Lack of cardio improvement?

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garagebutterfly
garagebutterfly Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone,

Long time MFP user here, first time posting on the boards. In December of 2011 I began a fitness program to improve my overall fitness. I have been almost totally sedentary for 2 years and I have a very high resting heart rate (like 80-90 bpm), very poor cardiovascular fitness, etc. My ultimate goal is to run a 5k sometime this summer, so I gave myself a solid 8 months to work on it. I have been pretty good about doing a cardio workout 3-4x (30-40 mins each) a week, usually elliptical, bike or a dancing video game, and a strength training routine 1-2x a week (30 mins each). I have a Polar HRM I've been using each time. I have been careful about keeping my heart rate between 145-155, my suggested "cardio" range according to my HRM.

My question is -- I have seen zero cardio improvement. Absolutely zero. My resting heart rate is still high. I still have to work out on the lowest resistance level on the elliptical and bike because my heart rate goes off the chart otherwise. I still can't run for more than about 90 seconds at a time at a 12 minute mile pace. And it's been 4 months already!!! I'm really starting to get frustrated by my lack of results. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I might be doing wrong? I feel like given my age (24) and weight (130 lbs) I should NOT be having this much trouble seeing a cardio improvement.

I know I shouldn't be comparing, but I took my 50 y/o totally sedentary mother to the gym not too long ago. By her own admission, she hasn't been to a gym since 1982. She worked out on the elliptical with my HRM and after 15 minutes on the 4th level of resistance, her heart rate was barely 110. Why does mine get so high so fast on such a low level? And how can I improve this? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    When you do your cardio are you slowly increasing the intensity so that improvements can be made?
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    With running, I'd suggest c25k. I don't think there's a way not to make progress. But don't try and force it, you'll only hurt yourself if you push too hard...
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    For cardio improvement you have to push your heart rate higher. The zone they suggest is a "fat burning zone". At your age, barring any medical issues, you should be able to tolerate 170s. For instance, try intervals on the elliptical, it will get your heart rate right up there, and give you a chance to recover in between.

    Also, sup fellow Winterpegger?
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
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    I've been doing cardio for about 8 years. I always pushed myself to do more resistance and would see limited results. Either sickness of vacations would then set me back and I'd slowly get back to where I was. But I could never get my resting heart rate below 60. I even went from 30 minutes 4x a week to 60 minutes 4x a week without any change.

    I recently started a brand new workout geared more towards athletic fitness and less towards super strength and mediocre cardio benefit. I now do cardio 3x a week, but I do intervals 2x per week. The intervals are for 21 - 24 minutes. Here are some things I noticed after 4 weeks on the program:

    1) My resting heart rate is now averaging 52 instead of 60
    2) My recovery times is fast: I watched my heart rate drop from 157 to 117 in 5 minutes WHILE DOING A WARM DOWN (60 RPM's on the elliptical).
    3) My 1 day a week cardio that is not interval I find I have to work even harder now than before to get my heart rate up, and I easily go for an hour (the max the machine will allow me).
    4) My blood pressure is down (I've cut the dosage of blood pressure medication in half).

    I've never looked at c25k, but hear it is great and I would certainly recommend you look into it like a previous poster suggested. I just wanted to give you another option that has worked for me.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    intervals and HIIT. i wouldnt even worry about your heart rate when you're doing cardio for right now.

    just do some routines where you go as hard as you can for 1 minute then back down for 2 minutes. repeat that for at least 15 minutes and work up to 30 minutes. as you get fitter you can decrease the time you go hard and the time you recover
  • RCSimmonds
    RCSimmonds Posts: 22
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    I was doing cardio last year, and got up to 20 mins jogging on the treadmill. However, this year after letting the fitness slide a bit I have taken to interval training - I now do it on the treadmill and spin bike. On the treadmill I walk at about 6km/hr for approx 1.5 mins then run at 11km/hr for 30 secs, and back to walking. I use the heart rate monitor and as I get closer to the 20 min mark I find that it takes longer for my heart to drop again. My resting heart is 58/min, and I drop it back to approx 125/min (I am 44 and your heart rates are obviously different, so you would need to vary this). On the bike I do the same with sitting 1.5mins then standing 30 secs. After all that blah blah I will get to the point - I have found my fitness is way better on the netball court than it was last year when I did the plod plod plod of jogging. From what I have read interval training is the way to strengthen your heart, and has better fat burning than training at a steady pace... Try it. You could do the same on the eliptical by altering the resistance and speed.
  • thinktank32k
    thinktank32k Posts: 716
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    C25K is an excellent program. I went from gasping for air after 60 seconds to being able to run a 5k. I am not the fastest runner nor will I be winning any awards. However, I can run now for a sustained amount of time after completing the 9 week program.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
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    ... You could do the same on the eliptical by altering the resistance and speed.
    I use the elliptical exclusively for my cardio intervals. I set the resistance to a moderate level and leave it, go through a 6 minute warmup, then hit the intervals. I have 4 basic programs I use. The first 2 I used for 3 weeks before adding the second 2:

    -30 seconds at 90%, followed by 30 seconds at 30%. Repeat for 20-24 rounds.
    -40 seconds at 90%, followed by 40 seconds at 30%. Repeat for 15-18 rounds.
    -30 seconds at 90%, followed by 15 seconds at 30%. Rest for 1 minute at 10% after 4 rounds. Repeat 5-6 times.
    -40 seconds at 90%, followed by 20 seconds at 30%. Rest for 1 minute at 10% after 4 rounds. Repeat 4-5 times.

    The percentage is your percentage of maximum effort. I spent some time figuring out the RPM's I should use for these different level. I came up with:

    90%: 120 RPM's
    30%: 80 RPM's
    10%: 50 RPM's
  • shaeni1221
    shaeni1221 Posts: 36
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    maybe see a doctor and have a stress test??
  • ♥xenawarriorprincess♥
    ♥xenawarriorprincess♥ Posts: 440 Member
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    Sounds like your not working out hard enough to get the improvement you want...if working out at a harder intensity doesn't work see a doctor...just my opinion...this summer I could barely run for two minutes, now I can run over an hour and all I did was do high intensity workiuts for cardio improvement...I never think about keeping my heart rate in the fat burning zone and I am doing great...good luck sweetie
  • BazAbroad
    BazAbroad Posts: 248
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    Interval training or, and, try doing random as a setting, stops u getting used to one program,
  • garagebutterfly
    garagebutterfly Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. Sounds like I should try some interval training. I'll give it a shot!

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