Struggling with Cardio!
elysiamae_x
Posts: 14 Member
So when it comes to exercising, I have always stopped because I really do not like doing cardio. Wether it's on a bike, treadmill or cross trainer-I just hate it. I find it especially boring. Does anyone have any tips to stay motivated to do cardio exercise? I also find I barley burn any calories when doing it anyway so I feel as though it's a waste of time
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Replies
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Do other forms of cardio that aren't boring. Steady state cardio isn't the only kind out there. Get outside and walk/hike, carry heavy things, do complexes with light to moderate weights, body weight circuits, play a sport, etc.7
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I consider cardio to be the devil's work ... pure frikkin evil :P
I take my tablet to gym and watch series. Keeps my mind of the cardio.4 -
elysiamae_x wrote: »So when it comes to exercising, I have always stopped because I really do not like doing cardio. Wether it's on a bike, treadmill or cross trainer-I just hate it. I find it especially boring. Does anyone have any tips to stay motivated to do cardio exercise? I also find I barley burn any calories when doing it anyway so I feel as though it's a waste of time
Go outside!6 -
Cardio is good for health but not mandatory. Personally, I dislike it. I do most of my cardio while doing 3 or 4 mile walks and listening to podcasts. Once a week or so, I do walking/ running intervals. Other than that, my exercise is primarily strength training. I enjoy that for 45 minutes to an hour 2x to 3x per week. Rybo made some good suggestions above and the complexes are a great mixture of strength and cardio and always moving, so not boring.5
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You need to find something you like doing. I sometimes like taking classes in the gym like cardio kickboxing, spinning or some kind of dance class. Great music and instructor to keep me motivated and having fun. The best cardio happens when you are having fun!5
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Bodyweight intervals and hiking/hill walking are my cardio go tos. I very occasionally go for a run. It doesn't have to be a machine! I never step foot in a gym.2
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Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
What is important is getting your heart rate up doing something. In my case I like Bollywood dance videos. There are a lot of videos out there - see if you can find some that are fun for you.
I also do HIIT on a stationary bike for fifteen minutes total - which burns about 300 calories. And leaves me wringing wet. This is not quietly pedaling while texting, to get that effect in that short a time you have to work so hard you can't multitask. But then after fifteen minutes you are DONE.6 -
I hate cardio too! I get bored with the typical things but found I love the Zumba classes at my gym. It's pretty much the only way I happily do cardio haha1
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rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss.
There's really almost no such thing as steady state cardio in the real world.4 -
Do other forms of cardio that aren't boring. Steady state cardio isn't the only kind out there. Get outside and walk/hike, carry heavy things, do complexes with light to moderate weights, body weight circuits, play a sport, etc.
This^
Keep looking.....it is worth it.
I hate choreography (2 left feet) so a class was out of the question.
Then I found Just Walk and Walk On DVDs by Leslie Sansone and Jessica Smith (respectively). Check out YouTube for a test drive. I found these to be much more interesting than my treadmill (which collects dust now).4 -
I'm thoroughly convinced if I had not moved out of the gym to the outside, I'd of given up cardio 100% by now.
Find an activity you enjoy and go for it. Some activities can be fun inside - indoor volleyball, etc... Depends on your interests.
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okay thank you everyone, i really appreciate the adcvice! ill look into doing a class at my gym or doing swimming perhaps2
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I fall into the rare category of loving cardio and hating weight lifting. 2 hours of ballet, ice skating, or Pilates? No sweat. 20 mins of lifting? Bored out of my mind. But I'm also a prof dancer and choreographer, so...
Some fun cardio options that you can do at home or take a class for: yoga, Pilates, barre, Zumba, and ballroom dancing. It may take a few tries, but when you find something that works for you it'll be much easier to work through cardio.6 -
Look into hobbies rather than gym-time.
Dance lessons? The lessons themselves will get you sweating, but there are opportunities outside of the class after you know. Most dance class places offer dances regularly. Park systems, where I live, have outdoor Big Band concerts in the summer. You'll make friends.
Hiking? If you don't do any cardio now, some is good enough. Go for walks in the woods for an hour or two.
Gardening? It's estimated that light gardening uses 300 calories an hour.1 -
Another option is human powered boating: I row, mostly, but there's also canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, . . . !
Skating (inline, roller, ice), tennis, golf, martial arts, pole dancing, aerials, Crossfit, belly dancing, hiking, rock climbing . . . .
So many options, and so varied - seems like a person would really have to work at it in order to hate them all.
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rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
When you say "steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss" is that because it is "boring?" Regardless if "Steady state cardio" is boring or not, I disagree with the statement.
Let me tell you what looks like hell to me. I watched about 3 mins of a "crossfit competition" the other day. I watched people jump on top of a box, and then down, and then back on top of the box, then back down. And just about the time I fell asleep, they moved on to picking up a medicine ball off the floor, over their shoulder and letting it drop on the floor. They then proceeded to turn around, pick up the medicine ball, over their shoulder again - wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate comparison to sisyphus.
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ronocnikral wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
When you say "steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss" is that because it is "boring?" Regardless if "Steady state cardio" is boring or not, I disagree with the statement.
Let me tell you what looks like hell to me. I watched about 3 mins of a "crossfit competition" the other day. I watched people jump on top of a box, and then down, and then back on top of the box, then back down. And just about the time I fell asleep, they moved on to picking up a medicine ball off the floor, over their shoulder and letting it drop on the floor. They then proceeded to turn around, pick up the medicine ball, over their shoulder again - wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate comparison to sisyphus.
No, it's because it doesn't burn many calories and studies show it's one of the least efficient ways to improve health markers. Crossfit sounds like hell to me too, but if you can avoid injuries or rhabdo it's an intense enough workout to make much more of a difference to your body than ten million miles on a treadmill ever could.3 -
rheddmobile wrote: »ronocnikral wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
When you say "steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss" is that because it is "boring?" Regardless if "Steady state cardio" is boring or not, I disagree with the statement.
Let me tell you what looks like hell to me. I watched about 3 mins of a "crossfit competition" the other day. I watched people jump on top of a box, and then down, and then back on top of the box, then back down. And just about the time I fell asleep, they moved on to picking up a medicine ball off the floor, over their shoulder and letting it drop on the floor. They then proceeded to turn around, pick up the medicine ball, over their shoulder again - wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate comparison to sisyphus.
No, it's because it doesn't burn many calories and studies show it's one of the least efficient ways to improve health markers. Crossfit sounds like hell to me too, but if you can avoid injuries or rhabdo it's an intense enough workout to make much more of a difference to your body than ten million miles on a treadmill ever could.
It really does depend to a great deal on duration!
Come for an all day cycle ride and tell me it doesn't burn many calories.....
Audax events are sometimes called (not entirely jokingly) "eating competitions held in beautiful countryside".
At a conservative 500 cals an hour my cycle riding so far this year has burned 83,500 calories.
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rheddmobile wrote: »ronocnikral wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
When you say "steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss" is that because it is "boring?" Regardless if "Steady state cardio" is boring or not, I disagree with the statement.
Let me tell you what looks like hell to me. I watched about 3 mins of a "crossfit competition" the other day. I watched people jump on top of a box, and then down, and then back on top of the box, then back down. And just about the time I fell asleep, they moved on to picking up a medicine ball off the floor, over their shoulder and letting it drop on the floor. They then proceeded to turn around, pick up the medicine ball, over their shoulder again - wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate comparison to sisyphus.
No, it's because it doesn't burn many calories and studies show it's one of the least efficient ways to improve health markers. Crossfit sounds like hell to me too, but if you can avoid injuries or rhabdo it's an intense enough workout to make much more of a difference to your body than ten million miles on a treadmill ever could.
It really does depend to a great deal on duration!
Come for an all day cycle ride and tell me it doesn't burn many calories.....
Audax events are sometimes called (not entirely jokingly) "eating competitions held in beautiful countryside".
At a conservative 500 cals an hour my cycle riding so far this year has burned 83,500 calories.
Yeah, you can't skip the part where I said it wasn't an EFFICIENT way. Having to do it all day isn't what you would call efficient. It's great if you enjoy it for its own sake. If you don't, it's a huge time sink.6 -
I love cardio but I'm weird
however my cardio is often something I love. get outside and go for a hike or walk or run, find a sport you love, dance, swim. Cardio doesn't have to be the same old boring old treadmill or whatever equipment is in the gym. I'm sure you can find something you love0 -
elysiamae_x wrote: »okay thank you everyone, i really appreciate the adcvice! ill look into doing a class at my gym or doing swimming perhaps
Or both!
And also ... is it summer where you are? Do you have a beach or hiking trails or something? If so, go for hikes, go swimming at the beach, run on the beach, see if there's a hiking club or cycling club in your area and do some hikes or rides with them. If you like swimming, see if there's a triathlon club and do a Try-a-Tri ...
There are lots of things you can do.
Personally, I love cycling and hiking ... mostly cycling, but I throw some hiking in there for a bit of variety.
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rheddmobile wrote: »ronocnikral wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
When you say "steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss" is that because it is "boring?" Regardless if "Steady state cardio" is boring or not, I disagree with the statement.
Let me tell you what looks like hell to me. I watched about 3 mins of a "crossfit competition" the other day. I watched people jump on top of a box, and then down, and then back on top of the box, then back down. And just about the time I fell asleep, they moved on to picking up a medicine ball off the floor, over their shoulder and letting it drop on the floor. They then proceeded to turn around, pick up the medicine ball, over their shoulder again - wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate comparison to sisyphus.
No, it's because it doesn't burn many calories and studies show it's one of the least efficient ways to improve health markers. Crossfit sounds like hell to me too, but if you can avoid injuries or rhabdo it's an intense enough workout to make much more of a difference to your body than ten million miles on a treadmill ever could.
It really does depend to a great deal on duration!
Come for an all day cycle ride and tell me it doesn't burn many calories.....
Audax events are sometimes called (not entirely jokingly) "eating competitions held in beautiful countryside".
At a conservative 500 cals an hour my cycle riding so far this year has burned 83,500 calories.
Hmmm ... that got me wondering ...
If I burned 500 cal/hour, I've burned 115,000 calories cycling this year ... at an even more conservative 400 cal/hour, it's 92,000 calories.
But I'm one of those Audax people.
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I hate cardio. I have no cardio goals. I hate jumping around, moving fast, sweating.
Luckily my goals are strength and physique based so I get by with minimal cardio.
Once in awhile I know I should burn some calories so there are a few things I don't hate with a passion...like kickboxing. I'll take a spin class like 3x per year.
Otherwise I just try to keep my NEAT up and not go below 12k steps per day.
My lack of cardio can make it hard to lose weight as I get super lean, and it makes my TDEE kind of low. Though these are both a pain, they have never pushed me to do cardio consistently.0 -
rheddmobile wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »ronocnikral wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
When you say "steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss" is that because it is "boring?" Regardless if "Steady state cardio" is boring or not, I disagree with the statement.
Let me tell you what looks like hell to me. I watched about 3 mins of a "crossfit competition" the other day. I watched people jump on top of a box, and then down, and then back on top of the box, then back down. And just about the time I fell asleep, they moved on to picking up a medicine ball off the floor, over their shoulder and letting it drop on the floor. They then proceeded to turn around, pick up the medicine ball, over their shoulder again - wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate comparison to sisyphus.
No, it's because it doesn't burn many calories and studies show it's one of the least efficient ways to improve health markers. Crossfit sounds like hell to me too, but if you can avoid injuries or rhabdo it's an intense enough workout to make much more of a difference to your body than ten million miles on a treadmill ever could.
It really does depend to a great deal on duration!
Come for an all day cycle ride and tell me it doesn't burn many calories.....
Audax events are sometimes called (not entirely jokingly) "eating competitions held in beautiful countryside".
At a conservative 500 cals an hour my cycle riding so far this year has burned 83,500 calories.
Yeah, you can't skip the part where I said it wasn't an EFFICIENT way. Having to do it all day isn't what you would call efficient. It's great if you enjoy it for its own sake. If you don't, it's a huge time sink.
I get something like 20 miles to the taco. How is riding a bike not an efficient way to burn calories?2 -
Sorry, an EFFICIENT way.3
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elysiamae_x wrote: »okay thank you everyone, i really appreciate the adcvice! ill look into doing a class at my gym or doing swimming perhaps
Yep, group classes are fun. Do they do Les Mills sessions at your gym?
You could also try:
Walking
Hiking
Running
Trail running
Sprinting
Mountain Climbing
Rock climbing
Indoor rock climbing
Walking on a treadmill
Running on a treadmill
Cycling
Spin class
Aerobics
Zumba
Tai Bo
Les Mills Grit
Les Mills Pump
HIIT
Elliptical trainer
Ballet
Tap Dancing
Jazzercise
Swimming
Open water swimming
Water aerobics
Water jogging
Kayaking
Canoeing
Surfing
Bodyboarding
Paragliding
Football
Australian Rules Football
Soccer
Basketball
Netball
Tennis
Squash
Lacrosse
Hockey
Ice Hockey
Boxing
Burpees
Plyometrics
Skiing
Snowboarding
Gardening
Raking leaves
Rollerblading
Skateboarding
Ice skating
Rollerskating
To name a few.1 -
I find these kinds of threads interesting. I just went into my workout room to do a strength training session, stood in there for 5 minutes or so, and said "screw it" and walked out. Because the thought of picking up and putting down the heavy things over and over for 45 minutes made me want to scream. That, to me, is boring. I like the benefits of it, obviously. But it's so repetitive. SO BORING!!! There's a zillion ways to to cardio!
*For the record, I will find my motivation and get my workout later. Hopefully.3 -
As was said above, GO OUTSIDE. Zwift helps with inside workouts but even there I can't do much more than an hour inside. But when outside riding my bicycle around town I can put in four of five hours without thinking about it.2
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rheddmobile wrote: »ronocnikral wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss. Humans aren't meant to do boring repetitive movements. You are correct that hours on a treadmill are a waste of your time.
When you say "steady state cardio is not that helpful for either health or weight loss" is that because it is "boring?" Regardless if "Steady state cardio" is boring or not, I disagree with the statement.
Let me tell you what looks like hell to me. I watched about 3 mins of a "crossfit competition" the other day. I watched people jump on top of a box, and then down, and then back on top of the box, then back down. And just about the time I fell asleep, they moved on to picking up a medicine ball off the floor, over their shoulder and letting it drop on the floor. They then proceeded to turn around, pick up the medicine ball, over their shoulder again - wash, rinse, repeat. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate comparison to sisyphus.
No, it's because it doesn't burn many calories and studies show it's one of the least efficient ways to improve health markers. Crossfit sounds like hell to me too, but if you can avoid injuries or rhabdo it's an intense enough workout to make much more of a difference to your body than ten million miles on a treadmill ever could.
What health markers are you talking about? You're just kind of throwing turds on the wall here....3 -
elysiamae_x wrote: »Does anyone have any tips to stay motivated to do cardio exercise? I also find I barley burn any calories when doing it anyway so I feel as though it's a waste of time
Nothing burns calories more reliably or quickly than steady-state cardio. But if you hate it - you aren't likely to stick to it anyway - so limit it to a couple of 3km runs a week and spend your time doing an exercise more enjoyable for you.
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