How often should you do cardio?

AlabamaWorley

Just starting out at the gym (again) I mainly use the bike, treadmill, crosstrainer and rower.

How often should you do cardio? I've gone the last three days in a row, I feel I want to go today but not sure, how much cardio is too much/not enough?

Thanks!

Blacktie.

AlabamaWorley wrote: »

Just starting out at the gym (again) I mainly use the bike, treadmill, crosstrainer and rower.

How often should you do cardio? I've gone the last three days in a row, I feel I want to go today but not sure, how much cardio is too much/not enough?

Thanks!

Completely depends on the person and their goals.

AlabamaWorley

Thanks for the reply, I am a 3 stone overweight, so trying to lose it!

Blacktie.

Ah ok. Well basically you can go as much as you want (within reason!). Basically weight loss will 90% be about diet.

Some people will say cardio is pointless as you can lose the weight without it but personally I find that it gives a psychological benefit of motivating you to maintain your diet of eating well.

Would you consider doing strength training as well? This can be very beneficial for the weight loss.

popolive

AlabamaWorley wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, I am a 3 stone overweight, so trying to lose it!

well... someone skinny can claim they are 3 stone overweight so just to be sure whats your BMI ? How long have you been working out ? What is your body fat at ?

If carrying excess weight you will be almost weight training your legs, calves and core anyway carrying 3 stone of excess weight around so I would do as much gentle cardio as I can but make sure my diet is conducive to maintaining muscle mass.

(non professional opinion)

Oryx

The key thing in your post is just starting out. Someone used to exercise can train twice a day, everyday, no issue.

But when you do too much too soon a few things can happen.

You get sick of it, same old same old, and give up.
Repetitive work on muscles unused to it can cause injury.
Fatigue builds and you burn out.
You gain nothing as you are not taking adequate recovery.

As mentioned above, whether any, all, or none of these things happen depends on you. But listen to your body, and if you do train everyday, vary the types of thing you do.

AlabamaWorley

popolive wrote: »

well... someone skinny can claim they are 3 stone overweight so just to be sure whats your BMI ? How long have you been working out ? What is your body fat at ?

If carrying excess weight you will be almost weight training your legs, calves and core anyway carrying 3 stone of excess weight around so I would do as much gentle cardio as I can but make sure my diet is conducive to maintaining muscle mass.

(non professional opinion)

I am 13 stone, and for my height it's classed as overweight. I look overweight, so I am definitely not skinny.

I have been working out on and off for the last 6 months (or less) but at the time I didn't have my diet/alcohol consumption in check.


Thanks all for replies!

AlabamaWorley

Blacktie. wrote: »

Ah ok. Well basically you can go as much as you want (within reason!). Basically weight loss will 90% be about diet.

Some people will say cardio is pointless as you can lose the weight without it but personally I find that it gives a psychological benefit of motivating you to maintain your diet of eating well.

Would you consider doing strength training as well? This can be very beneficial for the weight loss.

Yeah, strength training is on the agenda! I mainly stick to cardio as that's all I know,I'll have to approach the gym instructor.

runawaybishop

You should do cardio to improve your fitness, not just to lose weight. Doing cardio to burn off the calories you've eaten during the day isn't a great use of time. Strength work would assist more as it will mean you retain muscle that you'd lose otherwise on a calorie deficient.

You can do cardio every day if you have the energy as its not really very intensive, compared to HIIT or strength work.

Doug Cartel

How often you can go is also going to depend on what you actually do when you get there. I know a guy who sits on a stationary recumbent bike and peddles along while he reads a chapter or two from a book, which I think is something you could do every day without much risk. Now as to whether or not it will do you much good, that's another story.

You might be best off finding a plan on line and following that. If you want to go running, Couch to 5k is a popular plan, or if you prefer rowing I think Concept2 have a load of different workout plans on their website.