good cardio ideas? no gym access?

Question

i need cardio excercises. I want to lose weight alot in my mid sections along with legs.

Answer 1

I have been walking outdoors about 8-10 miles a day for cardio. And i also incorporate the Windsor Pilates. This is sooooooooo worth the money. The Windsor Pilates with the sculpting circle is soo great. And you will lose inches fast on this program. If this isn't a route for you. If you have cable, watch fit tv. They always have great workout programs all day!

Answer 2

Congratulations on making the decision to lose weight! That's the first step to a healthier lifestyle. Permanent weight loss requires exercise, proper diet and rest. You will not be able to spot reduce fat. Fat tends to be lost first in the areas where it has recently accumulated. The areas where you stored fat first ie years ago will be the last to go. The good thing is that you can lose excess bodyfat but to do it the right away and to be healthy it will take time.

If you don't have access to a gym you can still get a good cardio workout. Take brisk walks 30 minutes per day. You will be amazed what this does for your heartrate and metabolism. Other examples of cardio include jogging, swimming, climbing stairs and jumping rope. If you want to minimize stress and impact on your joints, it is recommended that you restrict your aerobic activity to walking and stair climbing.

Always check with a physician before starting any fitness/weight loss program. And for helpful fitness and nutrition tips visit "Living Fit, Healthy and Happy". "Living Fit, Healthy and Happy" is a physical fitness resource website that is regularly updated with physical fitness and nutrition articles that are written by people who are committed to getting into shape. "Living Fit, Healthy and Happy" is also supplied with educational news and information video clips from HealthiNation, the Associated Press, Reuters and other media sources. When looking for sound and informative physical fitness advice "Living Fit, Healthy and Happy" is a great place to start.

Answer 3

SORRY!!! You CAN NOT target areas to lose fat, but you are on the right track for making yourself healthier and losing fat everywhere.

If you are not already in very good shape, try this:
Walk at a moderate to brisk pace for 5 minutes. Then jog until you feel like you need to walk again. Walk, then when you feel like you might be able to jog a little, jog. Walk, Jog, Walk, Jog... 20 minutes. Work your way up to jogging 40 minutes without walking rest.

Play soccer, basketball, or tennis.

Offer to babysit the rowdy neighbor kids and take them to the park... run WITH them, not after them :)

If you want to see how nice those legs and abs can really look, do plenty of ab exercises (look for Women's Health Magazine's 2007 workout guide), squats and lunges. As the fat melts, you will see those toned legs and abs come out - so much more satisfying!

Answer 4

If you look at "long distance runners" you will see that the majority of them are thin (compared to sprinters/short distance runners or other athletes). Start out walking maybe from your doorsteps to the mailbox. Day by day add distance to your routine and once you start going longer distances add speed. For example if you walk a mile in 20 minutes try to walk faster to cut your time. The more distance and the faster you travel that distance the more calories you will burn.

To walk/jog/run you don't need to join a gym, buy videos or expensive equipment. All you need is comfortable clothes and good running/walking shoes.

Don't forget to watch what you eat, since that will also help you with any exercise routine and it will help you lose weight.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I actually recommend losing weight by combining nutritional changes with gaining muscle (and no, I'm not referring to lifting weights and getting a bodybuilder figure). You can add a cardio aspect but I would start with a basic bodyweight circuits routine. They can easily be done at home as they require no weights or special equipment, will take very little time (15 minutes per day, 3 times a week), and you will be surprised how effective the results are!

First, let me point out that when it comes to "losing weight" the pounds shown on the scale only tell a partial story. In a recent Prevention magazine article there was an exercise comparison that measured real results for real people. There was one lady who only lost about 3 pounds, but should looked a lot better. The reason is that she lost 10 pounds of fat but through the exercise routine gained 7 pounds of muscle! So who would look better...someone who loses 3 pounds of fat only (maybe by running or some other cardio only) or someone who loses 10 pounds of fat but gains 7 pounds of sleek, fat-burning muscle??

With that said, I personally recommend going by looks (with the occasional weigh-in for curiosity's sake). I've been combining nutritional changes with exercise and have seen weight loss but even after the weight loss peaked (on the scale!), I realized that weeks later I lost a belt notch!! Proof that I lost fat but replaced with muscle.

I saw results in 6 weeks and at 12 weeks the results were continuing (results will vary based on your height and weight/% body fat and if you add a cardio component)...

It is best to focus on the whole body and not just one area (your whole body will tone), so here are my suggestions, based on my experience:

1. Cut back on portion sizes for your meals.
2. Eat more frequent, smaller meals. The usual rule is every 2-3 hours. But I modified this for myself to eat 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner; smaller portions) and eat 3 high-protein, unprocessed snacks. The usual rule for protein is 1 gram per pound of weight, but that doesn't always work well for someone who is very heavy...
3. Do bodyweight circuits three times a week.

My beginner bodyweight circuit program was (note: I'm a male so you will need to adjust these as noted below):
15 Squats
12 Pushups (can be done kneeling until gain strength)
8 bicycle crunches (lay on back w/ hands behind head with knees raised; rotate right arm toward left knee and straighten right leg but keep it off the floor; you don't need to go very high, just until shoulder blade is off the floor -- that's one rep; repeat on opposite side...)
No rest between the exercises, 1 minute rest, then repeat 2 more times. If needed when starting out, you can also do longer rests and/or 2 circuits instead of 3. I determined my beginning reps by doing each exercise until I couldn't do any more reps and then taking 70% to 80% of those reps.

The goal is to get up to 6 exercises per circuit (2 upper body, 2 lower body, 2 abs). As time went on I'd add a rep or two to some of the exercises, and then add another exercise.

For more details (too much to put in this answer :) see http://bodyweight-exercises.blogspot.com (I've noted it in the source below)...I've documented how I progressed, have links to good books/articles, my homemade (no protein powder) protein shake, etc.

Good Luck -- It is definitely possible to lose weight/tone, look and feel great, and do it all with minimal time commitment!!

Answer 6

Just a tip - start slow. When you start exercising it'll feel great and you'll want to push yourself. However, that can be dangerous for a beginner. You might want to talk to an employee at your gym, see if you can get someone to set up a routine for you until you get into the swing of things.