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Old 12-10-14, 05:19 PM  
rheash92
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
So many cardio options - what to choose

So there is steady state, regular intervals, HIIT, circuit training, metcon (how is that different)....anything else? Is there a list?

What would you ideal cardio week look like if you did 2-3 cardio days? Do you do different type of cardio with different weight training like higher reps or lower rep training?

Please chime in. Thanks!
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Old 12-10-14, 05:30 PM  
bubbles76
 
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: New Jersey
For cardio, I mix it up, but every month I have to get in some HIIT, metabolic conditioning, and step. I rarely do hi/lo or dance much, but I do enjoy it and try to mix it in when I remember.
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Old 12-10-14, 05:51 PM  
patriots
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Black Hills of South Dakota
I have been using Metabolic Aftershock which is an Awesome program!! Dr. Jade Teta from Metabolic Effect. Google it! The best cardio I have ever done. Short, too the point and effective workouts coupled with long slow leisure walks.
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Old 12-10-14, 06:01 PM  
flamingoo
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Quote:
Originally Posted by patriots View Post
I have been using Metabolic Aftershock which is an Awesome program!! Dr. Jade Teta from Metabolic Effect. Google it! The best cardio I have ever done. Short, too the point and effective workouts coupled with long slow leisure walks.

I've looked into this before, but never caved. Is it HIIT? Body weight or does he use weights.
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Old 12-10-14, 06:27 PM  
athompson10
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Most of the time I do my cardio and weights separately - not a lot of circuit training - so I try to balance my steady state, interval and HiiT cardio. If I fit in three cardio sessions a week, I generally do one long steady session, one interval session and one Hiit on the floor. My treadmill and step get heavy use for both steady-state and interval cardio.

A lot depends on my strength training. Right now I'm in the midst of Body Beast, and those five days per week of heavy weight training exhaust me. HiiT also takes a lot out of me, so if I do HiiT it'll be short, like Cathe 30/30 or Low Impact Hiit (my choice today), not an hour-long Breathless Body. I'll also go moderate on the length of my steady-state and interval (no more than 40 minutes) when I'm focusing on weights.

Circuit training is an occasional for me, usually as a plateau buster, and I don't add extra cardio to circuit weeks.
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Old 12-11-14, 02:10 PM  
pharma_gal
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Quote:
Originally Posted by patriots View Post
I have been using Metabolic Aftershock which is an Awesome program!! Dr. Jade Teta from Metabolic Effect. Google it! The best cardio I have ever done. Short, too the point and effective workouts coupled with long slow leisure walks.
I'm interested in learning about this program also. Can you please post more.

I am also interested in other replies to the OP's questions. Thanks.
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Old 12-13-14, 09:34 AM  
rheash92
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Anyone else have anything to share? Thanks!
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Old 12-13-14, 10:24 AM  
mspina
 
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Boston, MA
What are your goals?

I don't do any dedicated "cardio" per se any longer, but certainly get a huge component during my normal Crossfit workouts. Unless you are marathon training or other long slow distance training, steady state cardio is a bit of a time waste (unless you purely enjoy it, of course). You get a substantially more effective workout doing HIIT, or tabatas, or metcon styles. If you work a bootcamp style workout into your schedule 2-3x/week that could do the trick nicely.
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Old 12-13-14, 01:05 PM  
PrairieGem
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Aftet 10+ years of mostly circuit (strength/cardio combos) and HIIT, I am back to doing steady state (running), and LOVE IT! It's physically more demanding than any other cardio workout I've ever done, and it seems to be maintaining my weight better, as well. I've also seen changes in the shape of my body I've never gotten from anything else. ~25 years ago, I had a ski machine I used 5-7 days a week, but after about ten years of that, I wore the poor machine out and burned out on cardio machines. I tried bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, even another NordicTrak, but never could recapture the love. Then followed a decade or so of hard-cardio-by-video, which I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. I know my joints benefited mightily from all the high impact and abrupt moves--stronger ankles, especially--but the aesthetics were never what I hoped for.

Now I'm back to steady state, and enjoying the cardiovascular benefits (my cholesterol plummeted!) and finally having aesthetic results where I *look* like I work out, plus the benefits of sunshine and fresh air can't be overstated! But I know I need to find time for some crosstraining, too (my joints need a little refresher, and my posture isn't as good as with a lot of bodyweight stuff). The schedule just hasn't permitted it lately!
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Old 12-13-14, 04:54 PM  
LynnO
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Another who was thinking- what are your goals and what do you like?

I never believed that you didn't get cardio benefit from things like weight lifting, or circuit workouts. Funny, that the current trends are just versions of circuits and those doing them still pooh pooh circuits. Something I find confusing. But, hey.

In my experience doing hiit or metabolic workouts aren't going to work for endurance activities (if you want to pooh pooh that, do 1 minute intervals instead of 30 seconds or go bike or hike hard for three hours ), so if you are also looking for endurance I would do some hiit and some endurance. If you are just looking for fitness, do any of them but make sure that you do some work that is challenging. at least once a week (walk faster, farther, intervals, etc.)
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