How Much Cardio When Cross Training? (Read 978 times)

RunCheffyRun

posted: 10/1/2008 at 7:50 PM
modified: 10/1/2008 at 7:52 PM

Backround: I am currently re-habbing an injury that I got 10 days before my HM. I ran the race, and now time to seriously get it right again. ( Torn Soleus muscle). When in the gym, How much is too much when doing cardio? such as an hour at a time on the ARC trainer or eliptical? I know many of you swim when injured, it's not really my thing, but I like a good sweaty workout, but just don't want to do too much while trying to maintainin my fitness level. my game plan is to rehab the injury for about 4 more weeks ( grade 1 or low grade 2 tear) and start back but at a seriously reduced amount of miles. Being a woman who is always freaky about every pound, I want to get as much calorie burn as possible, but don't want to overdue it. I am also beginning a solid weight training routine to work both lower ( quads especially) and upper body. Thanks for any input.

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mounteverest

posted: 10/2/2008 at 1:05 AM

Cross training might be your only answer, I am currently taking a minor break to get over some nagging small injuries that are just starting to creep up. I like the exercise bike(recumbent not regular) the best as no weight is applied to the feet, Achilles, or even Soleus, but I can easily get might HR up to 120 and I have also started swimming a couple times a week, if I was close to a race, I would try and get a floatation vest to simulate the running posture, with that said, I can easily see myself building up to an hour on the bike, plus also the stepmill and stepper are also favorites but your still supporting you weight which is a form of stress and a force on your lower body. For a Soleus, I would go with bike or swim as they are very weak muscles and they need some rest. Plus, you need to figure out what started the injury in the first place, I can trace mine back to possibly tying my shoes to tight or even having wrong shoes that don't match running patten. I also have a high arch which means less pronation and bad form, I was really built to more of a sprinter than a marathon runner.