getting sick of cardio

[Richard]

Hello my fans and future fans, can somebody clear this up for me. I find that I can do weight training exercises without getting bored much easier than cardio. My main target right now though is to lose fat. I know there are conflicting theories about this, but generally what I hear is that so long as you are working out and your pulse is raised to the right level, that you will burn calories and lose the fat. Does anyone think it would benefit me more to hit the cardio and make myself do it for long periods? Can it be explained what the potential benefits are of cardio compared to extended weight training? right now at the gym, I tend to go for about an hour at a time, doing generally 15 minutes cardio at the start, and 10-15 minutes at the end. It bores the crap out of me. I'd much rather do 0 cardio and just do more sets of each exercise, but I also want to do what's best. I do have the determination to do more cardio if that's what it will take.

[CollegeB]

My favorite solution is to try to start lifting heavier weights. Also do more squats and leg work, they burn more calories. Start riding a bike to the gym if you dont already do so, and ride it everywhere. Then you dont need to even think about cardio aside from how boring it is.

[Richard]

I don't think I am physically able to ride a bike to the gym, it takes about 20 minutes with my car. What is the reason why cardio is better/necessary for losing fat than weight training?

[SeaSiren]

IMHO cardio is not necessary for weight loss. You may need to change up your lifting routine and most likely you will need to reduce calories for weight loss.

 

What is your current caloric intake like?

[Richard]

ooo i am not sure exactly, around 2000 I thinnnk, but I am not entirely sure

[SeaSiren]

ooo i am not sure exactly, around 2000 I thinnnk, but I am not entirely sure

 

ahhh, well there's the problem

[Kathryn]

For fat loss, circuit weight workouts (moving quickly from one exercise to another, like doing a leg exercise, then going to a back exercise, then going to a shoulder exercise, then repeating) is more effective than straight-set work with longer breaks.

 

Also, while some say that weight training has some cardio benefits, it doesn't work cardio endurance.

 

You can get efficient cardio results (and an added fat-loss benefit)in a shorter cardio workout by incorporating interval work. 1-2 times a week (on non-consecutive days) do a short interval workout that varies between steady state cardio and intervals of near-anaerobic blasts. After a warm-up, start steady-state cardio, then every 3 minutes or so, go almost all-out for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Start with longer steady state and shorter blasts, and decrease the length of the steady state and/or increase the length of the blasts as you progress. (If you do a search for 'interval training" on the web, you can probably find more info about this).

 

You can do interval cardio by running, biking, using a treadmill, doing hi-lo aerobics or step aerobics (usually not as appealing to men), doing a kickboxing workout with some blasts of plyometric drills, etc.

 

There are a series of guided workout CD's called "Cardio Coach" that work on the principal of intervals. They are designed to be used with a treadmill or other type of cardio equipment, and the music and instruction guide you to the various levels of exertion.

 

I don't think a lot of cardio is necessary (especially if you are an active person who normally walks or bikes a lot) but some is beneficial.

[Richard]

Thanks for your advice Kathryn. I like the idea of circuit weight workouts. Yeah, I was aware that weight training doesn't lead to cardio endurance, but I am not really aiming to get that type of endurance that much right now. I will look into interval training too thanks

 

ooo i am not sure exactly, around 2000 I thinnnk, but I am not entirely sure

 

ahhh, well there's the problem

 

Ooo, how many do you recommend? When I was obese, I decided to cut down on calories drastically, because I did no exercise and refused to do any. Some days I ate barely anything, and I did lose the weight I wanted. Now I want to lose more, but I am also concerned with remaining healthy. I am dedicated enough to stick to whatever calorie limit.

[willpeavy]

Yeah gym cardio sitting on a stationary bike or running on a treadmill is boring. You could try something more fun for cardio like rock climbing

[Kathryn]

You could try something more fun for cardio like rock climbing

Rock climbing wouldn't be a cardiovascular workout, hiking or backpacking would be (unless you stop and start a lot).

[willpeavy]

You could try something more fun for cardio like rock climbing

Rock climbing wouldn't be a cardiovascular workout, hiking or backpacking would be (unless you stop and start a lot).

 

Maybe you climb rocks differently than I do. Rock climbing is cardio for me.

[Richard]

my favourite kinds of cardio would be doing martial arts, or shooting hoopz. Hoopz is best I guess because I do that with other people, so it's more fun over a long period of time. Martial arts I do on my own, it's fun for a while, but gets old eventually once I've gone through everything. now that it's winter, basketball is a bit intense around here, pretty cold to be outside, but maybe I can do it.

[Kathryn]

Maybe you climb rocks differently than I do. Rock climbing is cardio for me.

 

I don't know how you do it, but if you make it a cardio workout, you must do it in a very unique way! A cardio workout is an activity that you do at a continuous pace, a pace which you could maintain for long periods, over 20 minutes (walking running, biking, aerobic dance, step classes). There is so much stopping and starting in rock climbing, I would think the only way to make it 'cardiovascular' would be to do it on one of those rotating walls you can fiind in some gyms, and set it so you are continuously climbing (like you could do on a Versaclimber machine). I could see maybe being able to do rock climbing in short aerobic bursts, but that would mean picking up the pace and you'd most likely reach the end point you were climbing to too soon to make it a sustained activity.

 

(Just because something makes one sweaty and makes you breath harder doesn't mean it is an aerobic activity: heavy weight lifting does the same thing and it isn't considered a cardiovascular exercise).

[Guest]

I think cardio is the best way to lose a lot of fat but once you get down to 8-12% or so lifting to lose fat would be easier in my opinion

[Odidnetne]

I agree, cardio is boring. How those people can walk the distance of the Earth on a treadmill is absolutely beyond me.

 

I did some good cardio the other night. I spent 3$ on a dodgeball at a store and played in the parking lot until 1 am with a couple of friends. Having things to do with other people seems to really make it fun. I play Dance Dance Revolution too, which is a good way to burn some calories when I get bored.

[willpeavy]

There is so much stopping and starting in rock climbing, I would think the only way to make it 'cardiovascular' would be to do it on one of those rotating walls you can fiind in some gyms

 

I'm not sure what you are trying to prove here... but when I lived in Arizona I used to climb the rocks up the side of mountains all the time and it was definitely cardio

[Odidnetne]

In my book cardio is anything that makes you break a real sweat.

[Aaron]

DDR, Soccer, Dodgeball. Even air hockey.

[Guest]

I think the harder the rocks are to climb(in terms of holds) the less cardio the workout will be, but if its easy to find holds and you can do it with confidence you can really do it quickly and keep your heart rate up.

[Kathryn]

I think the harder the rocks are to climb(in terms of holds) the less cardio the workout will be, but if its easy to find holds and you can do it with confidence you can really do it quickly and keep your heart rate up.

 

I can see that, if you have enough terrain to cover. When I think of rock climbing, I don't think of speed as much as finding holds and using strength more than having it be a cardiovascular exercise (which is continuous, rythmic, large muscle exercise...I didn't see the ' continuous' in rock climbing).