Defeated before I begin
sthrnchick
Posts: 771
I just started working out.. I am pushing 40 and have literally never ever exercised before... I just purchased an elliptical hoping to do my cardio at home...
Here's my problem... I keep seeing friends and members doing 60+ minutes everyday on cardio... and I feel beyond proud of myself if I do 15 or 20 minutes ( moments away from falling out). My question... is doing 15-20 doing anything? is it something that I work myself into?
Here's my problem... I keep seeing friends and members doing 60+ minutes everyday on cardio... and I feel beyond proud of myself if I do 15 or 20 minutes ( moments away from falling out). My question... is doing 15-20 doing anything? is it something that I work myself into?
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Replies
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The first step is to define your goal.0
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I am so new to this that I dont understand... you mean setting a goal for time to just push?0
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Set small goals for yourself to meet as you improve. Besides, I doubt everyone was able to keep up cardio for 60+ minutes when they started. You have to build up to it.0
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You are just starting! This is where you set goals that you can accomplish. Such as doing 15 minutes 5 days a week. Developing good habits takes training. Start small and build on it. Maybe everyone doesn't do 60 minutes all at once. One thing for sure, I'd make sure I did it watching tv or something else like that - phone conversation, whatever. I do my mini trampoline in front of the tv sometimes when I can't walk and I'm always looking at the clock.
Most important in the beginning to commit to doing it every day. From there you can go longer distance or more time.
DO NOT give up because it is hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it!0 -
Definitely need to work up to it. No one started at 60 minutes when they first began exercising. IMO every little bit helps and by the end of the week you'll probably notice yourself doing better during your 15-20min workout. Like you won't be breathing as hard or sweating as much. Keep on it tho and you'll be rocking it in a month!! Don't give up!!!!! I started at resistance 1 and 20minutes but now have the resistance maxed out and go for 40minutes. You can do it!!!!;-)0
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Feel proud of yourself!! Of course your doing something in just 15-20 minutes. Keep steady, and youll find yourself up with the rest soon.0
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15-20 minutes is a heck of a lot better than just sitting on your butt all day! I can go for long periods of time now, but when I first started, I was out of breath within just a few minutes. It just takes some time to build up to that long. Don't let it get you down! Just keep at it and soon enough you'll notice that it gets a lot easier to go for longer!
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Thanks yall... I guess I just needed the reassurance that that little physical exercise wasnt in vain!0
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I am so new to this that I dont understand... you mean setting a goal for time to just push?
I am going to assume your goal is to lose fat while preserving muscle mass. So if that is your goal, while cardio can help achieve this goal, it is not the most critical exercise needed.0 -
That's them. They're whole other people with different weights and fitness levels, different body compositions and different goals but, more importantly, they're not you and you're pretty much the only person you need to compare yourself to.
You're more active than you used to be - hell, that you're active at ALL is something to be proud of. Every minute counts and you're doing 15 or 20 minutes more than the people who are still sitting on the couch.
I used to worry that I wasn't burning enough calories compared to other people. Eventually I realized that the calorie burn isn't the goal - the goal is to keep moving forward on my journey. MY journey, not anyone else's.
You've got this.:happy:0 -
Everything helps. Log 15 -20 in and in a couple weeks you'll be doing 30. In 6 weeks you'll be doing 40. Se yourself a daily goal and attain it. Make sure your goal is achievable. The rest of the week do 15 and next week do 20. You'll be surprised how quick you will improve.0
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15-20 is great starting out. Small goals of increasing increments will get you where you want to be. We started riding our bike and level 1 for 15-20 then slowly added time usually in 5 min increments and then worked on increasing the level. Good luck and remember this is your journey so don't compare to others, use their results and programs to get ideas and motivation for yours!0
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When I first started I couldn't support my own weight.. I got in the pool to displace my weight so that I could stand long enough to walk in the water and the very first session (supervised) I could barely do 10 minutes.. I was so sore the next day but my next appt. I went and my therapist added a minute.. and the next visit the same... Over time those minutes kept adding up until was walking laps in the therapy pool for hours and eventually lost enough weight to get fitted with braces to exercise out of the pool. I was scared to death the first time my therapist put me on the Elliptical and I did 7 minutes and thought I was going to die.. Mind you I had lost over 180 lbs. at the time and was walking lapse in the pool for hours on end.. So we approach it the same way and next session we added a minute and so on and so forth. Now (except the last 5 weeks, I am recovering for another knee scape out surgery) I can hop on the Elliptical for 90 minutes stretches without blinking and eye... Point is, it will take time... None of us just started out doing hour session, we all had to build our way up to what we can do now..... Best of Luck.......0
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Every one of us has a starting point, but that starting point does not define where you will end up. With practice, you will build the endurance necessary for longer workouts. So yes, 15-20 minutes IS valuable!
To increase your endurance, throw in a few intervals. Start out with short 2 minute intervals where you work hard for 30 seconds and recover for 90 seconds. Repeat this pattern 10 times (or more when you can). As your fitness improves, you can increase the work to recovery ratio as well as how hard you are working in each portion of the interval.0 -
I am so new to this that I dont understand... you mean setting a goal for time to just push?
I am going to assume your goal is to lose fat while preserving muscle mass. So if that is your goal, while cardio can help achieve this goal, it is not the most critical exercise needed.0 -
Every minute on the elliptical is helping you. When I started I was thinking 5 minutes was a challenge. Gradually increased to 10, then 15, then 20. I am usually doing around 30 minutes now and feel like I could go much longer, if I only had the time to spare. It's not that difficult physically for me anymore. It is just a challenge to get more than 30 minutes without the kids bugging me or me worrying about them getting into something or getting hurt because I'm not supervising them. It gets easier with time.0
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Yes loosing fat mass is my goal... I have a lot to put away...What other techniques are there to use?0
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Just keep at it. You will notice that 15-20 minutes getting easier, then you'll be doing 20-25, then 30-40. You can do it!!0
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If you are going from no exercising at all to 15-20 min then yes of course it works. Maybe if you don't feel like you are getting enough out of it then do it twice a day. Then you will be at 30-40 min.0
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Don't base what you do on what anyone else is doing. Different people are at different fitness levels and have different fitness goals. Just keep in mind that increasing your speed, time, and resistance as your body gets used to what you're doing is a good idea. If this week you do 15 mins and are worn out, next week try and do 20 and when you get up around 60 mins consistently, then raise your speed or add more resistance.0
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OMG, you are doing great. The first time I got on the elliptical, I did 2 minutes and thought I would pass out. That was w/ no resistance. I got off and pretended I had to go to the ladies, I was so embarassed. Now I can do 35min w/ high resistance. It took a while, but I got there. The only one to compete with is yourself. Just do a little more each time. Good luck.0
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15-20minutes is more than enough if that's what you can do. those are calories burned all the same, just less of them obviously0
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Yes, 15 minutes on the elliptical is huge if you do not do regular exercise. I thought I was going to die after that long on my first time. Now I do my 15 minutes then go do weights and treadmill instead of crawling out of my gym after just the elliptical.
Keep with it and maybe throw in some walking before/after your elliptical to work muscles more and get a little more exercise in.0 -
Getting up and doing anything at all is a great start!0
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baby steps0
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15-20 minutes is definitely worth something so good for you! It does also take time, especially if you have never exercised before.
I'm 30 and have never been an active person at all. I bought a treadmill about 4 months ago.. when I first started I could really only do 20 - 30 minutes at 2mph on a 0% incline. Now I am up to 60 minutes at a time at 2.5mph on a 7% incline! I wear a HRM and break a good sweat, I've also developed some good looking calves in that short time. It just takes time and devotion. I use the treadmill 5 - 6 days a week.
A *really* good motivator is music or some people can read or watch TV. I've tried them all and music works the best for me. The workout flies by and up-beat tempos help get me moving faster.0 -
Bubs, you are fine...you will have to build up to a goal...also I think the elliptical is the hardest machine EVER...I can only do 10 min on it right now...When I get off of it, my legs feel like jelly...just go slow and easy and build yourself up and we will build up and massage your ego as you do this! Just because others do an hour or more, remember they have been at it much longer...Do not compare yourself to others, compare only to the "old" you and remember that "something is better than nothing" and keep plugging away at your goal!0
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I'm 56 and just started. I'm absolutely thrilled when I can do 30 minutes on the elliptical! You'll get more endurance the longer you do it. And you've lost 13 lbs! You're way ahead of me! Just keep on doing it.0
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15-20 minutes is a heck of a lot better than just sitting on your butt all day! I can go for long periods of time now, but when I first started, I was out of breath within just a few minutes. It just takes some time to build up to that long. Don't let it get you down! Just keep at it and soon enough you'll notice that it gets a lot easier to go for longer!
I agree with this 100%!!!! You will be amazed at how fast your endurance will increase. If 15-20 minutes is all you can do for now....I say do it! Something is better than nothing. Also, some people NEVER do 1 hour of cardio.0 -
I have heard that it doesn't do anything until you hit 30 minutes, but then again I have also read that something is better than nothing. Also, it won't take much time til you can build up to 30 minutes. I never thought I'd be able to do 30 and now I find myself able to put in almost an hour. It looks like what you are doing is working for you since you lost 13 lbs so if it's working don't worry!0
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