Cardio training ideas

[BorchesterTowers]

I'm half way through Couch to 5K (for the 2nd time), as well as weekly pretty serious personal training in lifting & cross-fit/HIIT - all to stay fit and flexible as I head for 60 later this year & for my dance classes (3-4 a week, advanced ballet & contemporary).

But I keep getting minor injuries after 30 mins/5k on the treadmill! Just suffering a hamstring niggly strain this week ...

Obviously, the amount & level of dance I do is contributing - Im cutting back on the hyperstretching (splits forward & straddle) and don't push to get my nose on my knees in a forward bend, but the overload seems to come after a run. My personal training sessions are really tough, but mostly strength stuff, and I get no injuries or niggles from those.

So I'm looking for ideas for efficient cardio training equivalent to running on the treadmill, but with potentially less damage to my legs & feet.

I don't have easy access to a pool; I find rowing for more than 10 minutes really boring; ditto cycling. I think there's something about the energy required for running (well, jogging - I only go at about 9kph on the treadmill) that I really enjoy, although it's hard work.

I'm picky I know, but does anyone have any inspiration or ideas? I think today I'll just warm up with a high incline walk (around 6 or 7 on the treadmill) do a strength routine, and maybe finish with something I did with the PT earlier this week - 30secs cycling as hard as possible, 15 secs recovery, repeat 5 times.

Then fall off the bike & die.

Any other ideas for cardio that doesn't kill one's legs? I also do a weekly pump class & walk around 15,000 steps a day average - so I'm not unfit or inactive. It just seems the running pushes it. I may just have to go back to Week 4 of C25K or something like that.

Any expert ideas from you lovely lot?

Maybe incorporate some weights to strengthen the muscles?

More slow controlled movement of them to build and solidify rather than quick cardio moves?

What about spinning? Just as hard work as running but easier on the joints.

@shotsfired I already do several hours pw of weight/strength training, plus a lot of ballet. Plus 36 glute bridges most days to target glutes to stop hamstrings whinging.

@NC4Now I hadn't thought of spinning- thank you! My gym offers spinning classes so I might sign up.

Although a bit scared of spinning - it always looks like it's really intense - any tips on how to start? And not die or look silly/

If you're about halfway through C25K, as you say at start of the opening post, then that is week 4 or 5, so you're not really going back.

It does sound as if you want to run, so stay at your current level, halfway through for more than one week. You need time to build running stamina. So do not give in to the temptation to cut ahead and run - as you also say you do - at 10kph for 30 mins straight. That is asking for problems. Instead, just stay with C25K at the rate it's meant to be done.

That seems like a lot of exercise in a week. Maybe you just need more recovery time?

Have i read your post correctly and you do your running on a treadmill? Do you have any trails, paths, softer more varied surfaces you can run on?

Thanks for all the tips!

Genius idea to try a Spin class - I've talked to the front desk guy at my gym to get recommendations for Spin classes for a beginner. I've been going to gyms on & off since the aerobics craze in the mid 80s, but I've never done a spin class.

I've not stretched my niggly leg (bums, can't get my hands on the floor) although I do find all the variations on the forward fold to be the most relaxing all over body stretch I know. And rested.

Thanks everyone - skimming the running thread here I see that minor injuries are pretty common. I guess that's the down side of what is exhilarating about running (even on a treadmill!)

Now anticipating sore bum from spinning but looking forward to the dying and the feeling great afterwards.

As for too much exercise - that's interesting - what is "too much"? I don't think I do a lot. I do:

• 2 ballet classes a week (just an hour each which is not long enough but I take what I can get);
• a very gentle contemporary dance - lots of stretch and bounce & a bit of jumping;
• a street dance class (easy technically but I cannot do the swagger). Then
• PT workout for an hour a week ("Everything hurts & I'm dying") but he's brilliant so I'm challenged but never injured
• one pump class (a second if I can get to it)
• treadmill workout twice a week, 3 times if I can fit it in.

I'm writing a book at the moment so I"m at my desk 10-12 hours a day, so some form of intense exercise beyond walking 5 or 6 days a week is essential.

I guess I"m so used to the pushing of the body in ballet that I don't dial back in other exercise forms. THat's something to think about.

Thanks, everyone! Tips about surviving a Spin class very welcome

Sounds like plenty of exercise to me. You definitely seem fit enough for a spin class. They do look scary and it took me several months after I'd joined the gym to pluck up the courage to try one. I loved it

In the spin class you are in charge of the resistance so keep it at a comfortable level for your 1st few classes. If you need to sit during the standing bits, do so - just keep your legs turning. Expect to have a sore bum afterwards - this'll go after a couple of classes.

I've done spin on and off for a few years and when I've started as a newbie I tell myself to give it four classes. By then you'll be into the buzz of it - the dying and feeling great afterwards!

Let us know how you get on :)

Thanks everyone - I just had a chat with the guy at the desk at my gym, and he recommended a good Spinning instructor for a new starter - takes a class on Friday early evening, so I've booked in for that.

Don't know why I think Spinning is so scary - I do other quite tough training & manage OK in a Pump class guessing the weights I should use.

Maybe t's the thought of a sore bum ...

I did my very first ever Spinning class late last week & I really enjoyed it! I didn't find it too hard, except maybe the last 5 minutes of an 11 minute interval climb, when we were urged to work at about 75 to 85% of our top capacity.

I suspect I didn't have the resistance high enough earlier in the hour - I was getting used to the way a spinning bike works - you sort of have to feel your way to the resistance by turning the knob, rather than seeing the resistance figures come up on the control panel. And I learnt quite quickly that you have to be quite careful going from sitting to standing & back again - I thought I was going to deflower myself the first time because the pedals just keep going round ...

I can't believe how much I sweated though! More than even in my toughest PT training sessions recently.

And my bottom doesn't hurt too much although walking home from a pump class yesterday, I found my hamstring even more niggly which is annoying - so I think it's back to 30 glute bridges every day ... could be because I just love stretching even when it hurts

The instructor was lovely and showed me how everything worked, so I'll be going back - it's a great way to train.

Thanks for all the advice and reassurance - it's great to have another way of training that I enjoy almost as much as running.

Really glad you enjoyed it

You’ll soon get the hang of the resistance. It just takes a bit of getting used to.

Hope the hamstring settles down soon.

spinning? Just as hard work as running but easier on the joints.

no way! I tried spinning just once, it killed my shoulders.

I must say, my shoulders were sore the next day. I expect my bum to hurt more, but it didn't.

lljkk - if it killed your shoulders you probably had too much of your weight through the front of your body - you need to shift your bum back slightly and try not to lean on the handle bars, your grip should be very light.

Well done Borchester - be warned it can become quite addictive - I get a real high when I come out of a class dripping in sweat. It's great for your cardio health.

We were supposed to stand on pedals? Definitely had to put weight on the arms, that was definitely the point. I have problem shoulders, I can't do planks or pressups, either.

It is addictive. I’m not a fitness freak at all. I try to make myself be but it doesn’t come naturally. Spinning though. I always feel ace after and look forward to doing it again

I think maybe raise your handlebars a bit lljkk? So your bars are higher than your seat.

Bars were higher than seat. I was fine seated, just not when we were meant to be leaning on the bars. I can climb a hill out of seat on a real bike okay, but there's ... momentum with that? And a different angle due to the real hill.
I didn't enjoy the sweat fest enough to bother to experiment with spinning again, tbh.

Oh well, it’s not for everyone.

I really struggle with running and my hips ache for days afterwards. I guess we’re all built differently.

.... Did 15 miles on bike today (road), & realised my problem in spin class was probably the cadence. They seem to insist that you have super high cadence. That's why I needed so much weight on my arms, so I could keep the cadence up to the target. Less weight on my shoulders going up a real hill at cadence I like -- easy enough.

High cadence provokes my patellar tendonitis. I really am not cut out for spinning, one suspects!