Too much of a good thing? (Metabolically expensive workouts)

[Bytsi]

Originally Posted by Espi

The most interesting type of SS cardio are the functional (dog) walks/bike rides that take relatively little time, but yet somehow seem to have a much bigger impact than prolonged SS-cardio.

This almost sounds like the old "be more active in your daily life" kind of advice... the "take the stairs and park farther away" kind of things, rather than specifically adding SS cardio sessions... For me, I don't think I'd consider walking my dog to really be a workout (at least, mentally, I don't put it in that category)...

What are your thoughts on HR% or RPE for SS cardio to get the most fat-burn effect? I have always been a believer in higher intensity versus "fat burning zone" of 55-60% MHR with SS because it's still overall more calories burned (I don't have a link, but the math has been done and posted in many places).

Just curious on how this all fits in with what you're saying... thanks!

[Espi]

I've only recently changed my indoor cardio habits in the sense that I no longer strive to get HR up to above the anaerobic threshold viz. where I get out of breath, which is @ 160bpm for me (max HR being approx. 175).
The one I enjoy most is to start at a leisurely pace on the treadmill and then bring up incline to 15% and speed up to where I almost need to jog. This generally = anaerobic threshold. No intervals actually.
One of the reasons is that I'd get scary episodes of blurry eye vision when I used to do HIIT. Lack of glucose for the eyes I assume? Also, I'd get crazy carb/food cravings following HIIT and would overcompensate.

Yet, ramping up speed in a linear way can also be more demanding than you'd think. For a while I'd have the goal to spend e.g. 5 minutes very close to the anaerobic threshold but again, burnt out on that quickly. Actually this very method, when done on an indoor bicycle which shows Watt output and allows you to pace it at a given # of Watts is called the Conconi test. Used to determine anaerobic threshold & so on.

I've become much better at doing cooling downs lately. Used to stop with a mere 1 min cooldown. I've been told I'm having slight heart valve leakage/murmur and apparently it's better to allow your heart to return to a more normal HR. The most risk on heart failure is right after strenuous efforts without a proper cooldown. I do wonder if that's why it takes so long before HR returns back to a slower rate.

[Bytsi]

ramping up speed in a linear way can also be more demanding than you'd think.

Similar to the cardio workouts advocated in BFL? I used to do those, and yes, they can really kick your butt too!

[Espi]

I don't recall how they rec'd cardio on BFL, but I do remember their training sets very well: 2 exercises per muscle group and then 12-10-8-6-12 for the 1st and another one on 12.

In a similar fashion, I had no idea I was over-reaching when I did something to the tune of 10-8-6-6 - 20+ reps. That weight I used for those high reps was a weight I'd normally only be able to lift 12-15 times. By doing a low-rep heavy wt first, you can get crazy strong for a somewhat lighter wt. This however is about as taxing on the CNS as doing complexes. Yet, ît doesn't feel so intensive at all. Until then , sleep got disrupted and I felt tired and weak in the gym all of a sudden. Then a light bulb went off and I gave myself permission to dig in & pig out... felt great once again a few days later.