Cardio decline

LasVegasFitGirl

LasVegasFitGirl

Cathlete
I don't know if it's me not doing enough cardio, my age, or my lack of interest = but, I'm on the brink of being 49 and I just don't have the cardio stamina in me. I don't mind some heart racing with some iron pumping or even some aerobics. But the Imax's and the MIC, some of the HiiT's are just not making it into my rotations anymore. I think there has been conversations on this topic before, but I don't see the "search forums" button.
 
I hear you. I am 52 and the cardio has been tough for me...I have chosen not to run anymore, but I have not given up my IMAX's or my HiiT yet. However, I have had to really fight to keep it and will do so as long as possible.
 
You're not alone! I'm a cardio junkie and love to drip with sweat but there are some days my body just says mmmmm.NO! So I do something else and go back to it another day. Biggest thing....don't quit. Keep trying and changing things up.
 
I try to do HiiT stuff from time to time (I dread anything 'tabata' but I feel good after. Has to be less than 11 mins though!), but my body really likes moderate cardio the most. Walking, hiking, kayaking. I have noticed that since I've started mainly grocery home delivery & am not bringing my heavy groceries up the hill, the rest of my endurance has waned. lol. Perhaps that was good for me!
 
I can no longer do intense cardio and that includes my long time favorite step. Now it is mainly walking outside. Weights and AWT are fine but not sustained cardio. I just flake out.
 
Funny you should mention this, LasVegasFitGirl. Just yesterday I did Tabatacise and it felt super hard. I took a few extra breaks during it to help me finish it. I'm 51. Lately I've been preferring kickbox and some of the LIC options.

Beth
 
I'll continue to add cardio each week. And I'll still be conscientious of those "off" days, but, maybe on a good day, I'll pull one of those bad boys out. I had to stop half way through Peak 10 a while ago, Beth, and I never quit that one before. But, I'm gonna chalk it up to a bad day and give 'er a try again. I love Peak 10 and the Xtrain tabata. Both hard enough to give me a good workout and fairly low impact.
 
I feel the same way, but not everyone is the same as we all know. I have a co-worker that has always been active (just running and starting to branch out into weights about 10 years ago or so) but in the last 5-7 years or so she has upped her training and ran the Boston Marathon and completed a half Iron Man, finishing in the top of the pack. She also just finished in 4th in an all woman's triathlon. She is turning 60.
 
When I was peri-menopausal in my early 40's I went through the same thing having difficulty with cardio, strength and also lacked desire to workout which was really difficult mentally to get through. Over the past couple years though, once I got through the crazy hormone shifts, I feel more fit than ever and am back to doing the workouts I love. Now tabata/ Hiit and high impact etc are not everyone's preference, but it's what I truly enjoy. I started attending a couple classes/week at Orangetheory recently as well and one of the young 25 year old instructors commented on my fitness level in comparison to the younger crowd in these classes so I was so appreciative to have that feedback and thankful to have had my Cathe workouts to get me there. So it's not all downhill with age, hopefully just a temporary bump in the road for all of us. But don't feel bad that you have to adjust your workouts in order to feel accomplished, we all have to do this at some point.
Jamie
 
jamie vaughn said:
When I was peri-menopausal in my early 40's I went through the same thing having difficulty with cardio, strength and also lacked desire to workout which was really difficult mentally to get through. Over the past couple years though, once I got through the crazy hormone shifts, I feel more fit than ever and am back to doing the workouts I love. Now tabata/ Hiit and high impact etc are not everyone's preference, but it's what I truly enjoy. I started attending a couple classes/week at Orangetheory recently as well and one of the young 25 year old instructors commented on my fitness level in comparison to the younger crowd in these classes so I was so appreciative to have that feedback and thankful to have had my Cathe workouts to get me there. So it's not all downhill with age, hopefully just a temporary bump in the road for all of us. But don't feel bad that you have to adjust your workouts in order to feel accomplished, we all have to do this at some point.
Jamie
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jamie,
It's great to read this and unquestionably inspiring.:cool:
And to all the other Cathletes - keep moving forward, adjust your cardio capacity but don't lose it and stay fit. :)
 
I just can't do much of the high impact stuff anymore... :( I hope these next
Workouts coming which are rated as advanced, will at least have someone
Doing low impact modifications on the higher impact cardio portions where
Appropriate ....even tho' they are advanced, doesn't exactly mean you can't be
Lower impact if you need to be...I so appreciated the low impact options in
Ice, it gave something for everyone.... And of course on the weight portions, you don't
Really need a modifier, you can always adjust your weights down if you need too, that's
A "no-brainer" :)
 
aqua girl said:
I just can't do much of the high impact stuff anymore... :( I hope these next
Workouts coming which are rated as advanced, will at least have someone
Doing low impact modifications on the higher impact cardio portions where
Appropriate ....even tho' they are advanced, doesn't exactly mean you can't be
Lower impact if you need to be...I so appreciated the low impact options in
Ice, it gave something for everyone.... And of course on the weight portions, you don't
Really need a modifier, you can always adjust your weights down if you need too, that's
A "no-brainer" :)
Click to expand...

I have some weeks I do high impact and others it just doesn't feel good to my body. I realize for me it has a lot to do with my cycle. I'm perimenopause which sucks hormones are on the decline. :( and severe allergies (with asthma) . I will have some days I feel winded from just a warm-up :rolleyes: I know the workout just ain't gonna happen. Instead of getting down I choose those days to just go for a walk or bike ride.

Then I have a day like Wednesday where I did 40/20 hiit and hour spin class. My heart rate stayed in the zone for most of the party. I was feeling high :D

I do modify a lot of the high impact stuff . I just wear a heart rate monitor to make sure I'm keeping my heart rate up. When I did 40/20 the other day. My legs did not want to double leg jump over the bench top. I just did single leg and my heart rate still made it to hiit level. Instead of air jack I will run in place fast keeps the heart rate up. There are some days where I will do the whole workout perfect but that day it was not happening for my muscles. My cardio level was fine but my legs just didn't want to lift together :)

I forgive my former perfectionist self. I embrace that I'm 46 and will not give up ;)





So as we age its all about listiging to our bodies.
 
Great discussion. As someone about to turn 46, I've been wondering about this myself. I can still do the high intensity stuff, I just don't want to. I'm much more likely to throw in a fun, dancy step routine than anything with HIIT in it. I can do RWH Plyo HIITs, but mentally I have no desire to. It seems cruel. Yet, I used to do that crazy stuff all the time. I was doing HIIT before HIIT became such a hit. At what age do we get to say "No thanks, I'm good"? Why do I have to feel obligated to do HIIT? I could very well be perimenopausal, but I wouldn't know about it, as I had my uterus and an ovary removed a couple of years ago. It's the lack of mental motivation that I notice, more than physical decline. I wonder if Cathe has or does go through this? She always seems to be up for high intensity cardio.
 
FiddleFit said:
I can do RWH Plyo HIITs, but mentally I have no desire to. It seems cruel.
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This is me. I can totally do it. I just don't want to. I decided a long time ago that my workouts were going to be fun. No point in doing it if I don't enjoy it since mental health is a huge part of my personal workout equation. I don't find Cathe's HiiT DVDs enjoyable anymore, with rare exceptions like AOLIH and the low impact RWH HiiT.

This is one of the reasons I adore Cathe Live. She sprinkles HiiT-like blasts into a lot of the cardio workouts but it's rarely ever true HiiT and I can't ever recall it being timed. For me it's a great balance between pushing myself but not killing myself. I certainly can't speak for Cathe, but I know she teaches multiple group fitness classes each week so I can't imagine her also adding in her DVD-level HiiT regularly as well. Could be wrong.

I find myself gravitating to metabolic workouts, kickboxing, and good old step for my cardio workouts these days.
 
lisa_la_machina said:
This is one of the reasons I adore Cathe Live. She sprinkles HiiT-like blasts into a lot of the cardio workouts but it's rarely ever true HiiT
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Same here!! :)

I know I mentioned it before around here, but I find tabata under 11 mins or so is plenty. Any longer than that is kind of defeating it's own purpose (IMO). Unless you are training for the Olympics or high altitude skiing or something. lol.
 
Hello all,

I don't mean to brag or show off, but I like HiiT and it's not a burden to me. It takes less than 30 minutes to do and for me it sets a benchmark as to how my oxygen/lung/cardio capacity is holding up. I'm sure there are other means of testing it, but if I can do a HiiT workout and feel great doing it, as well as after, then I know I'm not losing stamina or declining aerobically.

I'm happy you are all listening to your bodies, adjusting to your needs because that is what is important.
 
FiddleFit said:
Great discussion. As someone about to turn 46, I've been wondering about this myself. I can still do the high intensity stuff, I just don't want to. I'm much more likely to throw in a fun, dancy step routine than anything with HIIT in it. I can do RWH Plyo HIITs, but mentally I have no desire to. It seems cruel. Yet, I used to do that crazy stuff all the time. I was doing HIIT before HIIT became such a hit. At what age do we get to say "No thanks, I'm good"? Why do I have to feel obligated to do HIIT? I could very well be perimenopausal, but I wouldn't know about it, as I had my uterus and an ovary removed a couple of years ago. It's the lack of mental motivation that I notice, more than physical decline. I wonder if Cathe has or does go through this? She always seems to be up for high intensity cardio.
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This is me too (turning 46 on the 28th UGH!). I would much rather do a walking routine than anything strenuous these days due to an increased dread factor. Part of it is my knees - pylo and step routines blow them out really quickly. I was kicking myself for a while because I was only doing weight training but I finally decided to focus on what I think is fun rather than what I "should" be doing. I may be perimenopausal as well (I hope not!) but my mental motivation has definitely gone downhill. I still love Cathe's strength DVDs and some provide a bit of a cardio factor but I'm opting for Jessica Smith's Walk On walking programs instead of the hard stuff (she's not as advanced as Cathe but her walking workouts are pretty good and I definitely sweat). Isn't getting older great LOL?! :rolleyes:
 
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