I'm asking for the opinions of regular exercisers.... For the past three months, I have done 60 mins of cardio on the elliptical 6 days a week. Then, I might do a weight circuit ( not very often). It's like when I'm finished with the 60 mins., I think I'm done. So today, I did 30 mins. on the elliptical, did an arm circuit, and then I came back and did another 30 mins. on the elliptical....... SO, HERE's MY QUESTION..... Is it better to do 60 mins. of cardio straight or break it down into two 30 min. sessions???? Is there a benefit of one over the other?

Shorter and More Frequent Workouts

• Shorter workouts allow you to exercise more often on the elliptical machine. It is easier to schedule a 10-minute workout, than a whole half hour. According to Mayoclinic.com "Longer, less frequent sessions of aerobic exercise have no clear advantage over shorter, more frequent sessions of activity." Sporadic exercise offers cardiovascular benefits so it is more important to stick to a routine that is realistic for your lifestyle.

Bottom Line

• It is best to exercise on the elliptical when you have time. Any form of physical activity is better than nothing when it comes to fitness and health. Of course, the more exercise that you engage in on the elliptical, the better results you will have when it comes to weight loss and health benefits

hope that helps..Im a gym rat..lol

If weight loss is your primary goal in an exercise program, then you should create a program that necessitates 3 days of cardiovascular exercise. Make sure your cardiovascular exercises last 30 minutes or more. For quicker weight loss, work out on those 3 days for 1 hour or more. Then, incorporate strength training into your regimen 2 days a week. If you've never lifted weights, try an all-over body workout like circuit training. Alternate your cardio and strength-training days. If you incorporate this regimen with a sensible, low-calorie diet, then you will burn more calories than you take in as well as raise your metabolic rate. Then you'll definitely lose weight. Grabbed these info pieces from Ehow.com

When you, and others, say "Cardio", are you actually doing an "Aerobic" exercise....where you are actually doing 85% of your maximum heart rate for the most efficient way to burn fat....

Everything I do, running, elliptical, stationary bike, I wear a heart rate monitor and adjust the machines speed, resistance, incline, until I get to that "Level 3" heart rate....and it can take me 5-10 minutes to work up to that....

Reason I say this...in my case...if my total time for a cardio Workout is 30 minutes....

First I do a 5 minute warm up...starting with a walk and speeding it up....then it takes me another 5-10 minutes to get my heart rate up to 85% of Max HR, THEN my true Cardio actually begins.....I only count the time I am within that aerobic level....after which you need to do a 5 minute cool down....

So for me...30 minutes would mean I actually did only 15 minutes of true Cardio, at best...the rest was warm up, working up to the 85%, and cool down....

So, the way I approach it, for me to get 30 minutes of a true aerobic workout, I would have to spend at least 45 minutes on any machine...at that point I say screw it...I came this far, might as well go for 60 minutes.

Also, many talk about "Distance"...I understand, I do it also....I say I run 5 miles a day...but in reality I'm always looking for the actual "Time" spent within that Level 3 heart rate zone....distance is a side benefit....and is used for competition...

Edited February 19, 201412 yr by B-52

I really want to know what is better.... I'm going to get the 60 mins in a day. I want to know what is better..... 1 hour with wreights after OR 2 thirty minute sessions with weights in between?????

I think B52 may have answered my question the longer at my target heart rate, the better).

ANYTHING is better than nothing.....when I first started I could barley get 20 minutes at minimum resistance on the elliptical....

Bottom line....you have to do something, anything.....and go from there....

A bit of what B-52 said ... But I think it also depends on your endurance and capability for pushing yourself.

I love the elliptical for my knees. Unfortunately where the treadmill can push you to maintain a certain speed it's super easy to slow down with the elliptical. If you can maintain a good pace for 60 mins straight - then I say go for that. If you get bored, zone out, slow down - I'd suggest to break it up into two. I tend to do 20 mins, weights and then 10 mins more. My heart rate gets up / exceeds the recommended number extremely easily. I am also focusing more on weights than cardio.

B is my powerhouse hero..I just started the elip..hate it!!..I do it but walking & my strengh traing r good enough for my maintenance style..l'll keep doing it

Do a warm up, reaching a 110 HR and letting body heat up, 10 min minimum. Then do your circuits or strength training AND THEN your cardio. If you are doing cardio first you are burning your energy on that and then have nothing for weight training. Remember this, muscle burns fat even at rest. The more muscle the more calories burned daily. Lean mass is not bulk mass so do not fear being big, just lean. There are a ton of skinny fat people running around in great cardiovascular shape.

Do a warm up, reaching a 110 HR and letting body heat up, 10 min minimum. Then do your circuits or strength training AND THEN your cardio. If you are doing cardio first you are burning your energy on that and then have nothing for weight training. Remember this, muscle burns fat even at rest. The more muscle the more calories burned daily. Lean mass is not bulk mass so do not fear being big, just lean. There are a ton of skinny fat people running around in great cardiovascular shape.

THANK YOU.... This is sort of what I needed to know. 10 min FAST PACE WARMUP, then weights, then cardio..... I knew there must be some reason I saw people only do a few mins of cardio then head off to the weights!!!! LOL