We all know that we need more cardio in our lives but for most people, myself included, this is something that is very easy to put off or to not do at all. If you ever want to see any real gains though, you are going to have to suck it up buttercup and get out there and do it. Trust me when I say that it does become easier over time because when I first started to turn my life around, I could barely run one time around the track without stopping. Now, I easily run 3-5 km (depending on the weather) with little difficulty.
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If you follow my blog you will probably remember that I always tell people that especially at the beginning, to NOT OVERDO it, no matter what exercise you are choosing you should take it easy at the start. This is not to suggest that you should just walk to the mailbox and then head back in the house and eat a full roll of Oreos as a reward, but the trick is to not hurt yourself and also to not make this activity something you loathe.
When I first started I would walk most of the time and focuses more on just keeping my heart rate elevated above what it would be if i was on the sofa watching Big Bang Theory. An hour long walk was already so much more exercise than my body was accustomed to that it was a true shock to the system and I quickly saw results.
These days I push myself, but I am also 2 years in. Just take it easy and focus on the long game here, ok?
Walking
This is always where I recommend starting because i know it is cliche but you gotta walk before you run.
Walking burns about 250 calories per hour. This is exceptionally "weak" as far as burn is concerned but we all gotta start somewhere and walking is where you probably should start. If you are carrying extra weight, and i was carrying 50 lbs more 2 years ago than I am now, you are far more prone to injury especially in your joints.
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You can try to push it a bit while walking and if you have enough money to invest in a heart rate monitor this is a very worthwhile purpose because the idea at the start is to find your target heart rate and keep it above that number. I'll talk more about that in a later article.
Basically the idea is to get moving and get your body used to exercise.
Bicycling
This exercise is a bit of a double-edged sword because with today's technology there are a lot of ways to "cheat" at exercising on a bike. It is going to be less impact than running (provided you don't fall off) and puts less stress on your joints. It also is a lot easier than walking so I don't really recommend this for beginners unless you are willing to push it.
Leisurely bike riding burns about 300 calories an hour and of course this can vary widely depending on how much you push it while riding. If you let the technology do all the work and are not even attempting to work hard you will burn less. If you push it, you are going to burn more. Once again a heart-rate monitor will assist greatly in determining how much work you are doing but come on now, you know if you are working hard or not now, don't you?
At first, just like with the walking, I would say take it easy and gradually step it up, even if it is just in stages.
Swimming
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This is probably the safest exercise provided that you know how to swim and don't drown. It also can be the most impossible or expensive depending on where you live and how much money you have. Clubs with 25-50 meter swimming pools are definitely the most expensive and swimming laps in your shitty little small swimming pool in your backyard gets boring quick and you are cheating by pushing off the walls too frequently.
These charts kind of make me laugh because I think it is a bit impractical to think that people are going to swim for an entire hour. However, if you are like me and you tend to sweat a lot, nothing beats swimming because you get to stay cool submerged in water. I prefer breaststroke because of the access to air. If you can do butterfly for an hour you probably don't need to lose weight. I can do butterfly for about one length of the pool.
I think if someone out there has access to a pool and wants to lose some weight this is probably the best option since there is very little chance of injury and you can always rest for a while at the end of a lap, or all of them if you want to. But yet again you need to keep in mind that the idea here is to keep your heart rate up so try to focus on that.
The idea behind weight loss is primarily in what you eat, which is something I have to constantly remind myself of as I reach for the sleeve or Ritz crackers instead of making a salad. However, exercise brings about so many benefits that dieting alone can not give you. Your overall cardiovascular health has a massive impact on your ability to fight sickness, including viruses like the overblown Covid stuff.
For me, I try to do at least 30 minutes of exercise every day to maintain my current weight and 1 hour per day to lose weight. This doesn't mean intense exercise, just Do something.
It doesn't have to be something you hate and it is vital that you do your best to insure that it IS NOT something you hate, or you will not return to it.
My apps seem to imply I burn up to 1000 calories per hour when running, but speed and weight must affect that a lot. I am not too worried about losing weight, but I can use it as an excuse to have a treat.
Our pool is only about 5m long, but I still swim lengths of breast and backstroke. I consider that more of an arm workout than burning calories. It is very weather dependent as it is not heated.
I have not done much cycling lately, but would like to get out again soon. I may try that as a break from running after my current streak.
I don't think i could actually do any of these for a full hour other than biking... well walking of course but swimming and running... fugetaboutit!
I bet it varies a lot and there is no way to make a chart for it. My app tells me i burn a lot more than that when I am running and since I want to believe it, I'm gonna believe my app :)