If there was one thing that I extremely disliked before, it would be cardio training. I thought it was majorly boring! And I always end up getting drained after cardio. It's something that you either hate or love.
It was only recently, around May that I finally gave in. I told myself that I will do my best to love this one thing that I was always avoiding. I have read a lot of fitness and losing weight articles in the web, talked to a lot of trainers, asked fellow heath buffs, and it all boils down to one very important thing: I should not hate cardio because it helps me burn the calories big time.
When I started back at the gym, I did cardio practically everyday for 30 minutes. I was like this for two-and-a-half months. It was okay – at that time, but as I lost the pounds, I was deathly afraid I'd hit a plateau. I was really avoiding that. Gradually, I increased my time from 30 minutes to 1 hour. It was a combination of walks and runs. I started running for 30-secs at a fast speed and rest for 1-min & 30-secs ... and I constantly modify what I do when I immediately feel that it becomes too easy for me.
Now.. I do at least 1-hour of cardio when I workout – more runs this time. If I do walk, it could be summed up to 5 minutes max. My body has not adjusted to this yet so I guess I'll be sticking to this routine for a few weeks.
For myself, I have come to love doing cardio.
It is as fun for me as doing leg and ab exercises. I know a lot of people who just cannot stand doing cardio training, but you have to learn to like it. One big reason, which I think is reason enough to not avoid it, is that it burns calories in order to shed pounds. I know it does have a lot of other benefits for the body, but I will not go into that. As I said, knowing that cardio is a fabulous way to lose weight and to keep it off at the same time, that alone should get us motivated.
PS
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17 Comments:
I love cardio, been doing it since high school! I even reached a point when I just could not miss a session, I did 45 minutes of cardio at 11 pm. Adulthood and all its responsibilities caused me to stop doing any form of exercise whatsoever, but reading this has given me the itch to dig up my old Tae-bo CDs from my junk drawer and start exercising again!
Hey! :)
I'm a huge cardio workout fan. Hahaha... I think it had been my tool for 5 years now and it had been really successful in shedding those extra pounds. When I joined the gym, I realized I badly need some weight training because my trainer noticed that I'm not good when it comes to strength and I'm just more into cardio. I'll be balancing both from now on. Hehehe...
I'll add you to my bloglist. Your blog really interests me. :)
JOSELLE.
YES! It can be very addicting once you're into it. If I just have all the energy in the world, I'd run and run and run and run. Ang sarap!
I envy you for loving cardio as early as high school! Hahaha. I only learned to appreciate it recently.
TRAVELIZTERA.
Sure!Ü I'll have you in mine as well.
Cardio's for strength and endurance, which are needed by every person who's exercising and trying to lose weight. I started lifting weights again just last week - one of the trainers told me that I also need this to avoid unwanted sagging.
i hate exercise altogether. LOL. but i think the best way to do cardio is through swimming. it's like exercise in disguise! but wait. i can't swim.
exercising with tv is the way to go for me. actually makes me forget the boredom and hassle of exercising. :D
I'm the other way around. I've always loved cardio but never weight training. Haha! That's the reason why I didn't renew na my gym membership since I won't be able to use it naman talaga.
I'm sticking with running, boxing, and yoga in the meantime. =D
Tumataba na ako though, I eat so much! Ack!
PRINSESAMUSANG.
You're right about swimming. I've always loved a swimmer's body! And swimmers have such great bodies, with almost zero body fat... nice shoulders, lean, and not bulky.
TARINEL.
Yup, the TV is another good gym buddy. In the gym where I'm enrolled, the treadmills have individual TV screens attached to it so it makes cardio not boring at all!
BEN.
You forgot your mountain-climbing. I have always wanted to try Yoga.Ö I just don't know if there's a Yoga place for beginners here in the South.
Ooh I love swimming too! It's the perfect exercise for me. Now I just gotta go to the pool whenever I get that time off.
yes, always nice bodies. imagine michael phelps. woot woot.
tried goin to the gym before but it's really tiring and boring..maybe i dnt have my friends with me.but now that they are all there, im planning to go back.see how friends influence us=)
I love cardio and I do it everyday. 1 hour if it's all day cardio and 30 or 45 minutes if I am doing weights.
i admire you're discipline in trying to achieve your ideal body weight. =) i'm only beginning to watch my calorie intake now as well as burning it. i'm starting with walking for 30 mins inside our village everyday then treadmill when i'm at work. yun nga lang, minsan kapag umiral ang katamaran, nawawala ang momentum.
nweis, goodluck and hope you get to maintain your ideal body weight and discipline. stay healthy! =)
btw, i'll add you to my blogroll if it's ok with you. i'll leave my link here. thanks.
hey russ okay na pala :) yung twitter-blogspot question ko, i dunno if my older comment was posted. thanks!
i didn't type the word verification then i closed the comment box! hahahaha. anyway okay na, and regarding the post, i looove cardio. i love the feeling after a work out. ian and i were thinking nga eh, yung wii kaya pwede substitute as work out :))wii fit
RICA.
Of course naman, as long as you do workout just as intense if you two are going to be using WII FIT.Ü Welcome to Twitterland!
EYMI.
Sure thing, just link away.Ü
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Improving one's health requires baby steps. It's good that you're making the effort to walk for 30 minutes in your village.
CHARLES.
I think I should tweak my routine a bit something similar to yours on days when I'm lifting weights.
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