What cardio works for you?
- Thread starter Scout200
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I find running keeps my heart rate up. But I cannot run flat as I get old shin pains which return so I run on an incline and it varies per day as to what I can manage. It does keep my heart rate up to between 159-175bpm (I am female and 29) I do have to do this in intervals though so it can be quite exhausting!
I also find the elliptical machine can get me a high heart rate but it takes some focusing as its easy to let things slide:
I keep the speed at a constant 130spm and then up the intensity as high as I can manage without the speed dropping. Keep this up for 2-3 mins then drop the intensity by 40% and carry on for 1 min. I normally see my heart rate climb each time I do a harder interval and it does get to around 170 but its important to find out how hard you can push yourself- if your not gasping for air by the final minute of each interval then you need to up the intensity.
Interval training works much better then flat out all the same cardio. It also cuts on the boredom and as your always aiming for something- rather then trying to keep yourself from falling from something (ie heart rates) its far more of a posative experience.
Elliptical interval training, kickboxing and fast paced dancing classes work for me.
Hey summer123,
Sounds like you're referring to HIIT. I'm becoming increasingly interested in learning more about this. I've heard that it really helps drop the pounds and it's not as monotonous... How long have you been doing HIIT and what type of results have you been seeing?
-Scout
I do a power hill climb (my name for it 
)
Basically, it goes like this...
I start the climb with just long stride hiking. Probably like 12 or 14% grade or something. That takes me up about 100 feet. When it levels out, I start jogging, to the next steep incline. Long stride, hike up that, another 150 feet. Then jog all the way down the back side. Turn around, and hike as fast and hard as I can, all the way to the top. Jog all the way down the front.
Turn around, and do the whole hill again.
The total miles covered is 2.6... and now that I'm adding some flat ground running after wards, closer to 3 miles total (checked it with Google Earth) and the total vertical climb (counting the climb, up the front, up the back, up the front, and up the back again) is about 1100 feet vertically.
The whole thing took me 36min 34 seconds, the first time I tried it.... and I seriously thought it might kill me ! Or, at the very least, that I'd pass out.
Well, it still kicks my arse, but I've gotten it down to 26min 34 sec now, and I bounce back from it much quicker, after wards. Oh, and now that I'm doing it in substantially less than 30 minutes, I continue to run on flat ground, to keep the whole workout to 30 minutes.
Talking to some fitness experts, I've heard that even with running, interval training is all the latest rage.... and that basically, my hard-core up hills, followed by faster, but easier downhills, are creating, in effect, intervals.
My only problem is, I've dealt from foot pain (all started when I was obese, and killing myself with my horrendous diet) but I'm still paying for it, after a run.
But my foot is better this morning, so I can go beat on it again this evening.
Peace,
Fish
) Basically, it goes like this...
I start the climb with just long stride hiking. Probably like 12 or 14% grade or something. That takes me up about 100 feet. When it levels out, I start jogging, to the next steep incline. Long stride, hike up that, another 150 feet. Then jog all the way down the back side. Turn around, and hike as fast and hard as I can, all the way to the top. Jog all the way down the front.
Turn around, and do the whole hill again.
The total miles covered is 2.6... and now that I'm adding some flat ground running after wards, closer to 3 miles total (checked it with Google Earth) and the total vertical climb (counting the climb, up the front, up the back, up the front, and up the back again) is about 1100 feet vertically.
The whole thing took me 36min 34 seconds, the first time I tried it.... and I seriously thought it might kill me ! Or, at the very least, that I'd pass out.
Well, it still kicks my arse, but I've gotten it down to 26min 34 sec now, and I bounce back from it much quicker, after wards. Oh, and now that I'm doing it in substantially less than 30 minutes, I continue to run on flat ground, to keep the whole workout to 30 minutes.
Talking to some fitness experts, I've heard that even with running, interval training is all the latest rage.... and that basically, my hard-core up hills, followed by faster, but easier downhills, are creating, in effect, intervals.
My only problem is, I've dealt from foot pain (all started when I was obese, and killing myself with my horrendous diet) but I'm still paying for it, after a run.
But my foot is better this morning, so I can go beat on it again this evening.
Peace,
Fish
What cardio works for me?
- brisk walks, elliptical and bike.
I ran 100m in 15 secs but then ate a bag of krispy kremes after that, so I have self-banned myself from sprinting again.
- brisk walks, elliptical and bike.
I ran 100m in 15 secs but then ate a bag of krispy kremes after that, so I have self-banned myself from sprinting again.
Ah, I wish I were doing HIIT but I don't think my workouts are up there enough yet. Reason being that I can keep going for 1.5-2 hours (I swap around machines during this time) and from what I can gather, HIIT is so tireing that you just can't do that, your too exhausted.
I also workout 5 days a week, those doing HIIT don't do this everyday, its not possible if you work yourself hard enough and HIIT is working as hard as you can.
Also when I do my intervals, I spend anywhere from 2-5 mins per hard level and then 1-2 mins per rest. With HIIT you work out so hard that you can't go beyond 20-60 seconds.
I aim for HIIT but realise I'd need to make the exercises much more intense and probably even have fewer days at the gym as I just would'nt be able to work as much- I'd be too exhausted and I have a slight difficulty with that- I worry that I'd not be burning as many calories and that my weight would climb steadily higher! I know thats the opposite of what its supposed to do but being that I'd be cutting about 5-6 hours off a 8 hour weekly workout I worry too much that I'd be one of those random statistics for whom which HIIT does not work!
Plus I think the explosive energy required to do HIIT also would take some practice. At the moment I am OK at going moderatly fast when I workout. HIIT requires quick fast explosive blasts of energy for which you would require fast muscle twitches.
Now with muscles you have two sorts of twitch which make them move. Slow and fast twitches. It has been said that some people are born slow twitchers and so better at long distance and others are born fast twitchers and so better at sprints. But this has been tested and although there is a difference in some people yes, but its only around 10% if that, and the fact is you can develop one type of muscle twitch over the other through exercise anyway so all the testing done may really already have been altered by whatever the sport the athelete or general person on the street does day to day.
I do think it would be less monotonus- even interval training is less monotonus! Full all out cardio is very dull and without anything to break it up except perhaps a change of machine...try that 5 days a week and you pretty much want to cancel your gym membership! Interval training reduced that a little. Don;t get me wrong, its still a bit dull but with clearer goals and a chance to see very clearly how you improve week to week (eg you may find your able to increase interval times, levels or speeds) its somehow that bit more tollerable. But with HIIT your at the gym for much less, about 40 mins per session max (unlike my 1.5-2 hour session) and so there is far less time to get bored.
Trouble is though, I don't know about you but I can get whole weeks where my energy levels are on the floos (still trying to work out why this happens). This would make HIIT impossible as I just wouldn't be able to get that explosive energy out yet I would be able to move at a moderate pace for a longer duration. This means HIIT would not really be as suitable every week and I guess if you can cope with that then fine, but for me it would leave me confused as to how long I should be working out for on the low energy weeks.
I'm a big fan of HIIT. I don't get bored like i do after running 3 miles on a treadmill. I also like to do HIIT outdoors or somewhere not air conditioned. I trained in Thailand in like 94 degree heat doing HIIT for an hour 6 days a week. It sucked but the feeling afterwards was amazing. Now im no superstar at all, so i can feel anyone can do it. You'd be surprised what the body can go through.
Summer- After i came back from thailand i was doing 1min rounds with 30 seconds of rest. I did 8 different exercises. Then i would do that for 3 full 8 exercise rounds. It was a tough workout. You don't need to start off going super fast right away. Do what you can at the rate you can and after time you will build up the endurance. We all start somewhere and we can't be superstars right from the gate. If you are getting bored with just running on a machine i would try out HIIT. Just do what you can, if you need longer breaks then you can take them. You can always modify a workout to fit your current needs, then increase later on. The more you do it, the easier it will get and the harder you can push yourself. If your interested i could post the exercises that i do, they give me a full body workout.
-Andrew
Summer- After i came back from thailand i was doing 1min rounds with 30 seconds of rest. I did 8 different exercises. Then i would do that for 3 full 8 exercise rounds. It was a tough workout. You don't need to start off going super fast right away. Do what you can at the rate you can and after time you will build up the endurance. We all start somewhere and we can't be superstars right from the gate. If you are getting bored with just running on a machine i would try out HIIT. Just do what you can, if you need longer breaks then you can take them. You can always modify a workout to fit your current needs, then increase later on. The more you do it, the easier it will get and the harder you can push yourself. If your interested i could post the exercises that i do, they give me a full body workout.
-Andrew
HIIT training all the way for me or incorporate cardio into a PHA Circuit.
Hey Andrew,
I know you were responding to Summer, but I would be interested in learning more about the exercises you do..
-Scout
Don't get me wrong- I do interval training, but I end after about 20 mins and feel I can do more, so I change machine, do another 20 mins of interval training on another machine and another....2 hours later I am done. I don't think I can call that interval training as I can carry on for so long yet I cannot get my body to move any faster without losing my posture or the quality (eg gripping hold of handle bars for support). I normally do something like
2mins on, 1 min off on the elliptical, maintain speed of 130 alternate levels 16-10
1min on, 1 min off on the stepper alternate levels 11-18
5mins on, 1 min off then 4 mins on, 1 min off then 3 mins on...etc on the treadmill, speek 10km/h incline of 5% when on, 6.5km/h 5% incline when off
or 1 min on 1 min off, 10km/h, 10% incline when on, 6.0km/h 10% incline when off
....etc its hard work and seems to burn much more calories then doing the same time on an inbetween level yet I cannot move any faster so as to raise my game and take on HIIT. I do still keep trying though and hope that one day I can get to a level where I feel I am going to throw up when I work out! Not there yet...