Fitness Regime Q's

[Murpheeee]

Hello folks, I decided its time to finally get to the gym and get my lazy ass in shape.

My main goal is to improve cardio fitness, not to lose weight or bulk up.
I intend to join an indoor soccer league, but at my current fitness level I wouldn't last 5 minutes of running around.

So what should I do at the gym?
Just concentrate on bike/treadmill/elliptical?
Should I do any Cybex type stuff?
How about swimming?

I have cheap gym membership at work, but no trainers on hand to ask.

Any advice welcome

 

[edro]

If you are just wanting to improve running indurance, then yeah, the treadmill would probably be fine. But trust me, weight training is leaps and bounds better for you then just cardiovascular. (because weight training is also cardiovascular, hence the sweating)

 

[meltdown75]

You should start out just doing some cardio... 1/2 hour interval training is a nice way to ease into more intense workout sessions. That way you don't kill yourself going from zero to crazy.

Stretch really good for 5-10 minutes holding each stretch for 20 seconds. Go outside or to the track and limber up. Bring a stopwatch with you or something to time your intervals. Jog for 30 seconds, then walk 30. Then jog for 1 minute and walk for 1 minute. Repeat for 20 minutes or a half hour. I find that after a couple weeks, you can stretch your intervals pretty good. My main advice is just to take it slow at first.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: edro13
If you are just wanting to improve running indurance, then yeah, the treadmill would probably be fine. But trust me, weight training is leaps and bounds better for you then just cardiovascular. (because weight training is also cardiovascular, hence the sweating)

Weight training = anaerobic
Cardio = aerobic

It's hardly "cardiovascular" in the sense that it would strengthen/increase your lungs and heart.

Otherwise I agree that a mixture of both is much better than just either or - you can't see the benefits of improved strength and metabolism through just cardio, and you can't see the cardiovascular benefits through just weight training. It takes a mix of both + a change in lifestyle (what you eat) to really get the goals you want.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Depends on how rusty you are. If you're coming straight off the couch I would ease into it more.

A mix of activities should keep you more interested. Building yourself up to 30-45 minutes 5X per week at moderate heart rates would be a good goal. Once you feel like you've got a good foundation to work from, then subbing in a few high intensity interval sessions per week can dramatically increase your cardiovascular fitness in a short time.

I know it's tempting but I again caution against jumping into high intensity cardio without working up to it first, it's way too easy to strain something in the first week or two and blow yourself out of the water before you've even really gotten started.

 

[RavnShield2]

Google HIIT...high intensity interval traning. Can be done on treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc. It will increase your stamina significantly, will help you in soccer. Gives you a great burst of energy while weight lifting too.

As other posters indicated...make sure you can do moderate cardio (65% of max heart rate) for 45min or so before high intensity.

 

[Cobalt]

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/index.php?

 

[Kelemvor]

Swimming is probably the best All Around exercise you can do for cardio. It works just about every muscle group all at the same time.

HOWEVER, the biggest mistake that people make is to just jump in, swim a slow steady pace for a while and then get out. That won't get you much. That's just like going for a long walk.

The best thing to do is come up with some sort of routine to follow. (You can search for beginners swimming sites online for ideas). You shoudl have sprints, longer distances, vary the strokes, etc. You have to push yourself or it won't do any good.

Example
10 x 50m on 60 seconds a piece
Then do some 8 x 100m on 3 minutes each
Then do some 8 x 100m on 3:30 but do breat stroke or back stroke or something

You get the idea. Don't just hop in, swim randomly for 45 minutes and then get out. That's what all the old people that are really overweight do and guess what... theuy are still really overweight.

If nothing else, find someone in a swim club or ask one of the swimming people at the health club to help you come up with a routine you can follow.

I'm going to be doing this exact same thing once I join the club my wife goes to in February.

 

[WingZero94]

Anybody here have an eliptical machine? Any good?

 

[Looney]

Do whatever interests you... only you will know what you find enjoyable, so try everything you can.

 

[Gravity]

Hire a personal trainer for 5 sessions and tell him your goals. They will assess your current condition and give you enough routines for you to work on your own.

 

[Murpheeee]

I find excercising on a machine mind numbingly boring

I prefer to play sports, hence the soccer......but I need to get in better shape before I do that...