Best cardio workouts?

SingingSingleTracker wrote: »

rikkejanell2014 wrote: »

SingingSingleTracker wrote: »

rikkejanell2014 wrote: »

I don't enjoy ruining.

Hard to say unless we know your goals?

Do you have a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours per week to devote to cardio, or do you have 11 - 15 hours available?

Which zones of your heart rate do you want to work, and what have you done in the past to lead you to where you are right now in your aerobic fitness?

1 hour daily. Goal is to lose 50 pounds of fat.

That's a great goal, rikkejanel! Others have pointed out, that the primary way you are going to reach your goal will be via the CICO equation (calories in vs. calories out) by making sure that you are eating at a slight deficit each day.

I am a huge cardio nut due to riding and racing bicycles. Prior to that, I was a runner and did a few Marathons. One of the things about losing weight and doing cardio at the same time is striving to find the balance of fueling yourself enough for the workouts and your daily life to avoid fatigue, yet also managing the CICO equation so that you are in a deficit. It's not hard to do, but I just throw it out there for you as a warning as doing an hour a day puts a cumulative toll on the body that - when eating at a deficit - could lead to feeling tired, grumpy, fatigue, etc... . No big deal, but I usually am in my "grumpy months" from January to March as I shed the Fall weight I gained during my off season for cycling. No matter what your weekly goal is - 1/2 pound, one pound, or even up to two pounds of weight loss per week - it requires patience.

That being said, you can use the hour per day of cardio to help balance out the CICO equation. It's pretty hard to outrun or outcardio a diet that is not a deficit - even if you are at it for 11 - 15 hours per week such as I am for the next 11 weeks. But an hour of cardio should be able to burn 250 - 600 calories depending on your intensity and current weight. You can use that to help your CICO equation be at a deficit. Make sure you don't overestimate your calorie burn, or underestimate how much food you are eating (log everything, weigh your food, and make sure you have it as accurate and honest as you can). Most fail to lose the weight due to underestimating their food intake, and overestimating what they burn via exercise. Be conservative to make sure you are in a deficit.

That being said, since you do not like running - what are you going to be using for cardio? Bicycling (real bike or exercise bike), swimming, walking, DVD workout, gym class workout, etc...? The other question is, up to this point, what kind of aerobic base do you have built up? Have you been doing some cardio the past few weeks, months up to this point?

7 hours of cardio per week may sound like a lot to some people, but for somebody like me - it sounds very doable (I average a minimum of 8 hours per week all year long, and my maximum weeks (such as from now to March) are 11 - 20 hours per week). As long as at least one of those days, your one hour is done at a recovery pace (slow, low heart rate pace) which we call active recovery, your body should be able to bounce back and handle the training load of 7 days a week. At least two days per week, it would be beneficial for you to up the intensity via intervals and or a harder pace/workload. Example: if you are walking at 3.8 mph, bump that hour or half of it up to 4.5 mph for a session. Or if you are on a machine with a heart rate monitor, jack up your tempo/effort so your heart rate is up in your Zone 2 and Zone 3 level areas. Then the day after that workout, roll it back into the Zone 1 lower effort. Plenty of online sites which can help you calculate your heart rate zones.

As your weight sheds, and your body adapts to the training load of one hour of cardio per day, you can start to progressively up your efforts - both in intensity and or duration. Doing some body weight exercises, or weight lifting would be well advised as well if you have an interest in that.

Again, based on what you have done up to this point will determine where and what you should start with for your cardio. Something like a low impact exercise bike/spin bike/trainer bike - or real bike if you have one and the weather is favorable - or walking on a treadmill, or walking outside would be a good place to begin to start building a fitness base. I don't know if you have access to a gym, if you have any equipment in your home, if you feel comfortable walking outside, if you prefer organized workout classes, if you prefer a home DVD or online video. There are lots of options, and running does not have to be one of them.

We all wish you the best at reaching your goal.