Good cardio routine for beginners? - Page 2

Swimming would be an ideal start, but if you don't have access to a pool, I would suggest starting out slowly with my three favorites. 15min-Stairmaster, 15min-Crosstrainer, 15min-Treadmill (high incline/brisk walking pace). Start with that and eventually add more time/resistance and you will start to see results very quickly.

Go outside.
Do something strenuous.
Come back when tired.
Repeat.

lefty

I recommend that you start by running a short distance and when you are winded or tired you begin walking. Repeat this each time, increasing the distance you run as you feel comfortable (or less uncomfortable).

Surprised to not have seen it mentioned already, but I highly highly recommend the Couch to 5k program. Works wonders.

Agreed. When I first started exercising last year I was doing high intensity intervals on the cross trainer for about 3 months. I improved quite a bit and as a fatty I liked it for the low impact, but I was shocked at how quickly I would still get out of breath if I tried to run for a couple of minutes.

I did the couch to 5k and by mid Feb this year was able to run the full half hour without stopping. At the speed I was going it wasn't quite 5k distance though, as I found I couldn't increase my time if I stuck to the implied 10km/h on the treadmill, so I went at 8.5-9 on the treadmill and it came together. The plan lets you follow it for time or for distance but the two options they give you might not be exactly interchangeable depending on your fitness.

Anyway I kept doing 1 or 2 x 30 min sessions a week with one longer one at a weekend which I gradually increased to about an hour (still at the 8.5-9km/h) speed - then last weekend did the London 10,000 race and finished it in an hour.

Ok so 59.5 min for a 10k is not exactly record pace... but to run at a little over 6mph and keep it going for a full hour is a world away from where I was 6 months ago. A jog/walk program like c25k is a great help, and as its a popular program you can easily find podcasts with cheesy voiceovers telling you when to start and stop running.

^ That's a very nice accomplishment. Great story on your fitness progression as well, thanks for sharing.

Thanks - I was 250 in the middle of last year, 190 now, so that makes running easier! I started off on the Body for Life plan (highly recommend the book and related internet resources for a beginner), haven't followed it religiously but it does give you a good structure when you are new to it.

As a million posts on this site will tell you, the key to better fitness/losing weight is:
- do weights to build up muscles and raise metabolism
- do cardio to burn calories and get your heart & lungs working
- eat a sensible amount of carbs to give you energy to do the above
- eat more protein to support your muscles
- eat less fat (but some 'good' fats) so you don't get fat

or as your grandma could tell you, good ol'fashioned "eat well and exercise".

The best way to get better at something is do more of it. Doing long slow jogs or bike rides will improve your endurance - I think jogging or elliptical over cycling is better because its easier to slack off when sitting down and freewheeling - you do actually need to keep your heart rate up. Doing shorter intervals of high intensity stuff will really get your heart/lungs going and improve your speed/strength. It's worth including both (in separate sessions) as a beginner.

Later you can look at doing intermediate distances at a higher pace (but not sprint pace) to improve your lactate threshold and other fancy stuff. But keep it very simple to start and a run/walk program like couchto5k will see you right.

Sorry to hijack this thread - back to lurking now...

Congratulations to you, sir. I may have to take my own advice (30 minutes of intervals), as I just discovered I have put on two pounds in the last 4 weeks due to lack of exercise.

Quick question, is it bad to do cardios everyday (joggin/walking/running)? Should there be rest time in between?

It depends. How intense is your workout? If you're just walking or jogging for 30 minutes, you can do that pretty much every day. If you're doing something intense like HIIT or going for time like 1-2 hour runs then it makes sense to take days off.

Oh, the dreaded step-mill. This is the one gym machine that is always available! I've learned to appreciate it.

Run on a track, and jog one lap quickly, walk the next. Start with as many as you can do, and move up from there. The swedes developed this type of training, I believe its called Fartleks. Once you are up to 2-3 miles you can increase your running speed and the workout of course gets harder.

Don't forget to use a stopwatch to keep yourself honest.