how do you improve cardio ?

jleews6
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jleews6
Edited Date/Time 6/5/2020 10:18am
I'm just getting back into riding and I'm really having a hard time with my cardio. I have a hard time completing one lap and I'm spent. I know I'm old but what do some of you do to improve your cardio ? Thanks
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USA
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USA 6/4/2020 6:40am
6/4/2020 6:40am
jleews6 wrote:
I'm just getting back into riding and I'm really having a hard time with my cardio. I have a hard time completing one lap and I'm...
I'm just getting back into riding and I'm really having a hard time with my cardio. I have a hard time completing one lap and I'm spent. I know I'm old but what do some of you do to improve your cardio ? Thanks
Run, you night hate it at first but dont give up. Even if you can only jog a quarter mile at first before having to walk, just keep going as long as you can and eventually you will build up your base.

I say run, but I'd also recommend a road bike or something if that's your cup of tea. 30 minutes of running is way better than 30 minutes of biking, though. But theres an older retired guy that bikes through my neighborhood, he must be 70 and he appears to have great cardio, so dont psych yourself out because of your age or current conditioning. The human body is amazing.
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kb228
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kb228 6/4/2020 6:41am
6/4/2020 6:41am
30 mins of cardio 3x a week with your heart rate around 150 will get you into whipped into shape.
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ElliotB16
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ElliotB16 6/4/2020 6:42am
6/4/2020 6:42am
Run/jog. It won’t happen overnight but it’s a good way to build cardio
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misterwaterfallin 6/4/2020 7:00am
6/4/2020 7:00am
How old are you guys who are recommending running? That will put a hurting on your joints. Road/mountain bike, rower, stair master are my preferred. Low impact and can manipulate to get your heart rate wherever you want
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Tuna
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Tuna 6/4/2020 7:19am
6/4/2020 7:19am
misterwaterfallin wrote:
How old are you guys who are recommending running? That will put a hurting on your joints. Road/mountain bike, rower, stair master are my preferred. Low...
How old are you guys who are recommending running? That will put a hurting on your joints. Road/mountain bike, rower, stair master are my preferred. Low impact and can manipulate to get your heart rate wherever you want
My knees are trashed. I mountain/road bike, rowing machine. Long intense woods rides on the dirtbike certainly help as well.
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Gordon Liddy
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Gordon Liddy 6/4/2020 7:22am
6/4/2020 7:22am Edited Date/Time 6/4/2020 7:25am

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miketherider 6/4/2020 7:24am
6/4/2020 7:24am
Find a used fan bike. Probably find some for $15 or less at garage sales or FB marketplace. Start out 20min steady pace, then start to build. Say 5 min at “talking but hard” pace, then a minute at a hard pace. Repeat. Look up workouts for things like “high intensity interval training” and interval training.

You have to buy in a consistent schedule, 4-5 days a week.
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Magic Man
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Magic Man 6/4/2020 7:27am
6/4/2020 7:27am
If your knees can handle it, run. If not, cycle. Long sustained sessions to build volume first and then work on interval days to build intensity.
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Crush
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Crush 6/4/2020 7:28am
6/4/2020 7:28am
One word. Tabata.
4
muskyhusky592 6/4/2020 7:54am
6/4/2020 7:54am
My unprofessional opinion is you should run a base building phase. Most endurance athletes do this at least once a year. The goal of base building is to improve aerobic capacity. The Tactical Barbell Base Building program (outlined in the TB Conditioning book) is very flexible. I have TB3 and TB conditioning and I recommend these books to anybody who needs flexibility in their program. I did the 8 week base building program to a T last year and I was amazed by the results, my resting heart rate went from 53 to 31 in 8 weeks (according to my Garmin). After this program I also stopped getting arm pump, but I cannot say for sure if it was because of the workout program or my improved diet.
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Tuna
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Tuna 6/4/2020 8:02am
6/4/2020 8:02am
Crush wrote:
One word. Tabata.
Yeah it’s good.
1
PlainEnvelopes 6/4/2020 8:08am
6/4/2020 8:08am
I was in good shape, but would get arm pump really easy. I started doing 30-45 mins of jump rope a day and that has helped a lot. Check out the jump rope dudes on youtube for workouts. I started using weighted ropes as well.

With covid my local gym was/is closed so I had to figure something else out.
Crush
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Crush 6/4/2020 8:24am
6/4/2020 8:24am
Crush wrote:
One word. Tabata.
Tuna wrote:
Yeah it’s good.
Doesn't even matter what you use. Row, Swim, Bike, Run. Nothing will make your heart work harder, quicker and force it to recover quicker.

Although doing it on a concept two, which is my favourite, is particularly sadistic. Vomit-town!
1
bvm111
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bvm111 6/4/2020 8:29am
6/4/2020 8:29am
i finally bought a Polar Vantage to help with my Pace vs HR... I am finishing week six of running/ Cycling variable distances with targeted lower HR. I’ll be damned that the reason i was having a hard time with my cardio is I was pushing too hard too fast and didn’t know it, it was causing me to walk way too much! Since I have begun just 6 weeks ago My HR has lowered considerably for the same rides and work outs to the point the polar flow app was saying I was over reaching in my training to now I’m maintaining or under training. I will now begin to work in shorter distances with intervals to increase my pace and spike my HR more... something like an easy 2 mile warm up with 4-6 400m intervals and then a mile cool down, something like that. For reference I am almost 47, 225 pounds and olympic lifter body type.... I started at 240 and my goal is to get back to 185!
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Moto520
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Moto520 6/4/2020 8:29am
6/4/2020 8:29am
Elliptical machine is great for cardio. It is way less stressful on your joints (in comparison to running) and will give you great results.
4
JB 19
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JB 19 6/4/2020 8:33am
6/4/2020 8:33am
AirDyne bike. If you are older I wouldn't recommend running.
1
berm surfer
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berm surfer 6/4/2020 8:43am
6/4/2020 8:43am Edited Date/Time 6/4/2020 8:57am
You really need to be doing interval training. I'm shocked no-one is saying this. Get your heart rate up for a minute or two then let it come back down for an equal amount of time, then repeat. (Example: run as fast as you can for 60-90 seconds then walking for 60-90 seconds, and repeat that cycle for 30 minutes). You can do this on a treadmill, elliptical, row machine, spin bike..it really don't matter bro. Because of our sports intensity and so many different variables our heart rates are constantly peaking all over the place, going up and down up and down. Interval training will help you so much more than say if you just ran a few miles because your heart rate will be steady if you ran non-stop (sure it might be high) but for motocross we need to train for our heart rates to be all over the place and interval training is key.
b8res
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b8res 6/4/2020 9:51am
6/4/2020 9:51am Edited Date/Time 6/4/2020 9:52am
I use my Concept 2 rower 3 days a week @ 5k+ per session. I try to ride 2-4 times a month. I'm 57. I used my Polar H10 for rowing and riding, download the sessions for review.

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Black Diesel Bomber 6/4/2020 9:54am
6/4/2020 9:54am
Moto520 wrote:
Elliptical machine is great for cardio. It is way less stressful on your joints (in comparison to running) and will give you great results.
This ^ I can't run anymore but I can use the elliptical every night.
Black Diesel Bomber 6/4/2020 9:59am
6/4/2020 9:59am
muskyhusky592 wrote:
My unprofessional opinion is you should run a base building phase. Most endurance athletes do this at least once a year. The goal of base building...
My unprofessional opinion is you should run a base building phase. Most endurance athletes do this at least once a year. The goal of base building is to improve aerobic capacity. The Tactical Barbell Base Building program (outlined in the TB Conditioning book) is very flexible. I have TB3 and TB conditioning and I recommend these books to anybody who needs flexibility in their program. I did the 8 week base building program to a T last year and I was amazed by the results, my resting heart rate went from 53 to 31 in 8 weeks (according to my Garmin). After this program I also stopped getting arm pump, but I cannot say for sure if it was because of the workout program or my improved diet.
What is the concept? Give us a cliff notes version of what this is and what your workouts consist of.
Torco1
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Torco1 6/4/2020 10:22am
6/4/2020 10:22am
crowe176
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crowe176 6/4/2020 10:35am
6/4/2020 10:35am Edited Date/Time 6/4/2020 10:39am
berm surfer wrote:
You really need to be doing interval training. I'm shocked no-one is saying this. Get your heart rate up for a minute or two then let...
You really need to be doing interval training. I'm shocked no-one is saying this. Get your heart rate up for a minute or two then let it come back down for an equal amount of time, then repeat. (Example: run as fast as you can for 60-90 seconds then walking for 60-90 seconds, and repeat that cycle for 30 minutes). You can do this on a treadmill, elliptical, row machine, spin bike..it really don't matter bro. Because of our sports intensity and so many different variables our heart rates are constantly peaking all over the place, going up and down up and down. Interval training will help you so much more than say if you just ran a few miles because your heart rate will be steady if you ran non-stop (sure it might be high) but for motocross we need to train for our heart rates to be all over the place and interval training is key.
This is what I’ve been doing for the past year. I wear a weighted (25-40lb)vest and climb up and down small Steep ski hills and dunes a few nights a week after work. It’s worked much better than I expected. My heart rate zone graph looks like a Glendale whoop section when I’m done. It replicates what my heart does while I ride moto’s almost to the T
MDMCG
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MDMCG 6/4/2020 10:42am
6/4/2020 10:42am
Cycling. No secret here. It's why the pros spend more time on a bicycle than a dirt bike. 10-15 hours/week here, but I'm racing mtn bikes these days instead of dirt bikes.
kijen
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kijen 6/4/2020 10:46am
6/4/2020 10:46am
Im 56, mountain biking has been great for me, better cardio, some cross over from MX, at least it i feel much more confident in both. And its fun! When the weekend is full and i cant get mx in, i usually can get a couples hours mtbing.
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Sachmo831
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Sachmo831 6/4/2020 11:02am
6/4/2020 11:02am
I personally stick to 12oz curls
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dimesandrhymes 6/4/2020 12:19pm
6/4/2020 12:19pm
I do hour long rides 3 to 4 times a week at varying intensities. One or two is a fat burning heart rate zone like 130bpm, one at around 150 and then the 170s
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LungButter
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LungButter 6/4/2020 12:45pm
6/4/2020 12:45pm
Buy a pair of running shoes and use them.
VetMX.com
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VetMX.com 6/4/2020 12:52pm
6/4/2020 12:52pm
Walk on a treadmill up the hill. If it doesn't not incline enough, add something to the front so the incline is there. I am saving my knee, I used to run but doc said do that if you want surgery so no. Mountain biking in the sand is good too.
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Asselstine 6/4/2020 1:09pm
6/4/2020 1:09pm
Find something you'll have fun doing. That way you'll be consistent and you won't even think of it as training. Running rowing etc will work great if somehow that's what you enjoy but you'll probably be better suited cycling mountain biking or playing another sport.
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