cardio

You don't need to do a lot of 'cardio' to lose fat and flab. You need to eat and exercise smart. Balance you workouts with weights and other anaerobic exercises. Your diet is 50% of the task also and it and exercise go hand and hand.

**Anaerobic: Short term HARD exercises. Weightlifting, sprinting, High Intensity Interval Training etc.

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Posted by JennJay

Ok, so I know I need to do A LOT of cardio to lose fat and flab, but how do I do that? I feel like after I run a mile, I cant do anymore without feeling like i am going to pass out. Is this how everyone feels, but you keep going? How do you push yourself? How much cardio and how hard should i be going?

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How fast are you running on the treadmill to do a mile? How long does it take you to run a mile on the treadmill? Are you warming up for a few minutes first? Do you smoke? Are you drinking plenty of clear liquids throughout the day so you are hydrated? Do you eat a little something within a 1/2 hour to an hour before you run?

For the most part, practice makes perfect, and you should try to push yourself little by little until you feel OK. But lots of other things factor in.....like my questions above.

There is other cardio that you can do also - I am definitely not a runner, but I walk on the treadmill at about 3.9 and vary the intervals. I also use the elliptical machine, and take cardio classes (spin, kickboxing, cardio blast, etc.) There are tons of things you can do.

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Posted by ginny26

I hop from machine to machine rather than staying on one for 30-40 minutes (i.e.10-15 minutes on the bike; 10-12 on the treadmill; maybe more on the bike or switch to the elliptical). I mix in weight training after about 15-20 minutes and go back on the cardio machines...I need variety or else I get BORED and aggravated!! :)

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Hi! You should really do cardio after weight training.

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Posted by Snowboardgirl

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Posted by ginny26

I hop from machine to machine rather than staying on one for 30-40 minutes (i.e.10-15 minutes on the bike; 10-12 on the treadmill; maybe more on the bike or switch to the elliptical). I mix in weight training after about 15-20 minutes and go back on the cardio machines...I need variety or else I get BORED and aggravated!! :)

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Hi! You should really do cardio after weight training.

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I agree-although the scale really hasn't moved I notice a big difference in my body..

Hi! Can you tell me what the advantage is of doing stregnth training before cardio? I've been told the opposite. Now I'm confused!
Thank You!

You don't have to 'Run' to do cardio. You can walk at a fast past. I suggest you buy yourself a heart rate monitor (Models, etc). They have some cheaper one and some more expensive one so you know if you are on target.

A good rule of thumb.

220-age= maximum heart rate

You should do (depending on your level) 65 to 85% of that maximum heart rate.

For example, if you are 25

220-25=195

65%= 127
85%= 166

I would recommend the lower range when you start a workout program.

Good exercice: fast pace walk, treadmill, eliptical, bike, jumping jack, cardio class, workout tapes, etc.

I don't like high impact so I stay away from steps.

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Posted by JennyO

Hi! Can you tell me what the advantage is of doing stregnth training before cardio? I've been told the opposite. Now I'm confused!
Thank You!

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You usually exaust all your 'strength' during strength training. Your body will 'grab' your nutrients, etc... to do physical demanding exercises. If you do cardio before strength training, you will be wiped out before giving your max. during the workout. In the other hand, you can always do cardio within your target heart rate afterwards.

I've been doing it the opposite way for so long. I'm going to try doing stregnth training first today. Thanks for the advice!

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Posted by sr081906

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Posted by JennyO

Hi! Can you tell me what the advantage is of doing stregnth training before cardio? I've been told the opposite. Now I'm confused!
Thank You!

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You usually exaust all your 'strength' during strength training. Your body will 'grab' your nutrients, etc... to do physical demanding exercises. If you do cardio before strength training, you will be wiped out before giving your max. during the workout. In the other hand, you can always do cardio within your target heart rate afterwards.

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yeah, but if you do cardio before weights, then you keep your heart rate up, which burns more calories.
I think the best thing is to try everything and see what works best for you.

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Posted by LaurenluvsTJ

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Posted by sr081906

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Posted by JennyO

Hi! Can you tell me what the advantage is of doing stregnth training before cardio? I've been told the opposite. Now I'm confused!
Thank You!

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You usually exaust all your 'strength' during strength training. Your body will 'grab' your nutrients, etc... to do physical demanding exercises. If you do cardio before strength training, you will be wiped out before giving your max. during the workout. In the other hand, you can always do cardio within your target heart rate afterwards.

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yeah, but if you do cardio before weights, then you keep your heart rate up, which burns more calories.

I think the best thing is to try everything and see what works best for you.

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It depends on the type of strength training you are talking about.

I dare you (or most people) to do squats after a good 30 minutes cardio. Especially if you are doing a low rep, high weight workout.

I used to work in a gym and most of my clients could not do a 'strength' training after their cardio. I actually used to alternate their cardio days with their strength training days. If you have to combine both (due to days available per week), t is usually recommended to do cardio last for the reasons I mentioned above.

FYI.. you will also burn calories doing the strength training first. So it does not matter in which order you do it for the calories.