Super out of shape — building endurance to exercise

[Anonymous]

I am so out of shape. I feel like death after 3 minutes on the elliptical at resistance set on 2! Any advice on how to push through and build up my endurance. I don’t know how not to quit after just a few minutes. And I know I really need to lose weight. 5’1”, 140 right now (highest non pregnancy). I’m usually around 132 which is not great but better than I am now. Ultimate goal for me would be 120….

And yes I’m watching my calories, but need to up the exercise game….

[Anonymous]

I would just go for a walk— 10 mins or 20 mins whatever

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just go for a walk— 10 mins or 20 mins whatever

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just go for a walk— 10 mins or 20 mins whatever

I do that already… I walk most places at this point and when I go to the office it’s 1.2 miles each way (which I’ll start doing again in a few weeks). Walking isn’t an issue… but as soon as I get on the elliptical I just want to cry.

[Anonymous]

Are you watching a riveting show while you’re in it? I started downloading things to my phone and increased my length from a miserable 20 minutes to an enjoyable 60. (Previously had been listening to music or audiobooks.) m
Also, if level 2 is too hard stick to 1! Keep in mind that your heart rate is probably very high at level 2 at this point. Figure out your target heart rate for age and start working toward that, ignoring weather it “should” be an easy level. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Don't do exercise that feels that punishing. Work up to it! Find something that is moderately difficult for your body the way it is now, not where you feel it should be.

[Anonymous]

That will go away very soon, just stick with it.

[Anonymous]

Do ten minutes of "every minute on the minute" conditioning every day.

For example, do some number of pushups (however many you can do) at the top of every minute, then rest for the remainder of the minute. Ten rounds of that. Whatever it is, you'll probably want to limit it to 15 seconds or so, and then rest for 45 seconds.

As you get more endurance, you add more exercises to the routine and reduce the rest period. For example, now you do 10 pushups and 10 situps at the top of every minute, then rest for maybe 30 seconds. Ten rounds of that.

At some point, if you keep it up, you will be able to eliminate the rest periods entirely. Yesterday I did 10 pushups, 10 kettlebell swings, 10 medicine ball slams, and 10 box jumps repeatedly for ten minutes without rest. Not saying this to brag but to say that over time it works to build endurance.

Some bodyweight exercises you can do:
Pushups
Situps
Lunges
Burpees
Air squats
Jumping jacks
Broad jumps

[Anonymous]

Find a small gym that offers classes. It can be crossfit, it can be a boutique bootcamp gym, it can be OTF.

You'll find the support and coaching the best motivator to stick with it.

FWIW, i would check out a CrossFit studio. I know they have a bad reputation but out in the burbs its just people looking to get a good workout in and the numbers in the classes are usually pretty low. Low enough that you can get proper coaching from the instructor.

IMO, places like OTF don't have the best coaching. Either because they pick young people that don't have the best training, or its too many members at a time for the coach to really pay attention to everyone

[Anonymous]

Do intervals. 1 minute on, 1 minute rest or lowest possible. Rinse, repeat. Slowly increase the total time. And then slowly increase the ratio.

[Anonymous]

PP who suggested intervals is correct. Have you considered trying a Couch to 5K app? You start by jogging for 30 seconds and walking for 1 minute. You do this on repeat until 20 minutes or so are up. Then you slowly ramp up the jogging, but you still take short walking breaks. After about 10 weeks, you'll be jogging a 5K!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP who suggested intervals is correct. Have you considered trying a Couch to 5K app? You start by jogging for 30 seconds and walking for 1 minute. You do this on repeat until 20 minutes or so are up. Then you slowly ramp up the jogging, but you still take short walking breaks. After about 10 weeks, you'll be jogging a 5K!

Yes to walking and running intervals. Ditch the elliptical

[Anonymous]

I was in the same position. Build up your walks and add some jogging intervals. I hired a trainer and my increased strength has made the cardio workouts I do on my own so much better. It is not cheap, but I love the workouts and feel SO much better.

[Anonymous]

I hate the elliptical. Maybe try the treadmill walking on an incline at a fast pace, the bike, group classes, or just anything else. It takes time to build endurance so just set small goals at first.

[Anonymous]

If you’re exercising to lose weight, you are much less likely to stick with an exercise program because weight loss is a long slog. You need to look at the immediate reward of exercise: feeling good!


Don’t exercise to the point of feeling like death. It makes exercise unfun and from a training perspective is physically counterproductive. The best endurance-increasing workout program is 20% of your workouts being at, like 80% of your max heart rate and 80% of your workouts at 50% of max. Workouts at 50% of max are actually hard because it doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything! But after doing this my endurance has increased a lot.

Don’t try to do HIIT, only really good athletes can actually do it and without injury. Basic high-intensity workouts are definitely good, but not as efficient by themselves as incorporating those low-intensity workouts if you are looking for increased insurance.