I suck at cardio

Okay I lift weights for about 30-40 minutes at the gym doing two cycles of 20 reps of every machine my gym has, the lifting is hard tends to get my heart pumping.  However, then I totally flake out!  I try to get on the treadmill I walk at 3.7 on an 2% incline and hold a three pound weight in each hand.  Everyday I get on and tell myself that I will stay on that treadmill until I have reached 30 minutes.  However by 10 min. max I totally flake and get off and go home.  It is like I have cardio ADD I want to do cardio I really do but I never seem to make it.  I have try doing ten minutes each on the bike, treadmill, and elliptical because I thought that maybe that would keep me on track, but it just seems impossible!  I just don't know how to get enough cardio to burn around 300 calories when I can't even manage to burn 100.  Any advice would be SO great because at this point I am at my wits ends with my totally lack of cardio focus.

Whenver I took a harder gym class that actually did circuits and heavy weight training, I always noticed that they did the cardio stuff FIRST and then the weights. Since you are struggling so much with the cardio, switch your routine and do your cardio first and your weights last, Perhaps that will make things easier and your heart rate will still get up there even doing the same speed and incline as you were before.

 Hope that helps you

^_^ GOOD LUCK!

I try to do at least 20 minutes of cardio BEFORE my weight routine or weight class because, like you, I often find my muscles are a bit slugish after the weights. It helps me warm up good for the weights and guarantees that I get at least 20 minutes in. Another trick, when I have the time, is to break up my cardio.  A brisk walk or short run in the morning before work and then weights and some cardio later in the day during my normal workout time.

Original Post by girlie1:

Okay I lift weights for about 30-40 minutes at the gym doing two cycles of 20 reps of every machine my gym has, the lifting is hard tends to get my heart pumping. However, then I totally flake out! I try to get on the treadmill I walk at 3.7 on an 2% incline and hold a three pound weight in each hand. Everyday I get on and tell myself that I will stay on that treadmill until I have reached 30 minutes. However by 10 min. max I totally flake and get off and go home. It is like I have cardio ADD I want to do cardio I really do but I never seem to make it. I have try doing ten minutes each on the bike, treadmill, and elliptical because I thought that maybe that would keep me on track, but it just seems impossible! I just don't know how to get enough cardio to burn around 300 calories when I can't even manage to burn 100. Any advice would be SO great because at this point I am at my wits ends with my totally lack of cardio focus.

 You'll get more bang for your buck if you do the weights before the cardio.

Why don't you try splitting your weights up.  Do half then to some cardio and then back to the weights.  You can alter this set up every now and then, anyway because our bodies get used to a certain routine and the effects become minimal.

Give it a try-let me know how it goes, OK?

 

oh i understand u compleatly. what i found out that helped is to not go on the tredmill. i hate running i get board realy fast. so i tryed the other machines and found that i enjoyed it a lot more and could stay on them for a longer time, and i switched up what machine i was using. like 10 min on eliptical 10 on the bic.  etc.

Hey I know EXACTLY what you mean, i think i even started a smililar post once. 

2 things that have helped me are...

1.  have a goal, i signed myself up for a 5K run in May, and am following the couch 2 5K plan.  quite a few people are doing the same thing so its great to get motivation from them.  the outline gives me something to follow, and its a great feeling once i complete each day.

2.  I also love classes, when you're surrounded by people doing the same thing its harder to give up, and you always have the instructor there pushing you.  before you know it you've completed 60 mins of cardio and actually have had fun!

 

Well I would do weights one day and cardio the next or warm up for a bit on the treadmill 10 min then hit the weights for one circuit and then do your cardio.  Also if you are doing 2 sets of 20 reps your doing too light of weights??  WEights should be 8 - 12 reps of 3 sets and those last couple need to be hard to complete due to muscle fatigue.  So do only one circuit 3 sets of 8 - 12 at heavier weights then hit the cardio machines. 

I agree with others in that the treadmill is terribly boring.  Try walking in the fresh outdoors instead or use the elliptical, rowing machine stair stepper or bikes.  Take an aerobic class as lilreenz suggested.  I take a cardio class and its great and hard not to complete it when you see others struggling just as much as you.

Thank you all so much for all your suggestions.  I am heading to the gym today and intend on trying out all of them over the next week or so.  I hope that I can find a pattern that will really allow me to do the cardio I need without giving up the weights that hav really helped shape up my body these last couple months.  Wish me luck and I will keep you posted!

you could also try bringing something to read like a magazine or book. Whenever I do cardio I bring a book and I quickly loose track of time and can easily keep going for an hour or more if i want to.

 It's also a good idea to cover the timer on whatever machine you are using so that way the time doesn't seem to drag by.

I have to listen to tunes or a ballgame or something to distract myself too with Cardio.  When I am home I"ll watch tv or put in a movie dvd or sometimes if you have a favorite tv series get the dvd's and they are 40 min if its an hour show on regular tv at least, so watch an episode then you'll have a good workout in no time.

Yeah, the cardio machines can be really boring...I hated doing it too until I switched to a gym that has little TVs on every piece of cardio! 

There is no way I can read a book or magazine while doing cardio.  I would soak the pages with sweat!  Kind of like the whole carrying on a conversation while doing cardio, for me, that is an exercise in futility...or I am not working hard enough...