How to improve my cardio?

[semaj02]

@kara1991 I’m shocked I don’t see this response yet - ya gotta do more cardio, period. I would recommend 30 minute sessions minimum of 5 days a week, gradually increasing to 45 min, then 60 min. Specificity is a main tenet of fitness: in order to get better at something, do more of it!

 

[mayasmom]

@semaj02 Good advice, but important to add this should be relatively low intensity. You should be able to have a conversation, and should not be out of breath.

 

[hawleyray]

@kara1991 45 min to 1 hour zone 2 cardio.

 

[dawn16]

@kara1991 Keep doing your classes maybe increase to 3/4 times per week if you can.

Something easy that really helped me was walking more, it's low impact, helps recovery and definitely helps you get fitter. 30 to 60 mins daily is my sweet spot. Most of my walking is zone 0 or 1 but definitely helps.

Some note just jump in with the team wods, most people don't care about your ability. As long as your trying and having fun.

 

[finallytrulyalive]

@kara1991 Many people have found success following Aerobic capacity with Chris Hinshaw. Or Capacity WOD.

Most good athletes don’t actually get annoyed with novice athletes who are putting in the effort. I’m a seasoned CF athlete now and the only time I get annoyed with new partners is when they are constantly apologizing for doing there best. You are putting in the work and that should be enough for any good partner

 

[g2perk]

@kara1991 Directly to your question: Zone 2 cardio should solve most of your issues.

As a beginner crossfit you might see big improvements from your cardio in the next months. But eventually that will stop. I would recommend zone 2 and hardly that is any way around it. I would recommend anywhere from 2-3x/ week 20-60 mints (1-3h/week).

Usually the biggest impediment is time or finding the activity too boring. I've got some tips if you want.

 

[cloakndagr]

@kara1991 Couple people here mentioned zone 2. I can not shout it loud enough. Buy a heart rate monitor. Find your max. Calculate your zone 2. And then just sit on a bike and watch a movie for an hour keeping your heart rate in that pre calculated zone. It’s going to feel dumb at first. But a few weeks in you’ll see.

Bonus: get a monitor that allows you to put in your bios and calculates calorie burn. Huge motivator for me.

 

[transformed89]

@kara1991 Hi. Year of the engine.

 

[nychristian15]

@kara1991 105kg here, just by doing it more. I hate cardio

 

[kobrinfamily]

@kara1991 Zone 2, zone 2 and more zone 2 cardio

 

[reuben144]

@kara1991 Calm down. Youve approximately 32 classes.
Fitness takes time. Just keep at it.

 

[aachen_hexagon]

@kara1991 Also, make sure you're hitting the right stimulus. I've been doing Crossfit for a few years now and partnering with new people often scares me for the opposite reason. New people at my gym tend to scale on the advice from coaches and what should be a 2 minute break for me is suddenly 90 seconds.

We really preach about hitting the right stimulus, if you do RX movements/weights and are moving too slowly you're probably not getting the right stimulus. Conversely if you scale too much and finish a 15 minute in 5 minutes you're also missing the intended stimulus. I would check in with a coach to ensure you're doing at the intensity you should be for any given WOD and modify appropriately

 

[lifeline]

@kara1991 I started in the same boat as you. For me it took time, being patient with myself and not feeling bad about scaling. I have been going 2-3 times per week for nearly 2 years and now have great heart health. One other thought I don’t know if you have anxiety or not but your body might be responding to the increased heart rate. That’s what happened to me for awhile, looking at my fitness tracker I could see the exact point at which my body felt like it stopped and I realized I was trying to suppress that level due to feeling a panic attack coming on. I am still not perfect at it for short term WOD but I can now do long term WOD’s without the dying feeling.

 

[kara1991]

@lifeline Thank you for your advice. I do have a lot of anxiety and I do feel my heart will stop beating and I do feel like a panic attack is coming. Some WOD I just wanted to stop and leave. Some I finished crying because I didn't succeed to complete all of it.
It really helps reading you I feel like I can overcome this.

 

[lifeline]

@kara1991 I’m so glad I could help! Tears have also been a part of the process for me. One time I had a super hard time with a WOD because the song playing brought up unpleasant memories and thoughts. I think it’s kind of like Yoga where intense activity heightens your emotions. You got this, walking in the door is the hardest part and you are miles ahead of your former self lounging on the sofa!

 

[mdstehling]

@kara1991 Better at cardio = does more cardio. No shortcuts.

 

[clayhughes76]

@kara1991 Just a heads up, there is a lot of great advice in this thread but if you try these things and your cardio is still really bad consider having your doctor check your iron levels at your next checkup. I had been doing CrossFit for three years and my cardio never improved but only seemed to get worse. My mom discovered she had cancer because she couldn’t breathe, which pushed me to start investigating. The first doctor I saw said I had a case of the 2020s and did nothing, but the second doctor I saw ran a full blood panel and it showed that my iron was SUPER low. Now I take iron and get infusions once a year, but because I wasn’t taken seriously by the first person I saw I now tell women to have their iron checked regularly (yearly).

 

[laurelflower]

@kara1991 The only way is losing a lot of weight, even the fittest girl in your gym would be struggling with a 40 kg bag on her shoulders.

 

[kara1991]

@laurelflower I started at 120kg

 

[animated201]

@kara1991 I ran into the same problem, and supplemented my cf with jogging on my off days. Made a difference. Also, I found 2 times a week of cf wasn't enough.