Lotsgoingon Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Then your cardio workout comes from building stamina in your legs. You're worrying too much ... BTW: your goal is about 30 minutes on the elliptical unless you are doing intervals and in which case you only want to do intervals every now and then. So if you're stopping at 5 minutes, that means the intensity is too high or you're pedaling too fast. You might be confusing sprinting or anaerobic exercises (which involve huffing and puffing) and aerobic ... which can be steady and slow as you need to be to keep going. Just increasing the time gives the heart a workout. Ever seen joggers outside? They aren't sprinting. They're getting a great heart workout because even slow jogging is more challenging to the heart and lungs than walking. So no, huffing and puffing is not aerobics ... that's intervals ... look up "high intensity interval training" and you'll see what I mean. You go slow for 5 minutes, then fast (like you're going now) for like 30 seconds ... then slow ... then short bursts ...but really you want to add time at this point ... slow down your pedaling ... Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 Oh okay but how do I HIIT on the elliptical, or is that possible since the elliptical, is too slow for HIIT it seems? Link to post Share on other sites
Lotsgoingon Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 From what you're describing you are currently pedaling at interval pace--that's what's causing your legs to fatigue after 5 minutes. You can google various high intensity interval routines for ellipticals, but I've always been told that it's good to first just go slow and extend the time ... with the goal of doing 30 minutes ... Do you ever reverse pedal. When I do the elliptical I go forward, but reverse pedal every now and then. But for you, interval training would be like 4 or 5 super-fast pedaling sessions at about the pace you're using now ... the rest of the time, in between each fast session, you go slow ... at a fraction of the pace you're going now ... But just extend the time for now ... So slow down and keep going ... .your heart is getting a serious workout if you stretch things ultimately to 30 minutes ... maybe slow down and shoot for 10 minutes ... btw: are you around other elliptical machines? Most people on ellipticals go at a relaxed pace ... you can imitate their pace ... Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 Oh okay thank you very much. no I have only used the one so far. I always felt more of a work out if I do HIIT and I was told to do that to burn calories unless HIIT is not the way to go and slow burn is better? Also, I was wondering, do they make ellipticals, where I can say have low resistance in the legs but high resistance in the arms, and be able to switch vice versa, or is the resistance always the same on the legs and arms for all ellipticals? Link to post Share on other sites
Lotsgoingon Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 I don't know of ellipticals with resistance in the arms ... Just get a good habit of exercise going--simply--and then you can get elaborate later. HIIT is good ... I enjoy that .... somehow you'll overwork but that's OK. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 5 hours ago, Lotsgoingon said: I don't know of ellipticals with resistance in the arms ... Just get a good habit of exercise going--simply--and then you can get elaborate later. HIIT is good ... I enjoy that .... somehow you'll overwork but that's OK. Oh ok. But it seems that the only way I can get the heart going hard is through HIIT. Slower elliptical exercises are not getting it going near as much it seems. Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 (edited) Why do you need your heart to go so hard? You can get a good cardio workout without going for a crazy high heart rate. Edited December 30, 2021 by basil67 Link to post Share on other sites
Lotsgoingon Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 @ironponyonce again, you have the wrong idea about getting your heart going. Working out for 30 minutes gets the heart going. Period. You can go slow. You will STILL get your heart going. You are misunderstanding exercise. Huffing and puffing is NOT the goal. You said you get tired after 5 minutes ... well imagine slowing down and going 30 minutes. You have to trust me on this--because you apparently don't have the experience. Trust me: go for a 2 mile walk at a reasonable pace. You ever do that?! You will get a workout. Walking! Not even speed walking! Go for a 3 mile walk, you'll get a serious heart workout. Just walking! Workout just means your heart has to be faster than at a resting state. Any elliptical exercise will get your heart beating faster than sitting on the couch. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 On 12/30/2021 at 4:21 PM, basil67 said: Why do you need your heart to go so hard? You can get a good cardio workout without going for a crazy high heart rate. Oh it's just before, the heart going really hard felt like a really good cardio workout. Now it feels like the workout is not as good in comparison, if the heart doesn't go as hard. But I'm only going by house it feels for me. Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 14 minutes ago, ironpony said: Oh it's just before, the heart going really hard felt like a really good cardio workout. Now it feels like the workout is not as good in comparison, if the heart doesn't go as hard. But I'm only going by house it feels for me. But weren't you exhausting yourself after just five minutes? That's not a good workout. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 Just now, basil67 said: But weren't you exhausting yourself after just five minutes? That's not a good workout. Yes I was and I thought it was better because I felt more exhausted than anything the elliptical was able to since it's not as fast as the tredmill. Unless I am looking at it wrong? Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 We've been through this before. If you're on the treadmill, run for at least 30-40 mins at a pace you can sustain. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 I can do that, I just don't feel near as exhausted after compared to going HIIT style, but even if I do not feel as exhausted after, maybe I am being fooled, and I actually am more exhausted in comparison? Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 How long a break are you taking after running 5 mins fast? Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Also, if you've still got plenty of energy after running 30-40 mins at a reasonable pace, then increase either your distance or pace.....but still limit it to a sustainable level. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, basil67 said: Also, if you've still got plenty of energy after running 30-40 mins at a reasonable pace, then increase either your distance or pace.....but still limit it to a sustainable level. But even if I do that, I am still not near as exhausted compared to HIIT though. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 12 minutes ago, basil67 said: How long a break are you taking after running 5 mins fast? About five in between each. Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 That rest is far too long. Run for a minute or so and rest for two minutes. And why do you aspire to exhaustion? Why not aim for a good run where you feel solidly worked out but can still function afterwards? Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 Oh it's just that I feel I am not getting enough exercise unless I am tired after. I want to be tired after, but in a good way if that makes sense. I want to still function afterwards but I want to feel like I actually got a good workout and jogging slowly for 30 minutes without the heart going much just doesn't seem like a good tiring workout, unless I am wrong :). But also, I've noticed that on days when I do workout, I have insomnia problems, compared to days when I do not. This indicates to me that maybe I am not working out hard enough if I feel more energized after, to the point where I have sleep issues as a result? Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 I didn't suggest that you jog slowly for thirty minutes. I suggested that you jog at a sustainable pace. When I say 'sustainable' I mean that you should find a pace which where you can go as fast as you can without needing breaks. Though if going slow is the only way you can manage 30 minutes, then I would suggest that you're really quite unfit. We've talked about your insomnia and exercise before. What did you learn from what we advised last time it was discussed? Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 Well before it was suggested that I exercise earlier in the day, but I cannot do with that with my schedule no matter how I try, the work schedule is just not allowing for it unfortunately along with other things I have to do earlier in my personal life. But when you say go as fast as I can without needing breaks, how much time do I have to before I stop before it counts as a 'break'? I have stop eventually of course, so how much time before it counts as a break then? Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Ok, so if you can't change to fix the exercise-insomnia issue, there's no point in raising it again Regarding how long to run for, you want to aim for at least 44 mins without a break. If 45 mins without a break is easy, then either increase your pace and still run 40 mins without a break or stay at the same pace and run for longer. Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 Just now, basil67 said: Ok, so if you can't change to fix the exercise-insomnia issue, there's no point in raising it again Regarding how long to run for, you want to aim for at least 44 mins without a break. If 45 mins without a break is easy, then either increase your pace and still run 40 mins without a break or stay at the same pace and run for longer. Oh okay thanks. But I was told before that HIIT was better for staying in shape and burning calories though. Unless that is wrong? Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, ironpony said: Oh okay thanks. But I was told before that HIIT was better for staying in shape and burning calories though. Unless that is wrong? And as I've told you before, you need a personal trainer to teach you the best way to get fit. Not just asking advice, but paying for them to assess your fitness and design a program suitable for you. Out of curiosity, where did you see that 5 minutes was a recommend rest period for HIIT? And what was their recommended active time to go with that? Link to post Share on other sites
Author ironpony Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 It was recommended that I only take about a minute long break, but I feel like I could use five more so. HITT was told to me by someone who plays sports. I can ask others, and hire a personal trainer. Link to post Share on other sites
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