Cardi-no
bearclanfit
Posts: 15 Member
I'm about 3 weeks into my recent fitness reset. I have about 30 lbs to lose. I started with HIIT workouts but found I dreaded working out. I started P90X and found weight training--even with the longer sessions and short rest periods--keeps me motivated and I feel like I'm already seeing hints of results with muscle definition and tone. (Weight lifting with a trainer has worked for me before in the past.)
That said, I'm having an incredibly hard time staying motivated on cardio days. I dread them. P90X's Plyo, Kenpo, and Cardio still have me dreading workout out. I do 30 min of yoga everyday, so I don't mind the Yoga component, even though it's challenging af.
Should I just suck it up and keep going? Should I switch out for some other kind of cardio? I'm afraid of losing momentum if I skip workouts, but cardio days are brutal for me right now. Interested in hearing what works for you.
That said, I'm having an incredibly hard time staying motivated on cardio days. I dread them. P90X's Plyo, Kenpo, and Cardio still have me dreading workout out. I do 30 min of yoga everyday, so I don't mind the Yoga component, even though it's challenging af.
Should I just suck it up and keep going? Should I switch out for some other kind of cardio? I'm afraid of losing momentum if I skip workouts, but cardio days are brutal for me right now. Interested in hearing what works for you.
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Replies
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It's very good for your health.. you need to find an activity you enjoy and go with it. For example, I love KenpoX. When I do it, I don't realize it's almost over. Maybe for you it's raquetball or walking or basketball. Find yours!!2
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Yep. Find something you like! Nothing worse than exercise feeling like a punishment or a chore.7
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Maybe you can jump rope for cardio. That's what I do...I hate the treadmill and elliptical2
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If you dread it, eventually your willpower will fail. If all else fails, add some cardio into your weight training. Thrusters, jump squats, jumping lunges, sled pushes (or if you really want to step it up, plate pushes), step ups, explosive bulgarian lunges (also known as split lunges or split squats). Anything that primarily uses your largest muscles (quads and glutes) and is plyo in nature will do. Have fun!3
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Cardio includes so many things, exactly what type of cardio have you tried? Have you considered other forms of cardio? You don't "have" to do cardio at all, but it's incredibly beneficial for your health..1
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Walk, hike, bike or swim.1
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I hear you. I loathe treadmills or any kind of cardio machine. I do like hiking or walking & biking in the warmer months. I do strength training 4-5x week and the little bit of regular cardio I do is enough.2
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I'm a big Tony Horton fan and currently doing the P90X. There is a method to his Madness if you're really look at the overall scope of the routine but I do agree with one of the posters that if you don't enjoy you're going to stop doing it
The one thing I hate in p90x yoga. To me, it takes too long. what I did is I went on YouTube and I found a whole bunch of yoga videos and out of those I found one or two that are about half an hour long and I do it so I don't mind doing the yoga even though it's not one of his workouts.
Not big on the kempo, so I may cut the routine back a little. I do love the plyo though. Just remember his philosophy do your best and forget the rest for this to work it has to be enjoyable
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Careful you're not just falling into the Bro theme of hating anything labelled "cardio".
HIIT workouts scare the crap out of me. But I ran 30 km on Friday.
Everybody should find something they love. I love running, walking, yoga, and swimming. Do what you love.2 -
can you isolate what you dread about it? the discomfort? the tedium? is it causing actual pain? i loathe just-for-the-sake-of-it cardio. but i bike commute very cheerfully because i have a destination to get to. it takes no willpower other than the initial dose that gets me on the bike and stops me from taking the bus.
if you enjoy weights, you might prefer a form of cardio that follows a similar specificity? x activity for y time at z exertion type thing. i know that for me '30 minutes of cardio' feels like entering a featureless wasteland. i'm also absolutely not a group-based cardio-er.
so those are a few of the nuances that can make one form of cardio detestable to a given person, and another one perfectly fine. dreading something is no good. so hope you do work out what will work better for you.
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You should add in some weights.0
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bearclanfit wrote: »I dread them. P90X's Plyo, Kenpo, and Cardio still have me dreading workout out.
What is it you dread about them?
Personally the idea of prancing around in front of a TV doesn't even remotely appeal to me, so I wouldn't feel inspired by those either. On the other hand I'll comfortably run or cycle for hours and get a good workout.
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What works for me is predominately doing something I enjoy (cycling in my case) but also gives me a challenging goal.
The easy and enjoyable bit for me is cycling for hours in beautiful countryside but it's the challenge aspect that gets me through the winter and indoors training. To get to my goals I have to put in the work.
Added bonus is simply feeling good when I'm fit and healthy, that's priceless.2 -
canadianlbs wrote: »can you isolate what you dread about it? the discomfort? the tedium? is it causing actual pain? i loathe just-for-the-sake-of-it cardio. but i bike commute very cheerfully because i have a destination to get to. it takes no willpower other than the initial dose that gets me on the bike and stops me from taking the bus.
if you enjoy weights, you might prefer a form of cardio that follows a similar specificity? x activity for y time at z exertion type thing. i know that for me '30 minutes of cardio' feels like entering a featureless wasteland. i'm also absolutely not a group-based cardio-er.
so those are a few of the nuances that can make one form of cardio detestable to a given person, and another one perfectly fine. dreading something is no good. so hope you do work out what will work better for you.
Thank you for this message! It's definitely the tedium. I think I lack the mental strength/tenacity for running. I used to be a very regular hiker/backpacker but I moved to a city where that's much harder to access. Now cardio feels like a chore and I have trouble zoning out or even getting myself excited in some way.
Hopefully I'll be able to mute Tony soon and listen to my own music. I think that would go a very long way to keeping me engaged in those workouts. And those workouts include so many body strength movements on their own, I'd hate to replace them with anythat that doesn't do as mych for me. I get more out of Kenpo than I would running, for example.
Thanks for the input everyone.2 -
The only good cardio, or exercise for that matter, is what you can keep up in the long run. If you hate something, you will stop doing it sooner or later. Keep experimenting until you find something you can tolerate ( or love).
Introduce weights to your workout.4 -
Ironandwine69 wrote: »The only good cardio, or exercise for that matter, is what you can keep up in the long run. If you hate something, you will stop doing it sooner or later. Keep experimenting until you find something you can tolerate ( or love).
Introduce weights to your workout.
I've seen weights mentioned a couple of times now. In case you're unfamiliar, P90X has three very weight-focused days on the major muscle groups. So I'm already doing some decent lifting, albeit with barbells and pull-ups instead of a bar. I'm only referring to how to sustain cardio on the three "non-weight" days, which I don't look forward to.0 -
My cardio is usually just a lot of walking and elliptical . I made myself look forward to it because I have a few TV shows I watch and for awhile my rule was I can only watch the new EPs on the cardio machine lol . Made me look forward to it.
Also you could alternatively get yourself a few high energy dogs like me LOL. don't walk them ? You don't get to relax without being pestered
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bearclanfit wrote: »Ironandwine69 wrote: »The only good cardio, or exercise for that matter, is what you can keep up in the long run. If you hate something, you will stop doing it sooner or later. Keep experimenting until you find something you can tolerate ( or love).
Introduce weights to your workout.
I've seen weights mentioned a couple of times now. In case you're unfamiliar, P90X has three very weight-focused days on the major muscle groups. So I'm already doing some decent lifting, albeit with barbells and pull-ups instead of a bar. I'm only referring to how to sustain cardio on the three "non-weight" days, which I don't look forward to.
Nobody can tell you what cardio to do. Everyone has their own cardio they love, or hate. Until you try and find the one you like, nobody can give you the magic solution.0 -
Not a big cardio lover here either, but I do it for heart health. Right now I just jog/walk, ride my bike and kickbox (bag and gloves) for the majority of it. I don't even listen to music anymore when I walk or ride, just podcasts so I can laugh or listen to conversations on things I'm interested in. Makes the time go pretty fast.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Personally, I love cardio. I love walking. I love hiking. I especially love cycling.
I don't even mind canoeing, kayaking, swimming, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. In the gym rowing and running on the treadmill are all right too.
You might just need to find something you like.1 -
I know dancing is my cardio of choice. It feels like fun rather then a task.2
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Find cardio you lik I couldn't get into p90x I dreaded it but then I started doing Jillian Micheal 30 day shred and other of hers I liked much better1
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I lost most of my weight with little to no cardio and changed my physique with weight lifting.
If you want to do something active find something you like. If you want to force yourself to do a bit of cardio for heart health have at it but I don't1 -
I totally agree I hate cardio and having issues doing such as I have asthma so even with the inhaler I just seem to get so out of breath so fast and sometimes if my heart rate is to fast I get a pain in my chest (so I mediately stop) but what works for me is to switch it up I do hiit for about 10 minuites on the tredmill and change speed every minuite then I catch my breathe and will do an at home Zumba class or dance class on YouTube off my tv and then other then that when I'm getting done in the morning /cleaning I just put my headphones in and dance around and keep moving just to work up a little sweat.Oh and me and my husband go for evening walks for for 30 minuites to an hour which is extra cardio.Hope this helped!1
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I hate running and machines so I just walk a lot and call that cardio. A day I'm being lazy I get about 4K steps. If I go for a nice walk at lunch or after dinner I get over 10k and it makes a big difference to my tdee. It's much more palpable too. Don't overlook the simple things!1
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Vary it up till you find something you like. My favorites are jumprope and crossramp elliptical. Treadmills and plain ellipticals bore me and I dread them it was a waste of time for my goals. Try kickboxing, swimming, spinning, rowing.. you'll just continue to lose motive if you don't enjoy what you do and eventually will plateau and burnout. Start fresh!1
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Sex is cardio. Riding a bike, skiing, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking and canoeing are all cardio. I don't think anybody truly hates cardiovascular exercise, they just hate the boring kinds. So try some other stuff until you find something you enjoy.2
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Jog or power walk outside , get the fresh air, I love cardio workouts. I'm always switching up I even do DVDs with Gilad and Leslie Sansone in the summer I do all my cardio's outside0
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Harrison_girl18 wrote: »I totally agree I hate cardio and having issues doing such as I have asthma so even with the inhaler I just seem to get so out of breath so fast and sometimes if my heart rate is to fast I get a pain in my chest (so I mediately stop) but what works for me is to switch it up I do hiit for about 10 minuites on the tredmill and change speed every minuite then I catch my breathe and will do an at home Zumba class or dance class on YouTube off my tv and then other then that when I'm getting done in the morning /cleaning I just put my headphones in and dance around and keep moving just to work up a little sweat.Oh and me and my husband go for evening walks for for 30 minuites to an hour which is extra cardio.Hope this helped!
This is really inspiring! Thank you for this! I've always wanted to try Zumba.
Plus I think that maybe part of the problem is ive been going for 60 minutes and I need to start smaller. 20-30 min would be much more sustainable for me.0 -
Thank you for all these ideas. I think I'm going to be much more gentle on myself and just focus on logging something on a cardio day rather than spending all day dreading it.1
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