What's a good way to do cardio exercise?

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ironpony
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10 May 2020, 5:00 pm

I want to lose weight, and I've been exercising and so far, the exercise puts on muscle but it doesn't actually get rid of the weight. I was told in order to lose weight, I need to do cardio exercises. So I started jogging, but I had to stop after a few weeks of doing it everyday, because it hurts my knees too much. The doctor said lay off the jogging or the knees will just get worse.

So I tried doing other things to get a cardio exercise, like the elliptical or a bike, but all those do is exercise my legs a lot and I am not feeling it in the heart much, compared to jogging. Is there a way I can exercise the heart, without having to do jog and hurt my knees?



Eurythmic
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10 May 2020, 9:20 pm

Muscle building is a good thing! Build muscle, burn more energy as a result of muscle being there. Win/win!

Jogging is fantastic, but it's something you need to ease into gently. You can't go from doing no jogging to jogging everyday, unless you want to get a stress fracture and bugger up your knees and ITB. To start with go jogging every 3 days and start with low milage. 1Km today, 2Km in a few days time. Your body will rebuild bone and connective tissue allowing you to increase your distance and frequency over time.

The couch to 5Km program is a great way to ease yourself into jogging with minimal risk. It is free and easy to follow and all you need is a basic watch:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/c ... k-by-week/

Is is an excellent way to increase your heart rate, requires no fancy gear, and at the end of the program you can jog 5Km and most likely not be injured.

Steep hills are also a fantastic way of raising your heart rate.
Do you have any steep inclines or stairs around where you live? If so try walking up them at a brisk rate, quickly walk back down and walk up them several more times. Let me know how your heart rate goes when you do this.

Some of the best forms of exercise are in the community around you.



ironpony
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10 May 2020, 10:59 pm

Oh okay thanks. But since I am wanting to let my knees heal is there a way to get cardio exercise, without having to put any strain on my knees at all though?



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11 May 2020, 1:59 am

I'd suggest swimming, but I don't know how feasable that is at the moment. Shadow boxing, maybe?


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auntblabby
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11 May 2020, 2:37 am

ironpony wrote:
Oh okay thanks. But since I am wanting to let my knees heal is there a way to get cardio exercise, without having to put any strain on my knees at all though?

using your larger muscles will make your heart pitter patter alright, so i'd suggest military pushups but instead of doing them fast, do them very veeeeerrrryyy sllloooowwww. like take 10 seconds, miminum, to move from front-leaning rest position, down to plank rest [elbows bent @ 90 degrees], then slowly wiggle from left to right and right to left, front to back and back to front. you will have to work up to this by starting with just one of these bad boys. this exercise will not hurt your knees. but it WILL build up your pecs and shoulder muscles/back muscles, and make you sweat like a beast and your heart thump but good. alternate this exercise with side planks where you rest on your opposite elbow while holding your body at angle from floor and straight from head to toe, hold this position for a minute, then swap sides. then get up and do a modified chinup [they sell these door-way-mounted chin-up bars for this purpose] and instead of repeatedly hauling yourself up and down, just pull your self up [even if you have to use a step-latter at first] and hang-on in the arms-curled position for a minute or as long as you can hang there, then as slowly as possible, let yourself down. then do a minute of jumping jacks, then go back into front leaning rest and repeat what you started with. alternately, if you have the coordination [i surely don't :oops: ] jumping rope is excellent cardio training, 5 minutes of full-tilt jump-roping is [for most folks] roughly equivalent to running a 6-minute mile. this should also not hurt your knees. in place of that, you could walk like your late for a meeting, up and down any hills you can find even if you have to drive to where the hills are at, the hills are THAT important. keep that up for a half-hour on alternate days with the pushup/plank/chinup routine.
it must be noted that exercise is only one part of the regimen- the other part is cutting out refined carbs via avoiding processed foods. don't eat anything white 'cept for chicken. that means no candy or sugar of any kind, no fruit juices, no rice [unless wild], no potatoes, no bread/rolls/buns/pasta/wheat or oats, esp. avoid popcorn as it is very acidifying and counterproductive to losing weight [from personal experience]. replace those with multi-colored veggies, and quinoa, fish and chicken/turkey, limited amount of red meat. allow yourself one "cheat day" [per week] where you can reward yourself for your good behavior the other 6 days.



ironpony
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11 May 2020, 3:04 am

Oh okay thanks. I think I got the diet good, accept for popcorn, which I like, but I can try to cut that down too.

As for walking or running up hills, I thought I would avoid anything that puts a shockwave on the knee at all. But I can try a hill and see how that works.



auntblabby
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11 May 2020, 3:39 am

ironpony wrote:
Oh okay thanks. I think I got the diet good, accept for popcorn, which I like, but I can try to cut that down too.

As for walking or running up hills, I thought I would avoid anything that puts a shockwave on the knee at all. But I can try a hill and see how that works.

it is easier to climb than to go downhill, in my experience at least, so going downhill you will likely want reduced stride to take some of the load off the knees.



ironpony
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11 May 2020, 6:38 pm

Okay thanks. It's just it takes about 3 seconds to run up the biggest hill where I live. I gave it a shot but it feels like the heart is not being worked out cardio wise, very much, because it's only 3 seconds at a time. Unless I am missing something?



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11 May 2020, 7:47 pm

Oh honey--I understand! Though I never liked running (and therefore didn't do it often), I did manage to screw up my knees with years of high-impact cardio. It has taken me a while to find low-impact cardio that gets my heart rate up where I like/want/need it to be to stay happy and fit. (One caveat: I know nothing about weight loss, and I won't pretend to.)

I've always preferred to work out on my own, usually at home, but in recent years I've become really frustrated that so many knee-friendly online workouts are aimed at older folks and absolute beginners. I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted trying something that I thought would get me going, only to find out 20 minutes in that it wasn't doing bupkiss! More online trainers seem to be catching on though, offering more lower-impact stuff that can still whip yer azz. I've also gotten adept at customizing workouts--even on the fly. I know what works for me.

I've had a lot of luck most often with kickboxing, cardio boxing, and lower-impact interval workouts that use moves like the ones Aunt Blabby suggests. If you keep a quick pace, work your larger muscles frequently/for long intervals, keep your upper and lower body going at the same time, and/or use a big range of motion, you don't need high impact to get your blood pumping!

Other tricks? Try high-rep upper body workouts with lighter weights, but keep your legs moving too (marching with knees high, alternating lunges if possible, or slow squats at whatever angle feels safe for you), or use weighted boxing gloves with a slower cardio-boxing or kickboxing routine.

What I think is most crucial, though, is that you find what works for you and switch it up as needed so it stays practical and interesting. Then KEEP GOING!



ironpony
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11 May 2020, 7:54 pm

Oh okay thanks. One thing I have been trying lately is biking but no matter how hard I pedal the bike, on different gear settings, I can't get the heart worked out the same way as jogging. Am I doing something wrong?



Eurythmic
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11 May 2020, 8:19 pm

ironpony wrote:
Okay thanks. It's just it takes about 3 seconds to run up the biggest hill where I live.


You must live in a very flat area then!
Do you have access to any staircases in your building at work? I used to walk up and down the fire escape stairs in my meal breaks, a couple of trips up and down and I'd be breathless.

After a break of a week or so your knees should be fine to do some stair repeats.
Are you wearing well fitting athletic type shoes?



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11 May 2020, 8:24 pm

Cycling, but make sure the seat is the correct height as if it is too low you will put strain on your knees. But get it right and it is great exercise because you can ride without the pounding that jogging can do. Swimming is also another form of exercise.


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ironpony
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11 May 2020, 8:30 pm

Oh okay, well I can't swim cause of the covid situation. But as far as biking goes, I've been doing that but it feels like my heart is not getting worked out at all, compared to jogging. Am I doing something wrong?



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11 May 2020, 8:34 pm

ironpony wrote:
Oh okay, well I can't swim cause of the covid situation. But as far as biking goes, I've been doing that but it feels like my heart is not getting worked out at all, compared to jogging. Am I doing something wrong?

I went out today and my heart was definately exercized. What sort of cadence do you pedal at? I used to have low cadance, but I increased it a little about 25 years ago as it prevented me getting feet aches. It does take more out of ones heart though if one increases the cadence slightly, as does cycling on hilly terrain.


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ironpony
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11 May 2020, 8:37 pm

Oh well I have an 18 gear bike and tried the lowest gear for about 30 minutes and the highest gear for about 30. I got a really good work out in my legs but not much for the heart. Am I doing something wrong?



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11 May 2020, 8:39 pm

ironpony wrote:
Oh well I have an 18 gear bike and tried the lowest gear for about 30 minutes and the highest gear for about 30. I got a really good work out in my legs but not much for the heart. Am I doing something wrong?


Not sure. I have a 1 in 4 hill to get back home. I normally use either a hybrid or a touring bike. I used the tourer today.


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