easier once a day or harder every other day?

ianblackburn
ianblackburn Posts: 26 Member
edited October 5 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I have a cross trainer with an i-fit programme with three parts: beginner, intermediate, advanced. I have completed the beginner 24 days burining around 300 calories in 25 minutes per day at the end. This I found just about right and was able to fit it in most days. Since moving to intermediate it has become quite a lot harder and I am burning 400 calories in the same time. But it is much more of an effort and so I find it less motivating and have tended to only do it every 2 or 3 days.

So my questions is - should I persevere with the intemediate and aim for doing it every other day, or is it better to drop back to beginner so that I can do it every day. The beginner programme still seems to have some bite and my heart rate averages around 125 during the programmme.

Cheers

Ian

Replies

  • sagetracey
    sagetracey Posts: 607 Member
    Why not alternate beginners one day and intermediate on the other?
  • bumflapassassin
    bumflapassassin Posts: 316 Member
    why don't you mix it up a bit, e.g. do one day on the easier setting, the next day on the harder one?

    Or are there other programmes such as "rolling hills" or "intervals" which you could do as this would allow you some chance to recover in between some more serious workout.

    I think that the harder you work the more benefits you will get from it and if you persevere your stamina and strength will improve and you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about :)
  • richx83
    richx83 Posts: 334 Member
    You need to transition, you cannot expect to go from one program to the other over night.

    I would suggest either doing as others have suggested and alternate days or start each program on intermediate and do it for as long as you can and then drop down to beginner stage for the remainder of the workout.

    Rich
  • PBJunky
    PBJunky Posts: 737 Member
    Hi,

    I have a cross trainer with an i-fit programme with three parts: beginner, intermediate, advanced. I have completed the beginner 24 days burining around 300 calories in 25 minutes per day at the end. This I found just about right and was able to fit it in most days. Since moving to intermediate it has become quite a lot harder and I am burning 400 calories in the same time. But it is much more of an effort and so I find it less motivating and have tended to only do it every 2 or 3 days.

    So my questions is - should I persevere with the intemediate and aim for doing it every other day, or is it better to drop back to beginner so that I can do it every day. The beginner programme still seems to have some bite and my heart rate averages around 125 during the programmme.

    Cheers

    Ian

    Lets do some logical reasoning...

    Beginner x amount of days = 300 x 7 = 2100 calories
    Intermediate x amount of days = 400 x 3 = 1200 calories

    ^ clear that you should either stay with the beginner or mix it up
  • ianblackburn
    ianblackburn Posts: 26 Member

    Lets do some logical reasoning...

    Beginner x amount of days = 300 x 7 = 2100 calories
    Intermediate x amount of days = 400 x 3 = 1200 calories

    ^ clear that you should either stay with the beginner or mix it up

    Yes that makes sense - hadn't actually done that maths!

    I think I will target exercising every day - beginner when I have less energy and intermediate at weekends or when I'm feeling a bit more up for it.

    Many thanks everyone - can't believe the speed and helpfulness of this forum - excellent!
  • Rachiepie6
    Rachiepie6 Posts: 423 Member
    I would alternate between beginner and intermediate until the intermediate isn't so hard and the beginner is easier, then switch to intermediate.
  • Rachiepie6
    Rachiepie6 Posts: 423 Member
    I would alternate between beginner and intermediate until the intermediate isn't so hard and the beginner is easier, then switch to intermediate.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Why not try a cross-trainer variant of C25K. Call the beginner's level walking and the intermediate level running. Start with a minute of the higher level then drop back to 90 seconds of the lower and repeat until your designated time is up, then build up until you do it all at the intermediate level.

    http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
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