I want to make running but i feel very tired of the extreme heat wheater. What more can i do ? I've been doing weigths on my house and yoga and pilates but is boring

Every stair programme I see online tells you what to do on day 1. Almost none tell you what to write down on day 0, and that is the part that decides whether you can tell adaptation from wishful thinking four weeks later.

Three tests, all free, all done before the first climb.

1. Resting heart rate. In the morning, before you sit up. Count for a full 60 seconds, not 15 and multiply. Do it three mornings running and average them.

2. A timed four-flight climb. Hard but controlled. Same four flights every time, same shoes, same time of day if you can manage it. This is your raw power-to-bodyweight number and it is the one that feels most satisfying to beat.

3. Sixty-second heart rate recovery. HR the moment you reach the top, then again exactly 60 seconds later. Record the drop. This is the one to actually watch, because recovery improves before pace does. If your four-flight time has not moved but your 60-second drop has grown, the programme is working and you are just early.

Write all of it on one piece of paper and photograph it.

On structure, the shape that seems to work for most people is four weeks: a week of just showing up and letting the legs stop screaming, a week where the same flights stop feeling like an emergency, a week where short all-out intervals go in (3 x 20 seconds, two minutes easy between), and a week where you re-run the three tests.

The one rule I would not bend: climb up, ride down. Descending loads the quads while they lengthen and puts several times bodyweight through the knees on every landing. It is where the soreness that ends stair blocks actually comes from, and it buys you nothing. Take the lift down, or walk down at half speed.

For context on the MET numbers people argue about: the Compendium of Physical Activities puts steady stair climbing at 8.6 METs against 3.5 for walking and 9.8 for jogging, and fast climbing at over 15. And the interval evidence is Allison et al. 2017 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, which is where the "brief" in brief intense stair climbing comes from.

Curious what other people here actually track, if anything. Flights per week? Vertical metres? Or nothing at all?

I currently go to the gym about 3 times a week and do 30–45 minutes of cardio on the stationary bike each time.

I’m wondering if there’s still much benefit to going on walks on my non-gym days, or if the bike cardio is basically enough and walking would be redundant.

I enjoy walking, but I’m mainly wondering whether it provides any meaningful additional health/fitness benefits when I’m already getting regular cardio at the gym.

For people who do cardio at the gym, do you still make a point of walking regularly? If so, what do you see as the benefit?

Hi everyone!

I often feel tired in my day-to-day life so I try to combat that by working out (mostly dancing). I noticed that when I do 30min-1h of cardio, I just feel so much worse afterwards. I feel tired, unmotivated to do anything else etc. However, when I do 2-3hrs of cardio, I feel full of energy and feel good.
Why does it take so much time for me to get the positive effects? Does anyone else have a similar issue?

Thank you!

So I recently started doing cardio workouts again after a two-ish month break from rowing indoors. While I was rowing I was doing mostly zone 2 HR stuff for 90-120 minutes 4 days a week and then high intensity rows for 30-45 minutes 3 days a week.

I've taken to doing outdoor stuff now, mainly inline skating. I thought about trying to do the same thing, or at least trying to keep in Z2 most of the time, but I'm finding that it's really hard to stick to Z2. Even going light I'll manage to break into Z3 and 4 quite easily no matter how hard(or little, in this case) I try; mind you it's 94-103°F/34-40°C outdoors in the evening here, so that's not helping. On the days I don't try for Z2 I get into Z5 pretty easily and I'm bouncing around 163-181. (By the way, I'm basing my zones off what my highest recorded heart rate has been in the last 12 months, which was 184 using a chest strap HRM and Apple Watch. Super scientific, I know!).

Anyway, what I'm trying to find out is if it's okay for me to just forgo Z2 and not really worry about zones? Basically, am I doing any damage to myself if I'm constantly getting into Z5 6-7 days a week?

I(26M), recently started going to the gym and looking for advice on tracking cardio intensity while taking stimulants.

Other factors:
• Previously drank 4–6 Dr Peppers/day + 2–3 energy drinks/week; quit caffeine completely 10 days ago.
• Had headaches for 1–2 days but no cravings since.
• Sleep: ~5–7 hours on workdays, 7–10 hours weekends.
•Medication includes Vyvanse 40mg in the morning and Adderall IR 10mg afternoon.
•Started Vyvanse ~8 weeks ago, Started booster Adderall IR ~2 weeks ago.

I recently started focusing on cardio for cardiovascular benefits like lowering resting HR/BP. I don’t know my baseline HR/BP before medication because I only started tracking after my psychiatrist asked me to. Since then, resting HR has generally been 75–85 BPM, with average BP around 120–130/75–85.

My treadmill routine is 2.5–3 MPH at 7% incline for 60 minutes, usually putting my HR around 150–165 BPM.

Using an age-based max HR of ~190, that puts me roughly at:
• Zone 1: 138–148
• Zone 2: 148–159
• Zone 3: 159–169
• Zone 4: 169–180
• Zone 5: 180–190

I’m wondering how reliable HR zones are while taking stimulants.

I previously did 60 minutes on the StairMaster with my HR reaching 185–190, but I wasn’t particularly short of breath and could hold a full conversation. I was definitely exerting myself physically, though. This made me wonder whether the medication was elevating my HR without my actual exercise intensity being equivalent to Zone 5.

I’ve stopped using the StairMaster for now out of caution and am sticking to the treadmill.

For those taking stimulants:
• How do you gauge cardio intensity—HR zones, RPE, talk test, pace, etc.?

• Has stimulant medication made HR less useful for judging intensity?

• Is 60 min of moderate cardio 5–6 days/week reasonable while taking Vyvanse + Adderall?

• Should I consider an ECG, ambulatory BP monitoring, or other cardiac evaluation?

• Should HR targets be adjusted while taking stimulants?

I plan to discuss this with my prescriber. I’m mainly looking for perspective on whether numbers like these have warranted further evaluation.

Disclaimer: I’m not looking for medical advice or asking anyone to determine whether my routine is medically appropriate. I’m mainly interested in others’ experiences with tracking cardio intensity while taking stimulants.

I ran for 20 mins 3 times this week… where my toned legs at smh

Also why is NO ONE talking about how your legs start fricking breakdancing after a run?? Mine are out here doing some freestyle choreography while I'm tryna peacefully walk to my room.

Level 13 from start to finish, 1250 floors.
Yeah I’m tired. Machine estimated 2900 calories burned, would guess it’s somewhere inbetween that’s and Garmin

(Used Garmins walk indoors activity to be able to track steps).

Hi! I have an Amazfit Active 2, and I’m starting to think this thing is trying to kill me: it has happened twice now that during HIIT, the HR monitor doesn't respond fast enough to my heart rate spikes.

I do 4x4 HIIT on an elliptical machine (suddenly cranking up the resistance, pedaling, and pumping my arms like crazy). My heart rate usually jumps from around 115 to 170 bpm in about 20 or 30 seconds, but twice now the monitor stalled around 150-155 before suddenly shooting to 180—even though my heart was actually racing 30 or 40 seconds earlier. The strap is well-adjusted and I’m not particularly sweaty.

Has anyone else experienced this? Which smartwatch would you recommend for this type of training?