I Hate Cardio!!

[buffalogal]

Girls, I have found that I just absolutely and completely hate to do cardio, especially HIIT. Right now, I'm at the point of struggling to do any cardio twice a week, if you don't include the 30-min walks with the pups a couple days a week.

My question: My weight is still dropping (down 7 pounds in 6 weeks and my bf continues to drop). I know I should be doing HIIT every other day but I just dread every single session. How detrimental is not doing cardio regularly if I'm still dropping weight? I know once I plateau that I'll need to kick it up a notch, but I'm dreading that day. Sometimes, even the Cardio Breeze doesn't help...

 

[thePros.TV]

I dread cardio too. DREAD, I hate it. BUT I like what it does for me, so I think of it this way: "cardio makes my ass look tight and my abs pop out, I love cardio!!!"...
I get my favorite music, I wear full sweats and a cap and I only do 25 of HIIT minutes 2x a week, works for me when I hit a wall. Otherwise I don't even do it. I get my cardio elsewhere. I'm fortunate because where I live it's summer year round, so I can Surf or Paddle, play Beach VB or do my Jiu-Jitsu. As a matter of fact Jiu-Jitsu is some of the best cardio I have ever had. Maybe you can find an alternative where you are. Only thing is, the HIIT will get results the fastest.
IMO if you still losing fat don't worry about it, when you hit a plateau, then throw it back in. I just had to sympathize with you cause I dislike it as well.
btw, I'm new to posting on this board, but have been lurking for about a year. Lots a good valuable info here!

 

[superqt4u2nv]

I hate cardio to but I do it cause I know I have too. If you are still losing with your diet and training as is then well I see no reason for it to be a must tell you stop losing then add it in.

 

[scorpiogirl]

...also, if it's just the HIIT giving you fits, try just doing 20 min. of steady pace. Get your HR up just enough so that you can still talk somewhat normal. You don't have to kill yourself EVERY time!! lol

There are times when I just don't think I'm going to be able to do it, but then 1/2 way through it gets easier.

 

[strawberry2]

I hear ya sister!

I HATE cardio too! I actually have hit my wall. Grrr! I need to get back into it religiously like I should...at least 3x per week, HIIT. I definitely don't do long durations of cardio, just 20 minutes worth of HIIT...that's all I'll do. If I can sprint and get it over with, that's the only way.... (Of course, if anyone has a secret to loving or at least tolerating cardio, please let me know)

Its odd, because I love going to the gym and weight lifting, its just the cardio that gets me. Good thing though, is I Salsa Dance 3x per week for about 2 hours each...so at least I have that too.

 

[scorpiogirl]

I Salsa Dance 3x per week for about 2 hours each...

Sounds fun!! That's my kind of cardio!!!! lol

 

[skychick]

I love group exercise classes so that's always an option. Every week I take step and turbo kickboxing and I feel like both of those give me a great workout. If I had to do thirty plus minutes on a particular machine a few times a week, week in and week out, I'd grow to hate it too. For me, it's all about variety. I have to mix up both my weight routines and my cardio regularly so things don't get stale.

 

[strawberry2]

So, my trainer said that I should still do at least once a week a long duration of cardio (in addition to my 3-4x per week HIIT). I am a hard gainer so I want to conserve ALL the muscle I can! So it has been by my research and understanding that of course you should do cardio, but keep it high intensity in shorter durations...in order to not burn the muscle in addition to fat.

What do you guys think?

 

[scorpiogirl]

First of all, if your a hard-gainer, you probably don't even NEED more than the 3x a week HIIT you're already doing (don't need 4x). Especially with the program you're on with weight training.

Personally, I won't do more than 30 min. at a time because of catabolism. Some feel they can do 40-50 min....I won't take the chance. Doing cardio 2x in one day - AM & PM I will do; but no more than 30 min. (just me tho)

 

[treilin]

Well cardio at 50%-60% is in the fat burning zone. So you can do 30 minutes of walking at about a 4.0 and be in that zone.... So higher intensity for longer durations is the cardio zone. Lower %, you keep the muscle burn the fat, the higher for longer duration you can start eating your muscle away. HIIT is the alternative for shorter duration, higher intensity of burning fat. I would suggest if you are hitting a wall try a different piece of cardio equipment (ellyptical, treadmill, stair climber, etc..) Do one of each of those a week and you have 3 days of variation in your cardio. You can take it outdoors also if you have a heart rate monitor and you can do it on a track, or even do some trail running, or mountain biking. I love cardio... I love the way I feel afterwards, I like how have more energy, I like the way it makes me look... but doing it overboard will make you hate it!