30 minutes or 1 hour cardio?
 

Hi! I'm new to this board and there's a lot of great info on this website :-)

For weight loss, do you think its better to work out for 30-35 minutes on each cardio machine (for example: 30 minutes elliptical and 30 minutes stationary bike) or better to do 1 hour on one machine when doing cardio? :?:

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

I don't go to the gym but I don't think it would be a bad thing to split up your time on different machines.

I'm just curious which is more effective in losing weight

I don't think there's a pat answer for this question. Some people will reccommend one, some the other. But it's just going to be different for each person, and in the end, either way you're moving and burning calories for an hour or so. Neither would be detrimental to your goals. So I think it rests in what feels best for you.

hey

honestly i think you need to start off doing something you know that you can maintain in the long run. i honestly started off with walking for 15 minutes, then to walking for a half hour then to jogging for a half hour and finally now to jogging for an hour. I feel gradually building up myself to do the cardio helped me to maintain things. if i had just jumped in i don't think i would have made it this far. just my two cents.

You could try mixing up the workout in terms of intensity. Like a day of 20-30 minutes at high intensity followed by a day of rest then a day of 40-60 minutes slow and steady then a day off then start again. That way the machine you use is not the most important thing

My first answer is: whatever you enjoy the most - so you'll keep doing it consistently and work your hardest at it.

I do think that variety seems to be helpful when losing weight - not necessary, but helpful. That being said, I doubt there's a difference between doing 1 hr on the bike one day and 1 hr on the elliptical the next, or doing 1/2 hr on each of them each day. But I don't even know if there's any literature on the topic, I'm just guessing.

If you really want to do what's most effective, do some reading on "high intensity interval training (HIIT)"... that's a lot of evidence that it's a good way to make the most out of your workout time on any cardio machine.

If you are a beginner you should start working out with a minimum of up to 30 mins and work yourself up to 60 minutes... As someone mentionned which machine you use is not really important but it should be the machine you enjoy the most... After a while your body will adapt and plateau and you'll need to change things up either by increasing time, intensity, or using a different machine.. the sky is the limit really you can have a lot of fun playing with the machines and workouts... One week you could do both back to back, the next week use one machine the next a different one... Variety is the spice of life :D

I think whatever will keep your interest more and keep you motivated is the better option. I don't like to use machines at all but if I have to do cardio indoors because it's raining, I do 20 minutes of one thing followed by 20 minutes of another. Not because I think it's better in terms of weight loss but because I get so bored doing one thing.

I think the general rule for using the most amount of calories whilst working out is change. You want to keep your body guessing by altering what you're doing at least every month. Of the two options you give, I'd guess that the "two different machines" approach would probably be best initially, as your body won't have done either, and will have to change more to adapt to two machines and will take longer to adapt to two machines than one. However, when you're starting, or restarting, exercise, it's mostly mental. So don't force yourself to do something you hate just because it's "good for you". Focus on developing the habit of exercising before you start worrying about optimising your work out.

I do 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the stationary bike. I think it is better to change it up so you work out different muscles.

I honestly think that is more about your heart rate , rather than different machines. but if it makes you more motivated.. keep it :D

The most important thing is getting your heartrate up. Thats the most important thing that burns calories and fat. If you are not getting your heartrate up around 155 (Depends on age) you are not burning anything. So count your heartbeats within 15 seconds and multiply that by 4. If 30 minutes of cardio gets your heart rate up there then keep that pace until your body adapts.

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration...your heartrate DOES have an impact on how many calories you're burning (higher heartrate = higher calorie burn), but you certainly burn calories at lower HR levels...just not as many as you might at a higher level.