<p>Doing sprints on the treadmill would require me to figure out how to run on a treadmill. I am so uncoordinated that I fear abject failure and humiliation if I make the attempt. I think I could manage to ride a stationary bike quickly.</p>
<p>I just finished a class in which we spent a large amount of time working on exercise prescriptions, so I’m just going off what we were told in that class… </p>
<p>I just suggested a HRM because while the machines probably do a decent job of ballparking, if you’re really concerned about being in your training range, then you may want to consider a more accurate monitor. There’s nothing wrong with sprints, but they may not be the best for somebody just starting out who needs to keep their HR up over an extended amount of time.</p>
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<p>How about doing it in water ? With a flotation belt ? I love water exercises and my knees thank me. The only down side for me is sharing space with people with less than hygienic habits, like spitting and snorting into the water.</p>
<p>You guys are cracking me up - after wearing the heart rate monitor strapped to my chest, I’ll get in the water with a flotation belt…not likely. :)</p>
<p>But the reason for the post is that I didn’t just start out - I’ve been doing this for FOUR months. I would think that if I worked out such that I elevated my heart rate to 145-155 for at least 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week, I would be starting to show some progress.</p>
<p>missypie–can’t you just rent a burro and ride up?</p>
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<p>You have to weigh under 200 lbs and someone in our party is over that. (Yes, it’s the husband who works out 2 hours every morning and will outlive me by years because he’s in great shape and I’m not…but the donkeys would not take too kindly to him!)</p>
<p>missypie, with the HR information you’ve provided you are going TOO fast. I know-- that sounds weird. The basic calculation (220-age which you said 50 I believe) gives us a HRM of 170. If you are working with a HR of 155, that means you’re at 90% which puts you into “speed training” range which is not what you want. That’s a whole separate energy system. I will have to look it up again, but you want to have your HR somewhere between 60-80% of your HRM to gain endurance.</p>
<p>Also, I am not a fan of the HR calculators on those machines; I don’t believe they are accurate enough but they are better than nothing. And that above calculations are also not the most accurate, but to get a more accurate calculation, more information (specifically resting HR) is needed. If you can get that information, I can calculate a more accurate target heart rate zone for you…</p>
<p>I would also suggest you take the stairs a couple times a day (both up and down) and don’t be afraid to throw a backpack or something on while doing so. The best way to get “in shape” for an activity is to do it! Hiking/backpacking is especially important to build up to your goal rather than just going for it.</p>
<p>Any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM…</p>
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I guess I’m trying to apply logic without knowing what I’m talking about. It seems like if you walked a treadmill at an incline of 12 (a bit under the maximum) and at first your heart rate was 155 doing it, that eventually your endurance would build up and you could do the same walk but with a heart rate of 135. How can that not possibly work?</p>
<p>Hmm, no. Oxidative systems get plenty of work if you train the glycolytic and phosphagenic systems. Not saying its what endurance focused people (marathon, half marathon) athletes need, its just better for most people. There are simply too many negative side effects of aerobic excercise to justify its use.</p>
<p>Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K. Effects of moderate-intensity
endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc.
1996; 28(10):1327-30</p>
<p>Brockman, L. et al. Oxygen uptake during recovery from intense intermittent running and prolonged
walking. J. Sports Med. Phys. Fitness. 1993; 33(4): 330-336.</p>
<p>When in doubt, high intensity is better for just about any goal. Fat loss? Check. Better tonus? Check. Better anaerobic and aerobic capacity? Check. Better for sparing lean mass? Check. Better for explosive strength? Check. </p>
<p>Anyway: how does weight training develop cardio endurance? The same way rowing or running does. Its not the modality that is important, it is the parameters. Try a set of 20 rep breathing squats if you think weight lifting doesn’t involve cardio. Honestly, if you want to use weights to develop better cardio, google “Javorek Complexes”. Istan “Steve” Javorek has done much to develop this field, I’ll leave his writings to do justice. In general though, shortening the rest intervals does the trick. Google “Tabata something” and “Tabata front squats”. Well, you could apply tabata protocol (20s on, 10s off, 8 rnds to many weight lifting things…front squats, thrusters are esp. good).</p>
<p>Anyway, if anyone was interested. Best cardio equipment=Concept 2 rower maching (or any rowing machine). If you do very hard intervals, the airdyne bike is pretty good too. Ellipticals and bikes are probably among the most worthless pieces of hardware out there. Why do so many people love them while spending hrs reading a magazine on it? Its easy. 10 mins of hard rowing on a Concept 2 rower will make you want to stick to your stamp collecting hobby.</p>
<p>edit: Missypie, that <em>is</em> the problem with steady state cardio. You get acclimatized. Run 100 m sprints as hard as you can with 20 s rest, repeat 10x. Tell me if you heart gets used to it after a year…</p>
<p>edit again: HR isn’t a function of energy systems or vice versa. Energy systems are governed by chemicals which are essentially time controlled. eg…phosphagenic system won’t last more than 10s, while oxidative system will tick on for hours.</p>
<p>edit again again: study concerning fat loss from steady state vs high intensity interval cardio
Trembblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C. (1994). Impact of Exercise Intensity on Body Fatness and Skeletal Muscle Metablism, Metabolism. 43(7): 814-818.</p>
<p>edit one last time: I noticed DMD mentioned sprints, wind sprints, etc. Good on ya man, you know what you are doing.</p>
<p>Umm…I know that not all of that was English. If I’m too shy to figure out how to run on a treadmill, I’m sure not going be sprinting around my neighborhood! I really wish I had room in my house for exercise equipment. No way am I going to do free weights with a bunch of sweaty 20-something guys!</p>
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<p>I don’t know if you’re saying my heart would or would not get use to it after a year, but the point remains: what the heck am I supposed to do so that I can walk up the Grand Canyon in two months without having a heart attack?</p>
<p>Iloveagoodbrew, I get the idea that you are one of those sweaty 20-something guys that I avoid at LA Fitness.</p>
<p>Ok, you seriously need to read my long as post. I wrote everything you possibly need to know. STOP DOING STEADY STATE CARDIO. Start doing intervals. Hill sprints, sprints, sprints in the pool, sprints on the bike outside, intervals on the rower.</p>
<p>I am <em>a</em> the 20 something guy. I wouldn’t be caught dead in LA Fitness. I am a strength athlete, I don’t go to the gym to pump and bench press before hitting the clubs. Sorry, no, I despise most of those guys more than you do. Listen, I am giving you good advice. If you choose to use it or not is entirely up to you. I never said it will be easy, I never said it will be pleasant. Your only problems are you don’t want to sprint around your neighborhood or don’t want to work out with sweaty guys? There have been powerlifters who have had their elbows blown out by IEDs who have benched 500+ lbs with one arm. Doug Hepburn was born with a clubfoot and went to become one of the world’s strongest man. That is adversity.</p>
<p>You think working up a sweat and ruining your makeup is adversity? Working out with strangers is adversity? Listen if you don’t want to work hard you will never accomplish anything. To get intermediate, advanced, elite levels of fitness you must push. You must bleed sweat and tears. No way around it. </p>
<p>You know what? Ignore everything I just said. Get your heartrate between 60-80% for 30-60 mins 4x a week. That is everything you need. See, everyone knows how to lose fat, get fitter. Which is why the majority of Americans are in such great shape. Which is why majority of the posters on this website are in amazing shape. If you want to mock my advice, your prerogative. Whatever.</p>
<p>To walk up the Grand Canyon in two months, you need to do training specific to that. If you don’t want to <em>run</em> on the treadmill, put ten pounds in a backpack (that would be a gallon of water–well, that’s 8 pounds, but close enough) and get back on the treadmill. Warm up by walking slowly on the level. Set it to walk as fast as you can, arms swinging to help you, maximum incline. Walk as fast as you can for one minute. Slow it down and level it for a minute. Keep alternating for a hard ten minute workout. Then cool down for five minutes. Do that three times a week.</p>
<p>Iloveagoodbrew, I practice law full time and am raising three children. I have no desire to stare down adversity. I want to be able to live through spring break.</p>
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<p>I’ll try that, but it’s pretty close to what I’ve been doing for four months. I’ve done intervals at more like 12 minutes intead of one minute. It takes the machine about a quarter of that to adjust the incline. But I’ll give the intervals a try.</p>
<p>Why are there no Rocky moments? Rocky ran the same route over and over and in the course of one song, was able to run it rather than trudge it.</p>
<p>I hope it’s okay to post this link to tips from the National Park Service on Grand Canyon hiking. Missypie, you may have already seen them. Don’t panic, you’ll make it. </p>
<p>[Grand</a> Canyon National Park - Hiking Tips - Hike Smart (U.S. National Park Service)](<a href=“http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/hike-tips.htm]Grand”>Hiking Tips - Hike Smart - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service))</p>
<p>Missypie: I hate to find myself agreeing with a twenty-something male beer drinker, but as an overweight 53-year woman who has gone from disgustingly out of shape to sort of in shape, he’s right about the sweating part. The more you sweat, the faster you’ll get in shape… if you don’t injure yourself, which is the over-50 part. Be kind to yourself.</p>
<p>I like the 30-seconds-of-all-out method because it feels good. Really.</p>
<p>However, I also notice that you ARE making progress. Your comfortable workout pace has increased. You might not feel comfortable running, but you don’t need to run–you need to be persistent. You might want to add in a once-a-week long walk–whatever the distance is that you’ll be doing, but without the uphill part–just so you know what it feels like to walk that far. </p>
<p>My husband trains every year with Team in Training (the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s group). I see lots of people start out having trouble biking five miles… and they bike 100 miles four months later. They do the distance by doing it in small pieces–ten miles, rest, ten miles, rest. Persistence matters.</p>
<p>When the time comes, set your own pace, and set it to slow and steady. Be the tortoise, not the hare.</p>
<p>A twelve-minute interval is a long interval. I’m not talking about a speed that you can sustain for twelve minutes, I’m talking about going all out (what used to be called -----tothewall) for 30 seconds to one minute. Crank up the walking speed AND the incline. Make it so hard you’re gasping for breath after the thirty seconds.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve read that and lots of other GC hiking tips. Absolutely freaks me out. Last time we were at the GC, I bought the book they sell in the gift shops there about all the people who have died hiking in the GC…yes, it takes up a whole book to talk about them! At least it will be March and not August. All the dire warnings have made this a trip that makes me lie awake at night with fear and dread, rather than anticipation. Maybe because I’ve read “It’s a lot more difficult than you think” about 10,000 times, it won’t actually be as difficult as **I **think.</p>