How Much Cardio?

[poohbear1019 31]

Hey Everyone,

I would just like some advice on cardio. As far as how many minutes? Intensity? Interval training? I was doing 90 minutes on the treadmill with a high incline. Due to ortho problems I'm going to try the ARC machine. Do I do HIIT? And for how long? I'm not so concerned about pounds, I'm more interested in lowering body fat %.

[PdxMan 4,292]

In my experience, the bottom line behind cardio is to get your heart pumping up in your target heart range for your age. I always shoot for the 80-90 range. There is a lot of talk about the duration of maintaining this level. As you know, HIIT, is frequent short bursts whilst other forms tend to maintain these levels for longer. Myself, I go for a blend. I am recently back into running, but when I was running often, I would go out for half an hour to 45 minutes maintaining this level 4 times a week. Twice a week, I did HIIT for an hour.

This worked for me.

There are many heart rate calculators out there, so Google them, but here is a chart.

Edited December 6, 2013 by PdxMan
Added chart

[poohbear1019 31]

Thanks for the response. Any advice on weight training?

[PdxMan 4,292]

Depends on your goals. Paying for a session with a personal trainer would be highly beneficial. Weight training is great, but if you don't have proper form or do not lift asymmetrically, you can do yourself more harm than good. A trainer can help you there.