I can exercise on an elliptical machine for over an hour with my heart rate at 165-185bpm and not get out of breath or tired, but can't run on a treadmill. Why is this? At the same heart rate I don't get out of breath but my shins will hurt and the hair on my legs feel like it itches like hell and I'll get cramps. I don't know what it is other than possibly the higher impact of the treadmill. I've read that running on the elliptical will burn as many calories and give just as good of a cardio workout, but I'd like to be able to actually run.

 

Its the impact... your shins hurt because you are chipping your shin bones from the impact...

Running is bad for you when there are other exercises you can do that benegit you the same without harming you like running does. If you want good exercise whilst moving forward... ride a bike.

 

I have to agree here. I suffered ITBS as I used to run all the time. I now go out cycling. I can still beast myself but without the impact. I too can manage to either A have a high heart rate and my breathing is fine or B push on gulping in air and as soon as I stop my breathing returns to normal quick (even though my pulse is quick).
Just means you`re not needing as much oxygen. Your heart just doesn`t slow stright down, it`ll remain beating higher long after your breathing has returned to normal.

 

I love riding my bike. I used to ride at least ten miles a week to and from class, around the nature reserve on campus. But now that I don't have school anymore and live in a different part of town not near the bike trails, it's harder. When it warms up I will have to make an effort get out and ride them. I ride with my girlfriend most of the time and she goes too slow for me to get a workout. It's a good pace for her but not hard enough for me.

 

I follow crossfit at the moment. I been doing these excercises on their website for the past 3 weeks now. Intense stuff, I tell you. I lifted weights without cardio for 3 months but all my strength was useless for what I was doing. Now, I'm getting into a high stamina and keeping my strength from all of the damn olympic lifts they have us doing. Once I get used to this routine more I'm going to switch to football crossfit which is more weight and more cardio.

 

Running can be good, as long as you do it correctly. I'm not an expert, but I know that there are a few ways to do it wrong and end up wearing yourself out quicker and hurting your shins, etc. But I've been running for years... it just takes getting use to, and proper form.

But if running doesn't seem to work for you, there are plenty of other cardio exercises that can be done in your room that will help. Nutrition is the major key though. And I've found that treadmills, elipticals, etc... just don't work for me personally.

 

Elipticals and Stairsteppers are golden. I lift an hour a day and try to get atleast 30 minutes of cardio. Eating right is a must, but is also my downfall. That and beer.

 

I went to a different gym today that had a newer, different elliptical machine. I got similar heart rate data but it said I ran 5.25 miles in 30 minutes opposed to the 3 miles in 30 minutes on the other elliptical. It felt like the stride was a little longer but seriously, two miles difference. How accurate are the little computers on exercise equipment typically? Doesn't really matter how far I ran, heart rate and time is what I focus on, but I'd like to know.

 

If you want to run you are better of running in grass cause it absorbs some of the impact (not possible in a gym) elipticals are the way to go for cardio unless you can use a pool. I prefer to swim for cardio if I can.

 

Most treadmills are giong to cause problems. We have special low impact treadmills in our training room at school. It's like any other exercise you need to work into it

 

If you really like the eliptical machines, that's cool. But I honestly think that outdoor running (if done properly with good technique) will offer more benefit than gym machines, in my oppinion. I don't know your situation though - like if there are any good areas to run where you live.

What is your current fitness goal you're aiming for?

(sorry I can't offer more info on the machines... I just never really used them any. I always prefered doing home workouts... but I do like the gym atmosphere, especially when lifting)

 

I actually prefer the elliptical for a pre-lifting workout. I set the resistance really high so it's similar to running with weights on your legs, but without having anything annoying strapped on.

 

Good choice, running with leg weights it a terrible idea. It does a huge number on your joints

 

My main goal is to lose body fat, gain muscle definition. I'd like to run outside, but with it being winter I'd rather not. We have some places I could go run other than just running on the side of the road. I work out with my girlfriend sometimes and we're on two different levels of workout, so at a gym she can do her thing, I can do mine. I can't work out at home, I end up not putting in enough effort. I'd like to try P90X though.

 

I think I am going to buy a new road bike with my tax refund. I used to be in great shape but when I got out of the military I quit exercising. I am not fat but I'm definitely not in the shape I once was.

 

If you want to get some good cardio in and stamina, check out the Insanity videos. I went through the whole two months and that **** does work. You pretty much work your full body. Check out some of the videos on youtube. It's all interval training, so you get your heart rate up, have a little break and then go back at it. Does a lot of core work too.

 

Sounds like something I will check out. Also, this sounds just how football crossfit works too. Ugh, core workouts I struggle with the olympic lifts but squats and deadlifts are easy for me to push some weight. P90X is intense stuff and is designed to be done in your home. I watched the videos and had the program just never used it, haha.

I'm more into crossfit. Workouts keep me in the 150-160 BPM range for about 40 minutes plus I get to hit my core pretty hard.

 

Losing fat will reveal muscle definition over time, so as long as you stay dedicated and make good eating choices, then you should be alright. But losing fat, and gaining extra muslce (like for bodybuilding) that is insanely hard... it's all in your nutritional habiits.

Just keep pushing yourself in the gym... don't pay too much attention to the screens on the treadmills and elipticals, what's important is how much of a workout you 'feel' you are getting, and pushing yourself harder each time. Don't overtrain though... trust me.

I like doing research on this site: although it's mostly for bodybuilding, but the guy definetly knows what he's talking about. http://www.scoobysworkshop.com/
He's kind of entertaining. lol. And doesn't want your money, like most websites do.

 

i just finished my 3rd week on p90x 4th week starts tomorrow. I am impressed so far with it as it really works you out. i was surprised at how much it works you.

 

We used p90x for our off season workouts before last years indoor track season. Greatest improvement I have had over that timeframe. The really good thing about it is it builds muscle and drops fat at the same time, which is hard for one program to do.
Granted being 6 4 155 starting the program i didnt need to cut any fat, but i did lower my % and went up to 165 in a few hard working weeks

 

I'm going through P90X as well atm. I just finished week 2 today. I've definitely had some weight loss, about 10lbs I'd say, and I can see a small difference in how tone my body is. It's definitely working and I've never felt better. Dieting is killer though, but so worth it.

 

Did you all pay for the P90X program, borrow, or by other means. I told a friend of mine I'd pay him to make me copies of the CDs but he never got back to me. I was watching a commercial for P90X the other day and it's around $150, a good chunk.

 

A guy who was a captain at the time got it from his friend. He had it for cheap through some school fitness program. Once you know the exercises all you need are the sheets that you can find online.

 

I downloaded mine from a torrent site a few years ago...took like a month because not everyone was sharing it

 

You're not really suppose to diet on programs like P90x. It's more about eating right and healthy. You need to eat quite a bit to have the energy for those programs.

Doing the Insanity videos, I got use to eating 5-6 times a day. You can definitely tell you're metabolism has sped up within a few weeks of doing it. It becomes pretty easy once you get in a routine. I would eat breakfast, then make a couple sandwiches to take with me to work and eat those as in between snacks. They have like whole grain or whole wheat sandwich thin bread thats only 100 calories or so, and then added turkey slices and you have like 150-200 calorie snack during the day. Hardly any fat and you get protein and good carbs.

 

Diet doesn't always mean less food. Eating right is super important. I eat semi-right and on a normal day eat 4000-5000 calories plus a breakfast supplement lunch vitamin and protein after working out, granted I spent 3 hours a day doing physical activity of some sort, not a half hour

 

True. I just associate diet with eating less to lose weight. Eating right is practicing good nutrition. What the hell do you do to be burning 2000-3000 calories a day?

 

Im a college hurdler... and i have a very fast natural metabolism.

 

I think above he put that he was 6'4" and only 155. So, he has to eat that much. I put down around 3800-4k calories a day and I was gaining 1 pound a week. For me eating that much was almost too much for me. I need to do the sandwich snack thing to be more healthy with my diet.

 

I do breakfast (eggs bacon etc) mid morning snack with gatorade and a powerbar of some sort, lunch which is a few sandwiches, or a pizza or something like that... pre practice snack, dinner (I cook actual meals) and late night snack like ice cream or something. I also use protein after practices and lifting and vitamins to make sure I get everything. I should be up towards 165-170 for what I do to be the most effective.

Most people could do the same thing without the snacks or just cut back quantity. The most important thing is getting everything you need (hence the vitamin because I despise most vegetables that are actually nutritional)