years ago now and I had really built arms, but you're probably right because I wasn't counting calories.
  • daligrrrl
    daligrrrl Posts: 33 Member
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    Work strength training into your cardio? From what I understand, the calorie burn of lifting far surpasses the calorie burn of cardio. Cardio, the burn is pretty much just then and there. The strength training burn will continue to burn....
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
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    Great beginner lifting programs:

    Stronglifts 5x5
    Starting strength
    New rules of lifting (women)
    Strong curves
    ICF 5x5

    All different programs based around the same five compound lifts. Some books, some online free.
    I suggest to google them all and pick the one that you like best :)
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
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    daligrrrl wrote: »
    Work strength training into your cardio? From what I understand, the calorie burn of lifting far surpasses the calorie burn of cardio. Cardio, the burn is pretty much just then and there. The strength training burn will continue to burn....

    That is not completely correct.
    For the actual lifting itself the burn is quite minimal. However, unlike fat, muscle requires energy in daily life (part of the BMR). Therefore, maintaining muscle (which is what you do lifting at a defecit) will help prevent your bmr from decreasing. When you increase muscle mass, you increase your bmr, because more muscle requires more calories in daily life.
    Without strength training, you will lose both muscle and fat as part of weightloss, resulting in a decreasing bmr, and therefore a lower calorie allowance for maintaining.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I would incorporate some kind of resistance training (including stability, flexibility, and endurance) into your routine to retain as much muscle mass as you can as you lose weight.

    Also, try different shoes and make sure your laces aren't tight if you are getting numbness on the elliptical. I used to have that happen before i changed the above.
  • kaitiedid91
    kaitiedid91 Posts: 11 Member
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    AsISmile wrote: »
    daligrrrl wrote: »
    Work strength training into your cardio? From what I understand, the calorie burn of lifting far surpasses the calorie burn of cardio. Cardio, the burn is pretty much just then and there. The strength training burn will continue to burn....

    That is not completely correct.
    For the actual lifting itself the burn is quite minimal. However, unlike fat, muscle requires energy in daily life (part of the BMR). Therefore, maintaining muscle (which is what you do lifting at a defecit) will help prevent your bmr from decreasing. When you increase muscle mass, you increase your bmr, because more muscle requires more calories in daily life.
    Without strength training, you will lose both muscle and fat as part of weightloss, resulting in a decreasing bmr, and therefore a lower calorie allowance for maintaining.

    Great advice! Thank you I'm going to look into the programs you suggested :)
  • kaitiedid91
    kaitiedid91 Posts: 11 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I would incorporate some kind of resistance training (including stability, flexibility, and endurance) into your routine to retain as much muscle mass as you can as you lose weight.

    Also, try different shoes and make sure your laces aren't tight if you are getting numbness on the elliptical. I used to have that happen before i changed the above.

    Okay I'm going to try with looser laces tomorrow and I really hope it works! Thank you!!
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    It does not matter what you do. At this stage, what matters is to keep moving. So, if you enjoy the elliptical, use the elliptical, if you enjoy walking, walk, if you enjoy the stationary bike do that and so on. If something seems hard, causes pain etc, switch to a different activity or rotate activities. You are on the right track :)
  • beastier
    beastier Posts: 1,908 Member
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    Change is the key If you're looking to lose lbs rather than get proficient at a particular discipline - you basically want to shock your body to get the biggest burn.

    Change your workouts regularly around (for example between running, swimming, circuits, cycling, etc) & also your approach - eg between HIIT, medium paced & also longer endurance.

    Doesn't matter how bad you think you are at a routine you're looking for how hard it hits you
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    beastier wrote: »
    Change is the key If you're looking to lose lbs rather than get proficient at a particular discipline - you basically want to shock your body to get the biggest burn.

    Change your workouts regularly around (for example between running, swimming, circuits, cycling, etc) & also your approach - eg between HIIT, medium paced & also longer endurance.

    Doesn't matter how bad you think you are at a routine you're looking for how hard it hits you

    No. Body does not get shocked to burn more. The only thing really "shocking" your body would ever accomplish would be injury.
  • beastier
    beastier Posts: 1,908 Member
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    beastier wrote: »
    Change is the key If you're looking to lose lbs rather than get proficient at a particular discipline - you basically want to shock your body to get the biggest burn.

    Change your workouts regularly around (for example between running, swimming, circuits, cycling, etc) & also your approach - eg between HIIT, medium paced & also longer endurance.

    Doesn't matter how bad you think you are at a routine you're looking for how hard it hits you

    No. Body does not get shocked to burn more. The only thing really "shocking" your body would ever accomplish would be injury.

    You don't concur that if you keep repeating the same stuff your body responds less?

    I meant shocking in the positive sense hitting in ways it's not used to not as in creating sudden pain & agony.

    Not training properly is what will typically induce injury not trying new things
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    beastier wrote: »
    You don't concur that if you keep repeating the same stuff your body responds less?

    It can, but the type of exercise is one of several variables that can be adjusted:


    78TlQoA.png

    Switching to a different exercise doesn't guarantee a higher workload, and in some cases it could go down.. like switching from running to biking. It's usually easier for a newbie to determine if they're increasing their workload by changing the first 3 variables. :+1:

  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    It does not matter what you do. At this stage, what matters is to keep moving. So, if you enjoy the elliptical, use the elliptical, if you enjoy walking, walk, if you enjoy the stationary bike do that and so on. If something seems hard, causes pain etc, switch to a different activity or rotate activities. You are on the right track :)

    ^^
    I like this because it does sound like you're doing great so far! Just do what's fun for you, and if it gets boring then it's easy enough to switch it up. I do agree with incorporating some strength training though. You won't bulk up, but it will firm up what you already have. :)

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