Hitting a brick wall.
 

Hey there all

joined a gym in early December after deciding that 2009 is my year to get the weight off. I have been working out on the treadmill 3 times a week since then and seeing a trainer once a week. Last week I started working on the ellipticals and thought they were great.

This week I am having trouble keeping myself going at the cardio level - I get 5 minutes in and just want to quit,,,,,, I think this is a mental thing, although I am definitely more sore.

How do you get past that brick wall and keep on getting the workout done?

Are you getting bored?

I like the treadmill, but if I keep doing the same thing it gets boring, so I play with incline and speed every few minutes so that I'm switching my body up.

ETA: It also breaks up the time, so it goes by faster.

Faerie, it's more like I get my HR up and get that out of breath, tired feeling and think " How am I going to get through another 25 minutes of this? I can't make it."

Ah! I see. While, I know that the elliptical and treadmill are vastly different. I can actually barely make it five minutes on the elliptical.

Maybe slowly switching over would do the trick. Like 5 minutes on the elliptical 25 on the treadmill one week. And then build 10 and 20... 15 & 15... etc.

I wil have to give it a try - that's what's been happening the past few times because it's been tiring to try to get the whole 30 on the elliptical....

Those thoughts are negative, try positive self talk, like "I WILL do this" you know them.... also get some music and listen to the music and lyrics to pass the time instead of looking at the seconds...

I know how you feel, but I have the opposite problem, I'm fine on the elliptical but jogging on the treadmill or outside is so difficult for me. I get tired and want to give up, and I give up way too soon. I started trying to jog for a short time and then walk for a few minutes, but I was trying to maintain this for 30 min and I just couldn't do it. After talking with a trainer, she suggested cutting it back to 20 minutes. So I definitely agree with the advice you have received.

Now I'm working in very small steps. This week, I'm jogging for two minutes and walking for 3 minutes, for a total of 20 minutes. I follow this up with 20 minutes on the elliptical at a "7" on the intensity scale for me.

Also, I like the elliptical now, but when I first started using it, I was only going for 5 and then 10 minutes, it took some getting used to for me as well.

I've been at this 2+ years now and even though I can run 5 miles on the treadmill, I cannot do more than 5 minutes on the elliptical. What I've been doing to combat boredom is doing intervals, switching speeds between slow and fast. This week I've starting adding in the recumbant bike. It's working muscles that I'd forgotten I had, so that's challenging, but not impossible, and I'm not getting as bored. Are you running or walking on the treadmill? If you are walking, check out a C25K (couch to 5K) program. That is a good way to start incorporating intervals.

I think the first 5 minutes of a cardio workout are the hardest. I can go out for a 7 mile run and the first half mile is like pulling teeth. I want to quit and I tell myself it is too hard. But once I get warmed up and in the zone, it gets better.

Music helps too. I'll tell myself, okay, do this whole song and then when the next one comes on, okay, do this whole song, etc., and after a few songs I am in the groove.

When I first started running, I did the C25K program. Doing the first few workouts, with running for a minute or two, NBD. When I got up to running the whole 30 mins, the first ten minutes was torture at first. Like you said, brick wall, and the 30 mins seems SO long. Just keep going. Drop the speed/intensity if you're gasping for breath, but pick a pace you can maintain and just keep going. I found that once I got good and warmed up, I could go on forever, so it does get better. Also, after a few weeks, even the first ten minutes was easy, so the brick wall feeling doesn't last forever. Whether it's elliptical or running or whatever, a good warm-up helps...5 mins of walking, then some range of motion stuff to lube up the joints (just gently move your joints from the top down: neck, shoulders/arms, hips/knees/ankles). I usually will do some light stretching here as well. This helps ease the transition to more active cardio, and should help eliminate the brick wall, too. Like others have said, get some tunes, or another good one is audio books, to pass the time. I get audio books from the library. They have some cool ones now that are mp3 type, just a little player that is easy to take along. :)

Ditto. I run and the first half mile or so is the worst. Then halfway through my 3 miles I hit my groove and the last half of the run is so much more pleasant (and faster too).

Thanks to everyone for their input - I took a day off and went back in to face the beast today. I had a session with my trainer and we did more core training than cardio today - I lost no weight this week, but that was a little motivating in and of itself.

Thanks guys.

PS where do I find more info on the C25K program?

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Check that.

Thanks!! :D