Need to get in cardiovascular shape

[scootermaster]

So it's always been hard for me to put on weight, and I'm not naturally any sort of distance runner, and because of that, I've always avoided cardio. I've probably been in something above B+ cardio shape exactly once in my entire life; when I ran track (high hurdles!) in the 9th grade.

But it's time to fix all that. I'm tired of being winded when I run down the court in basketball, and just knowing I'm in such poor shape in general whenever I want to do anything athletic. I'm sure it won't hurt my all around health, either.

And I know people trying to bulk up are supposed to do HIIT. That's not really going to help here. And to further complicate matters, I wouldn't even mind losing some fat (I'm 6'4", about 206 with around 13-18% body fat).

But all that's not really as important as getting in better shape. If I lose muscle, or it hampers my lifts, so be it. I'm really in D, D+ shape in terms of being able to run/sports and that needs to change.

So, the question...what the hell do I do!? Keep in mind, I can bench 275, but I'm literally starting from scratch here. Any ideas? Left to my own devices I'm going to try and do 20+ minutes on the elliptical two or three times a week, in addition to my lifts. That's about how long it takes, at a reasonably fast pace, before my heart rate goes nuts (175+).

Help?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I'm confused as to why you don't think HIIT will improve your cardio. HIIT will increase your metabolic rate during the day and help you burn more calories than just doing any other types of cardio. You can ease into an HIIT workout so you shouldn't be worried about that.

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
I'm confused as to why you don't think HIIT will improve your cardio. HIIT will increase your metabolic rate during the day and help you burn more calories than just doing any other types of cardio. You can ease into an HIIT workout so you shouldn't be worried about that.

Is the best way to gain cardiovascular "strength" (i.e. endurance, lower resting heart rate, etc) to spike your heart rate for short periods of time? I thought it was to keep your heart rate at 65-80% for long periods of time. I mean, I could be wrong, but my point was that I'm in such bad shape that more than, say, seven or ten minutes of running is going to get me anaerobic. And that's not really the point, right? It'll certainly happen with, say, 60-90 seconds of sprinting, followed by jogging, or whatever HIIT program I might do.

Is this nuts?

 

[BigPoppa]

HIIT is more similar to sport if you think about it. You sprint down the court in basketball followed by moving around a bit slower to setup plays/get open, etc. You don't just jog around at the same pace for an hour. Football, soccer, hockey, all can benefit from HIIT. HIIT can also help increase VO2 max which is pretty universally helpful in sports.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
I'm confused as to why you don't think HIIT will improve your cardio. HIIT will increase your metabolic rate during the day and help you burn more calories than just doing any other types of cardio. You can ease into an HIIT workout so you shouldn't be worried about that.

Is the best way to gain cardiovascular "strength" (i.e. endurance, lower resting heart rate, etc) to spike your heart rate for short periods of time? I thought it was to keep your heart rate at 65-80% for long periods of time. I mean, I could be wrong, but my point was that I'm in such bad shape that more than, say, seven or ten minutes of running is going to get me anaerobic. And that's not really the point, right? It'll certainly happen with, say, 60-90 seconds of sprinting, followed by jogging, or whatever HIIT program I might do.

Is this nuts?

Moderate intensity cardio won't do jack crap for you. Do HIIT, do sprints, do tabata drills with bodyweight exercises. Tabata-style exercises have been shown to increase cardiovascular endurance much better than long, slow exercises. The long slow stuff will burn calories but you won't really get much better at running.

 

[purbeast0]

i find it very hard to believe that you are 6'4, 206lbs, and "starting from scratch" with working out, and can bench press 275lbs.

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
i find it very hard to believe that you are 6'4, 206lbs, and "starting from scratch" with working out, and can bench press 275lbs.

I'm [pretty much] starting from scratch with cardiovascular training. I've been lifting pretty consistently for over three years. But in reality, my body is sorta weird. Most people in as good "shape" as I am usually play some sort of sports. For the first three-ish years, I literally did nothing athletic but lift. Now I've played a little beach football and some other things, but I'm just sorely out of shape when it comes to my lungs.

So I'm not starting new on everything, but I can't remember the last time I did anything aerobic on any sort of consistent basis. It's been yeeeeaaaarrrrrs.

 

[crt1530]

HIIT works better if you have a base level of conditioning. You're much more likely to get injured if you start trying to do sprints/intervals when you can't even run for a few miles.

Here's a basic couch potato to 5K running plan.

I tend to start off walking for three miles 3-4 times per week and gradually up my pace and/or incline.

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: crt1530
HIIT works better if you have a base level of conditioning. You're much more likely to get injured if you start trying to do sprints/intervals when you can't even run for a few miles.

Here's a basic couch potato to 5K running plan.

I tend to start off walking for three miles 3-4 times per week and gradually up my pace and/or incline.

Interesting. I would say I'm maybe somewhere in between week 3 and week 4 of that plan. Which, as the person above sort of noted, is odd for a person in as good "shape" as me.

Another example...I did 20 mins of elliptical after my leg workout yesterday. Mid range slop (9-10 out of 20), low resistance, pretty quick pace (150-165 rpm). For the most part my heart rate was in the 155-160 range, but by the end it was creeping up to 170+.

That's 20 minutes of barely moderate cardio work, and it's already spiking my heart rate. We gottttta fix that!

Most "in shape" people would barely break a sweat doing that.

 

[konakona]

On a related note, I am trying to work on my general cardio performance myself. As of now, I am doing a little over 2 miles at 8.2-8.3mph pace (15min), a bit of rest and then another mile at 8.1miles/hour, then a sprint (11-12mph) for 2 minutes. Is this considered too slow?

As I improve, would I be better off increasing the distance or pace?

 

[KoolDrew]

http://www.crossfit.com/

I'm in a similar situation, big and strong at 6'2" 230 pounds with 11-12% BF, but lack cardiovascular conditioning from ignoring it for so long, and I'm beginning to incorporate crossfit stuff into my workouts. I definitely don't have the work capacity to finish a lot of the Workouts of the Day, but I'm just easing myself into it. If you don't want to follow the workout on there, just create your own that's similar. Also, as others have said, doing things in intervals (HIIT) would be your best bet.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
http://www.crossfit.com/

I'm in a similar situation, big and strong at 6'2" 230 pounds with 11-12% BF, but lack cardiovascular conditioning from ignoring it for so long, and I'm beginning to incorporate crossfit stuff into my workouts. I definitely don't have the work capacity to finish a lot of the Workouts of the Day, but I'm just easing myself into it. If you don't want to follow the workout on there, just create your own that's similar. Also, as others have said, doing things in intervals (HIIT) would be your best bet.

Ding ding here's your winner. CrossFit FTW.