unable to maintain running as a form of cardio any effective alternatives?

[peco_12345]

I just dont have it in me to run anymore, i dont have the lungs or stamina for it due to ashma and i can maintain a steady cardio routine, although i can use the eliptical for 30 mins 5 days a week no problem. its obviously not the same intensity but is it still effective? i usually burn about 350 calories in a 30 min period on the eliptical.

 

[Gunsmith]

swimming would be my first choice , or somthing with higher resistance

 

[Sepjuice1]

stair master and low intensity treadmill work on high incline

 

[bcjoji]

SPINNING Works Great For Me....

 

[adamthetrain]

I usually do 20 minutes of elliptical and 20 minutes of incline treadmill a day. It seems to work great.

 

[PitbullTank]

anything thats not long, slow, and repetitive...circuit training, boxing, bjj, other sports etc...anything where your heartrate and body goes from like medium speed to bursts of energy, over and over...whether it be interval sprinting, boxing, circuit training, basketball, etc...

ex- i would much rather jog for 100 yards, sprint for 30, jog 100, repeat....and be done with it in 10 minutes...then a 30-40 min walk/jog at constant pace....interval training, tabata training, etc...i use to put my fighters thru alot of them getting them prepared for competion...

 

[panzerfaust]

Yeah teadmill work at a fast walk on the highest incline, stairmaster sounds good too, but to be honest never use it.

 

[discohornet]

I just dont have it in me to run anymore, i dont have the lungs or stamina for it due to ashma and i can maintain a steady cardio routine, although i can use the eliptical for 30 mins 5 days a week no problem. its obviously not the same intensity but is it still effective? i usually burn about 350 calories in a 30 min period on the eliptical.

What's up with your asthma? Are you treating it?

Steady cardio is for the birds. I mean it. If you can fly, then please continue, because your life will depend on it, lest you poop out and come crashing to the ground. But I don't think you have wings.

Where did you receive the info about 350 calories in 30 minutes?
If it's from the machine you can toss that info. It's generalized and can vary by as much as 25%

I'm a little biased because I prefer training in the upper intensity of one's cardiovascular system. Give me 15 minutes of huffing, puffing, gasping for air, rather than 30 minutes of staring off into the TVs hanging from the ceiling or texting buds.

Your asthma will be the limiting factor here though. If it's not controlled well then this is a great way to end up needing medical attention.

Here's what I'd do if you were a client who wanted to do something different.


5 minutes of jump rope
500m on the row machine

50 jumping jacks
40 cross country (40 on each side)
30 bodyweight squats
20 pushups
10 mountain climbers (10 on each side)

5 minutes of jump rope
500m on the row machine


Now, first of all, I hardly think you'll be able to jump rope for more than a few minutes when you first start this. It sounds easy until you start doing it. I have only a handful of clients who can go for five minutes, and they usually need a few minutes to rest before jumping into something else.

But for no more than 10 bucks (never spend more on a fancier gimmicky rope) you can have a killer cardio workout that is strengthening your calves like crazy. Not to mention you'll look cool when you can do double unders and crossovers.

If you can actually complete the entire workout above it will probably take about 30 minutes the first time, and eventually you can get it down to 20. Once you get it down to 20 you'll notice two things.

1) You'll be getting very vascular and leaner - in a way that jogging on the DREADmill won't accomplish.

2) You'll need significantly less time between your heavy lifting sets. Your body will become more conditioned and that 3 minutes of rest will turn into 2, sometimes even 60 seconds. It's amazing what happens when we give our mitochondria a reason to get off their little cellular asses and do some high intensity work. If you're like me, you'll even feel like you're cheating on heavy days, because it will be a breeze - not to say it won't be heavy and heavy sucks, but you won't be wiped out.

Hope that helps...

 

[FIRE0808]

Due to your asthma, stick with your eliptical since it doesnt gives you any problem.You can try walking on incline treadmill or do some cycling.

 

[aphextwin]

I know your feeling about Knee pain. I feel it when I start to run. There are numerous things to try: Jumping Rope, Jacobs Ladder (this machine will truly test your endurance...look it up), Step Mill, Swimming, biking,.....If you feel the elliptical is too easy, add more resistance to it.

 

[Bionic]

Kettlebell snatches done in HIIT fashion (15 secs on/15 secs off) for 20-30 mins. The only exercise that works better is uphill cross-country skiing. LOL! Trust me, it's a great exercise and burns calories at an unbelievable rate.

 

[fade]

5 minutes of jump rope
500m on the row machine

I've been jumping rope to warm up for my workouts. Fucking shin splints like crazy, but even doing something like 100 reps on the jump rope start to take it out of you until you build up your endurance a little better. It's amazing really.

I'll probably start throwing in a bit of your suggestions after my workouts in the morning.

 

[stylus]

Try using a Nautilus Row Machine, or any row machine. I alternate between running, or low impact high grade level treadmill. I used to use the elliptical, but too much time required for solid results, however I will use the elliptical to warm up my knees before running, or on "leg days".

 

[peco_12345]

how many calories on average are you burning during cardio sessions? i think i need to mix it up a bit thats it, my asthma really isnt a issue that should hinder me now. im just being lazy an if running isnt my thing i can do other forms of cardio. im gonna try jump roping, boxing mixed intensity eliptical training.

 

[Bionic]

With kettlebell snatches, you burn ~20 cal per minute and that's only while you're doing them. When you account for EPOC, you'll burn more. So 30 mins would equal ~600 cals when done in a 15 sec on/15 sec off fashion. The only other activity that burns more is Uphill X-Country skiing, I believe.

 

[Gaintrain]

I prefer Boxing for my cardio.

 

[streeter]

I don't know if this will help but if you want you can try this. Tailor it to meet your needs.
I go to the "Y in my town and they have a inside track upstairs, it is only 1/10 of a mile each lap so the back straight away is probably about 80-100 Yards or less. What I do is walk to that back straight away then sprint that back stretch 80-100 yards. Of course I work up to it each time I hit that back stretch I go a little faster. Then I walk around the track till I get there again. I do this for about 1.5 miles then I will continue but start slowing down on the back stretch. I end up doing about 3 miles in 30 to 35 minutes. I burn a lot of calories and really don't get winded because its such a short sprint then I get to walk again.

Another benefit is sprinting builds muscle, works leg muscles and increases naty test levels. Of course if you can't do it then stick with what works for you. Good luck

 

[rfire]

I will rotate from the elliptical one day and the do the stepmill another and then high incline treadmill. this works great for me.

 

[mikevegas]

I burn 800 calories an hour rollerblading....

 

[aphextwin]

I highly recommend jumping rope and working up the intensity. I used think it was a joke until I actually gave it a try. It will burn your calfs up. Some get shin splints but I have been lucky so far.


If you want to know about how many calories you are burning, buy a POLAR heart monitor.