Fitness Goals Support Group

Make haste slowly.

By that I mean don't try to do it all at once, guaranteed failure if you do.

I think ideally you have several cardio choices that you are comfortable with, and you alternate among them to prevent overuse injuries. You need to engage in the activity for at least 20 minutes at an elevated heart rate to get the aerobic effect. For most people that means 5-10 minutes of warm up and 5-10 minutes of cool down, so the session is 30-40 minutes long to get the effect.

If you dig around the archives here you'll find several discussions of HIIT, or "High Intensity Interval Training." You can also do an internet search and find numerous articles that explain the technique in greater detail. Basically it's a series of "sprints" that you do during your 20 minutes elevated heart-rate. You increase the intensity (speed, difficulty, etc) for a minute or so, then decrease to regular pace for a minute or so, and do this 4 or 5 times before your cool down. Each intensity burst should be slightly more demanding than the last, so you can do that by going either faster, with greater resistance, or for longer.

I think the articles you will find will recommend an ideal heart rate range at which you should be working, so if you have a heart rate monitor, it's a good way to make sure you aren't over-taxing yourself while you build endurance.

You can also use your weight-training to assist endurance goals by using light weights and high reps with little rest between exercises. I highly recommend consulting with a trainer before starting this kind of program only because it is too easy to injure yourself with incorrect form.

I like the description Bill Phillips gives in his book and website Body for Life, but don't get suckered in to buying product - he's selling supplements and can easily talk you into spending thousands (been there, done that, shoulda saved the money and spent it at the grocery store on good quality food).

At the risk of repeating myself: It's also important to give your body adequate time to rest and recover between workouts. You can do cardio more frequently than weight-training, but if you don't take some time off each week or at least switch your cardio activities you can really hurt yourself. Tendinitis is not fun.

good luck!
Brian

i cant run because of my cp... what should i do to gett my endurance?

Okay - you don't have to run to get good cardio!

My knees don't sustain the jarring of running anymore, so often I will walk at a brisk pace. You can increase the effect by swinging your arms more, some people add intensity to that by carrying small weights.

If your gait does not allow you to sustain a brisk walk you should check out the cardio machines at your local gym. Most will have a variety of stationary bikes, treadmills, elliptical gliders, stair machines, rowing machines. Since some of the members of my gym don't have the use of their lower extremities (wheelchair bound) there is an upper body cardio machine. It looks like bicycle pedals, except at chest level and "pedalled" with hands.

I personally like cycling and spin classes (mimics riding a road bike), my second favorite being the rowing machine. Rowing is a no-impact full body (upper and lower) movement, I often use it before lifting weights to loosen up the joints.