New To Gym, How much Cardio.

[smartygoldenfis]

I am 5'6", 160 pounds and 20 yrs old....
Its been 2 weeks since i have joined gym for the first time of my life.

I do the ANY TWO OF following cardio..
? treadmill at avg speed of 12-13 for 15 mins...with 1-2 breaks...so that i endup running 10-12 mins.

? Stepper: i climb nearly 200-300 steps..


? Elliptical: 15 mins...moderate speed.


? Cycling: 15 mins...moderate speed...

As i said before i currently do any of the two exercises and then do weight training..what i am suspicious of that i may be doing very less amount of cardio and hence i may not get any [or substantial] weight loss. Though i do lot of workout on my abs, shoulders, biceps, triceps and thighs, i dont think it will contribute to weight loss...So can u tell me should i increase my exercises?

i believe that each person has a unique body and hence, when my colleges at gym can run at 17 for whole 15mins, should i just try to copy them, or just give my 100% and let my body decide how much i can run more. i am telling this because i almost endup taking 2 breaks in running 15mins..at 13-14......



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i am a strict veggie. i have heard lately, that to lose calories, u need to eat them. i heard that people who are veggies and join gym..literally starve their bodies and cant get enough proteins and wont be able to lose weight..
is it true?
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Also, some of my friends say, who joined gym before me and have left it..that gym is a very dangerous place since after you leave the gym..for example you have ur exams on head or some other reason and cant join for some other reason again, then ur body becomes useless and its shape becomes "bad" permanently. since i have joined gym just a few days ago, i dont wanna accept this...but is it true?

 

[Jynus]

ya your resistance routine is quite aweful. lose the isolation based exercises. and instead focus on compound bases ones. Here is a quick list. Squat, Lunge, Deadlift, Bench Press, Incline bench press, Dips, Military press, Bentover Row, Pull/Chin ups. these patters here (and varients of) should be the bulk of any resistance routine you do.

Starving yourself is starving yourself, the body doesn't care if you're a vegetarian or not. All it knows if there is enough calories in your body or not, regardless of the source. There are more than enough plant based sources of protein that it should not be an issue. It just means that you need to more closely monitor your diet than most others who can eat meat.

Your last question I have no idea what you're trying to ask. If you mean if you leave the gym, are you worried that you're going to shed all gains and end up worse off than if you did nothing at all? if so, then this is completely false. You're always worse off doing nothing as thats how muscle imbalances occur. doing nothing leading to atrophy. A little gym time regardless of time spent inbetween is always beneficial.

 

[KaraCooks]

I'm with Jynus in that I'm not entirely sure what you're asking or what you want help with other than the actual question in your post title.

Here's the thing: The cardio you described has no meaning for us because we don't know how it affects YOU. A lot of people make that mistake, so don't feel bad - they say "I set the treadmill to 4.0 - is that good for me?" or "I do 500 steps on the stairstepper - is that good for me?" And my answer to that is ... I dunno. Is it?

To get benefit from aerobic/cardio exercise - whether ss-cardio, intervals, whatever - you need to raise your heart rate and your exertion level. Ideally you should do this for 20-30 mins at a moderate or a combined moderate to high intensity. So ... if you do 500 steps on the stairstepper, are you raising your heart rate for 20 mins or so? If you run at 4.0, are you doing it for 20 mins or so?

Now, having said that and before I get jumped on by too many people (*grin*) understand that ANY exercise is better than none. If you're running for 10-12 minutes, that's FAR better than not running at all. If 300 or 500 steps on the machine is what you can do, that's far better than not doing it at all. Any exercise is better than none. But if you want to measure the EFFICIENCY of your exercise, you need a different way of measuring.

I also agree with Jynus 100% in this: lose the isolation based exercises. and instead focus on compound bases ones. Here is a quick list. Squat, Lunge, Deadlift, Bench Press, Incline bench press, Dips, Military press, Bentover Row, Pull/Chin ups. these patters here (and varients of) should be the bulk of any resistance routine you do.

As far as diet goes: What you eat is HUGELY important, but anyone who tells you a veggie can't be healthy, lose weight, and gain muscle is full of crap. I know lots of vegetarians who look fantastic and can kick my ass in the gym. You do have to manage what you eat more carefully when you're eating veggie - you want to make sure you get enough protein and enough vitamin B12 - but you can get those things from a lot of other sources, including low-fat dairy and eggs.

Finally this: then ur body becomes useless and its shape becomes "bad" permanently. is complete and utter BS. As with anything, if you don't use it, you lose it. If you quit working out, you're going to lose some strength and muscle. But "permanently"? Puh-lleeeeze. It doesn't work that way. Just like if you learn to play a musical instrument and then you don't play it for a while - you get rusty and out of practice. But you can pick it back up and relearn the skills you've let slide. And it's often easier to get back to your previous shape the 2nd time around because you've got muscle memory on your side.

That doesn't mean that I'd recommend a steady routine of getting in shape and slacking off and then getting in shape again. But two things: One if you take a break it might be harder to get back into the routine, but you can do it, and Two if you leave the gym that *doesn't* mean you have to quit exercising. You can still do body resistance stuff at home and keep the basics going w/out a gym membership.

Hope that helps some.

 

[smartygoldenfis]

ya your resistance routine is quite aweful. lose the isolation based exercises. and instead focus on compound bases ones. Here is a quick list. Squat, Lunge, Deadlift, Bench Press, Incline bench press, Dips, Military press, Bentover Row, Pull/Chin ups. these patters here (and varients of) should be the bulk of any resistance routine you do.

Starving yourself is starving yourself, the body doesn't care if you're a vegetarian or not. All it knows if there is enough calories in your body or not, regardless of the source. There are more than enough plant based sources of protein that it should not be an issue. It just means that you need to more closely monitor your diet than most others who can eat meat.

Your last question I have no idea what you're trying to ask. If you mean if you leave the gym, are you worried that you're going to shed all gains and end up worse off than if you did nothing at all? if so, then this is completely false. You're always worse off doing nothing as thats how muscle imbalances occur. doing nothing leading to atrophy. A little gym time regardless of time spent inbetween is always beneficial.

well, i presently do a lot many of compound exercises u told.. but i dont do them daily. like push ups on an alternate day, squats every 3 days. actually i do cadio for max 20-30 mins and then get on to shoulders or biceps or any other part of body. can u tell me those exercises u mentioned, are they needed to be done daily? And ALL OF THEM daily?

To get benefit from aerobic/cardio exercise - whether ss-cardio, intervals, whatever - you need to raise your heart rate and your exertion level. Ideally you should do this for 20-30 mins at a moderate or a combined moderate to high intensity. So ... if you do 500 steps on the stairstepper, are you raising your heart rate for 20 mins or so? If you run at 4.0, are you doing it for 20 mins or so?

definitely my heart rate shoots up and remains high as long as i am on stepper or running..but thats at max 20-25 mins..and yes i feel exerted [i leave cardio only when i am fully tired or am having pain here and there. ]
On stepper i finish doing 500 steps in 10-15 mins. so i am not raising my heart rate for 20mins..Similarly, i can run on treadmill at 12 for 15 mins continuously, but in the process of trying to run at 15-16..i end up taking 1-2 breaks. Yes, my heart beats fast for atleast the whole exercising time.
Now tell me, is it enough cardio? Or do i hv to maintain high rate BPM for 30 mins atleast in order to lose weight?

Finally this: then ur body becomes useless and its shape becomes "bad" permanently. is complete and utter BS. As with anything, if you don't use it, you lose it. If you quit working out, you're going to lose some strength and muscle. But "permanently"? Puh-lleeeeze. It doesn't work that way. Just like if you learn to play a musical instrument and then you don't play it for a while - you get rusty and out of practice. But you can pick it back up and relearn the skills you've let slide. And it's often easier to get back to your previous shape the 2nd time around because you've got muscle memory on your side.

thnx