Best way to increase cardio

[liambalfour]

In April i joined the gym I was 18st 2.5lbs as of Thursday last week i was 15st 12.5lbs. before i joined the gym i did no excersize i have been going Mon, Wed and Fri pretty much every week with the exception of a 3 week break for Magaluf. Every time i go i do some walking/ running as well as various weights on my arms and legs. i am also being more carefully with my diet mon-fri but treat my self to a take away or a beer at the weekend.

currently when on the treadmill i cant run for more than 3:30mins at 10.5Km/hr. i feel my heart is going to burst out my chest and take about 3/4 mins to recover(walking at 6km/hr) before i can run again.

i'm hoping with more weight loss the running will become easier but any tips to increase my stamina? or is it just a case of man up and push through it?

 

[Bronto]

Unfortunately the only way to increase your stamina is to just keep building it up, although you need to push it you need to avoid over doing it to much

I started about a year ago and could only manage 2 or 3 mins on the running machine on a flat incline, I can now do 45 -50 mins quite comfortably with the machine inclined and at a much faster speed

Well done on your weight loss, just keep it up m8, stamina will soon come

 

[lagigolo]

Your probably going too fast on the treadmill. Slow it down and concentrate on your technique and breathing. You will find a speed where your still pushing yourself but will find its not like sprinting. Once you hit this one correctly you will find its the speed where you can easily run longer distances, even half marathons over time. As you probably won't be aiming at this or have the time, once it starts to get comfortable and you are spending the amount of time you want on the treadmill then increase it slowly.
So if you wanted to do a 20 minute run, you would always do 20 minutes but you could increase your speed to make it more difficult. You may have to step it down mid-run but you will be surprised how quickly you will be up at 20 minutes.

 

[oneman]

Unless your goal is to run a marathon then consider switching to HIIT training. Basically instead of exercising for 30 minutes at a constant pace, you do short bursts of high intensity workout. There is loads of information online but you could start here,

HIIT Training


At the end of the day though, you are only going to get out what you put in so in a way the answer to your question is yes, you will need to man up.

 

[Jooooles]

You know what them rowing machines are great for weight loss and an over all work out, A few year back I lost 2 stone in a couple of month of just using my sisters in her garage, I was only doing an hour a day ) I also built some leg strengh and got my calfs cut which i could never do with weights.

 

[Trabbs]

Get yourself a heart monitor, a lot of the machines you can set a maximum heart rate on which adjusts according to your heart rate with the aim of keeping your heart working at the best rate for either cardio or aerobic workout. I couldn't manage more than about 3 minutes at 8kph when I started but progressed to an hour varying between 8 and 11 kph. My trouble is my calf muscles keep going so I have to keep waiting for them to heal before I can start again!

 

[liambalfour]

cheers for all the help guys, i know there are no short cuts to weight loss, but i do enjoy the gym but i know the more i can run the faster the fat will come off then once i'm at a comfortable size i can look to add a bit of muscle. I have never been a member of a gym before or tried a diet but turned 30th in April and decided to loose a bit. if anyone is thinking about doing it get off your bum. thinking doesnt help and treat yourself once a week to a beer or nice meal

 

[White Van Man]

con grads on the weight loss keep it up at the gym and as you lose weight you will get physically fitter and have more stamina.as they say no pain no gain.but you will enjoy the gym and will do longer and better as the weeks go bye.Pitty you didn't live near me as i do removals etc you would be fit in no time and you wouldn't have to pay gym membership

 

[liambalfour]

well at the gym last night i reduced my speed to 9km/h i jogged 5min walk 2 then jogged another 3:30 so 8:30 out of 10mins which is much better than before, still covered the same distance/calories according to the machine. also trying to get my breathing right, what do you guys do i read its in through the nose out through the mouth, and try to keep a rythm going.

i didnt feel as knacked when i came off the treadmill but was soaking with sweat.

cheers for all the help

 

[liambalfour]

thought i would give an update, Monday i managed to do 12:30mins constant running Wednesday i pushed myself and managed 21min then friday night did 3.68 km in 26mins and could have kept going. its crazy how suddenly everything comes together stamina speed and breathing. still loosing weight to 2st 8lbs to date.

although came in from the pub hammered last night and fell into the bath and feel as if i have broke my arse today. was like a spider trying to get back out. bloody pints of peroni . . . leathal

 

[oneman]

congrats and keep it up. As mentioned if the treadmill has a hill climb feature with variable program to vary the workout give that a try instead of running at a constant speed.

 

[RyannX]

From doing a sports course at uni, Best way to increase cardio endurance is to work within 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. Max heart rate is 220 minus your own age. Obviously this is going to be difficult to record if you don't have a heart rate monitor at hand or fitted to the machines. Hope this helps

 

[phezo]

where did you get the pints of peroni mate. they sound fantastic.:Cheers: oh and well done on the weight loss. i reckon i'm not too far away from a heart attack, i thought my head was going to explode at the point of no return with the missus the other night, ive had a sore head since for the last 3 days. i've still got 3 boxs of after eights and a tin and a half of roses to ssee of first.roud:

 

[liambalfour]

my local does pints of peroni, but usually head to glasgow a pub calls all bar one, really nice with a relaxed atmosphere, never went to the gym for 2 weeks at christmas and ate like a king put 7lbs on but will shift that in a week or so. Still got a box of celebrations in the house but will probably take them to work and let my team eat them so i dont.

 

[akhan100]

In addition to what has been said, it may be a good idea to look into doing high intensity circuits that include exercises such as press ups, sit ups, burpees etc. This will be great for fat loss and also help build muscle.