Is cardio necessary?

[Wishimaywishimight]

I exercise at home in the mornings - 40 / 45 minutes or so. All pretty mild - you tube videos; skipping, handweights, kettlebells, lower body, abs, hoola hooping, also pilates and yoga. This morning I was doing a cardio vid and was just bored - it feels so dated, brings me back to my Davina McCall dvds which I enjoyed at the time but I really don't now, I enjoy doing weights (just light handweights - 3kg), skipping and pilates most of all.

I am mid-50s, at a healthy weight and reasonably happy with how I look. I just want to stay as fit and mobile as I can and keep my bones strong.

Oh, I walk as well - probably just 20 - 30 minutes at lunchtime, occasionally longer in the evenings.

Is stopping cardio / Hiit a bad idea? I would of course replace those sessions with something else from my list above!

Short answer: 'The evidence is that strength training, even on its own, is good. Aerobic exercise on its own is a little better. Both is best.'

Alex Hutchinson wrote a great article on this question a couple of months ago: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/article-its-time-to-stop-picking-sides-in-the-cardio-vs-weightlifting-debate/

There's a lot of nuance in answering what structure is best for you, but if you do strength and a mix of cardio at different intensities, you're doing well.

If the cardio vids are boring don't do them :) Maybe make the walk brisker or drop in some small running intervals from light job to faster strides.

You need to do something that gets your heart rate up, but that doesn't mean the same that Davina was doing 15 years ago.

Does your walking get you out of breath? Do you go up hills? Could you add in intervals of running?

I had a running injury last year and kept active; was swimming and cycling as well as keeping up my weights, but 6 weeks in I realised that I was begining to puff on the 5 min walk uphill from school. My injury still wasn't great so I started doing a 3 min run straight after the walk and it did make a difference. I was then able to gradually add a minute until I could cover a mile and felt recovered enough for C25k. It was surprising how quickly long term fitness went to feeling puffy when walking though.

If I could only choose one type of exercise, I would do cardio. It’s what keeps me slim and I think cardio health is so important. I do a real mix. I do cardio in the gym, swim, body pump classes and Pilates. I also really believe in walking as a great form for exercise.

Thanks all for your advice / input, it is much appreciated and very helpful.

It seems I do need to keep up with the cardio. I admit my walking is not too strenuous so will make a concerted effort to walk at a pace that gets me out of breath and add in some running as well.

I will review my YouTube videos and find something to resurrect my enthusiasm!

A lot of the Caroline Girvan videos combine cardio with weights. Although she uses quite heavy ones there is no reason why you could not use your 3kg ones.

NHS guidelines for exercise for adults 18 to 64

In summary:
Mod intensity cardio for 150mins per week or 75 high intensity cardio for 75mins per week

and x2 sessions of strength training per week

Almost more importantly than achieving these population-based guidelines is finding an exercise you enjoy so it becomes a habit

Skipping will raise your HR tho - presumably quite high? And high rep low weights workouts probably get it moderately high? And brisk walking will also raise it.

I'd do the exercise you enjoy, just aim for a mix of cardio/raised HR, some interval-y, some more steady state. I lift heavy, so do cardio on top and that can be running, brisk walking, boxing, online classes (of which there are a huge range, no need to do stuff you don't like).

If you like skipping, maybe try some intervals with that and then do some brisk walking (I go in trainers and gym kit, no bag, headphones on).

@Bubbles254 I have actually started on some Caroline Girvan videos so will definitely find some more.

@MsMartini The skipping really does raise my HR. There is a good selection of skipping videos on YouTube, mostly I do 20 minute videos but will work my way up to the 30 and 40 minute vids.

Thanks again for your input, it is great to get some (free!) advice.

I agree, Caroline Girvan is the way to go. Once you start increasing the weight and/or repetitions, you'll find you're getting a serious workout and your heart rate will be raised just as much if not more than doing 50 jumping jacks!

However, I'd follow an actual programme rather than doing odd workouts here and there. I am currently doing EPIC Endgame for the 3rd or 4th time. I think it's a good one to start off with, but obviously use much lighter weights.

Warning: her HIT sessions that are part of the various EPIC programmes are fierce, so be prepared to slow down and modify. When I was starting out I would often substitute a HIIT session courtesy of Growingannanas.

Tip: Caroline's sessions are sooooo much easier if you have a strong core. I did the Bowflex 3-minute plank and/or Rebecca Louise's Best Abs for many months when I started out and this was really effective.

I've been off the running for a few weeks and condemned to the gym by the physio - I hate it but have found that reading a good book on my kindle whilst on the cross trainer makes it bearable and removes the tedium. Might this be a possibility?

In short yes. Everyone lose a small amount of lung capacity every year as they age. Much like muscle, use it or lose it. I don't know the science but I think cardio strengthens blood vessels, makes you more efficient at getting oxygen into your cells. My thoughts on it are strength train consistently but exactly what cardio you do doesn't matter, do something you enjoy so easier to stick to regularly.

@londonmummy1966 I am just not a fan of gyms to be honest. I have been a member of quite a few in the past and I just hated going - I can only go in the times when they are most busy - after work and weekends and there was all the queuing for machines, steamy changing rooms etc - just the whole vibe puts me off!

@PaminaMozart Some great tips and references there, many thanks, I am making some notes!

@MistyTrains Absolutely, will keep at it!

Im not a fan of gyms or high intensity cardio either TBH. Luckily I have space for some kit so have a mini tramp, mini stepper and exercise bike at home. I just stick Netflix on and watch telly whilst I exercise!
Certain shows I would now feel weird watching if I wasnt actively moving at the same time!!LOL

OP said: " I just want to stay as fit and mobile as I can and keep my bones strong."

Alex Hutchinson wrote a great article on this question a couple of months ago:

I can't find a long version of that article, I can only find short version. Tracking where it draws claims from, the source info seems to be this study by Brellenthin et al. It's about... a bunch of white middle aged men and their obesity markers (BMI, %body fat, waist circumf) related to what exercise types they did, where they were asked if they were "“currently involved in a muscle strengthening program" which is not further defined (I think) so I have no idea how participants decided how to answer it.

Because it's observational the confounders are many.
Waist circumf & %bodyfat were the strikingly better numbers btw, for those who did some/more "muscle strengthening programme" compared to none/less.

Anyway, Brellenthin didn't look at bone density or mobility. Obese people have higher bone density than healthy weight people, btw.

I can't see that they cite any other studies that had the same type of data.
I am not saying that cardio or resistance exercise is bad or unnecessary, only that whether there is much to gain (health things) by trading or mixing or adding one to other... am not so convinced we know.

Ooh, now found this!

It's just an editorial though. An informed editorial, but only editorial. I couldn't replicate their results because they don't explain well enough how they got them. They probably found & talk about only studies that agreed with whatever they already believed.