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bearclanfit
bearclanfit Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
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.
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  • TheRambler
    TheRambler Posts: 387 Member
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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!!
  • ssmeighan
    ssmeighan Posts: 1 Member
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    Maybe you can jump rope for cardio. That's what I do...I hate the treadmill and elliptical
  • Barbonica
    Barbonica Posts: 337 Member
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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!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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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..
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Walk, hike, bike or swim.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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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.
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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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

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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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.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    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.
  • motoveg
    motoveg Posts: 23 Member
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    You should add in some weights.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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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.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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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.
  • bearclanfit
    bearclanfit Posts: 15 Member
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    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.
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
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    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.
  • bearclanfit
    bearclanfit Posts: 15 Member
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    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.
  • zilkah
    zilkah Posts: 207 Member
    edited March 2017
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    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 :D
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
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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.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
    edited March 2017
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    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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  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,180 Member
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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.

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