Cardio Coach fans ~ A question

LaughingWater

LaughingWater

Cathlete
How have you guys worked inclines into your sessions? Did you start with a small incline (say...1) and then gradually work your way up? Or did you start CC off with a bang, going for a more steep incline?

The reason I ask: I'm having some joint trouble. I think it's because I was doing a circuit rotation, and the increased impact (cardio impact from step + CC + circuits) just took its toll.

Back when I was on a 3 day split, with only 3 days of high impact cardio, I had no trouble at all. CC was a blast.

Now...:( ... I can't even do CC without knee and ankle pain. No swelling or serious injury fortunately. Just "Hey, TOO MUCH!" pain. I'm currently taking time off from lower body impact, concentrating on upper body and lower body floorwork. (Special thanks to those who mentioned the book "Pain Free." I found that via the Search function and just started using it.)

My speed while doing CC was 6.5 - 7, with the incline never going above 2%. It didn't feel like too much at the time ~ it felt pretty great actually.

Just wondered what others' experiences were. Any trouble that required a speed/incline adjustment? Did you try to do too much too quickly? If so, how did you modify?

*I realize this is probably a multifactorial issue (high impact step + CC), and I'll adjust my schedule once I'm back on track. Any circuit weeks will require low impact cardio on my other days. :rolleyes: Oh, if I could have my 20 year old joints again. :D

Thanks!
 
I do higher inclines but I decrease the speed. Well, most of the time I don't have a choice since I am running outside and I haven't found a way to change the incline on the hill :p

But the few times I ran on a TM I increased my incline and lowered the speed because of impact concerns. In fact, I am not running the hills, I walk, I walk pretty fast but still walk. It is a LOT less impact.

It sounds like you maybe overdoing it with high impact on that rotation. Maybe worth a try to up the incline and slow down the speed to a fast walk. When walking hills on the tready with CC my incline was between 7 and 10, and I was soaked, no problem reaching the orange zone :eek: but a lot less stress on my joints.
 
I don't use a treadmill but I think Carola gave you sound advice. If you have access to an elliptical, that would be a good machine to use while you rest your joints.

Carola, I love your signature quote! :D
 
I use an elliptical for my CC's. But yes, I had to work up to higher resistance. And lately I've been having trouble with the high-speed sprints - they give me hip flexor problems. So I increase resistance and slow the speed to reach the same perceived exertion.

I really love the flexibility of the CC workouts. You can adjust so many factors to suit your needs and abilities, and still get a dang good workout. It's harder to do that on choreographed floor or step aerobics, I think.
 
I like to vary them. Sometimes I do the entire workout on a high incline 10-15 % while walking 3.7-4.5; sometimes I mix it up and walk the hills at a high incline and run the sprints; sometimes I do it all at lower inclines, 5-8% and "run fast", ok, fast for me, 6.5-7.4(on a REALLY good day).
I agree that if you are having pain slowing them down and increasing the incline sounds like good advice. How old are your shoes??? I started having pains in my feet and knees....got some new tennies and took it easy for 2 weeks...all pain gone.
 
Running at a high incline is more stressful on the joints according to the physiothreapist at my gym. He advises peple with knee pains especially to run on the flats or use a very low incline. I never use speed for more than 40 to 60 second bursts at high incline. If the incline segment is over a minute I dont go beyond 3.5% if I am running. For the first year I never went byond 2%. I too, lower speed on inclines compared to flats.

I advocate too, using CC on multiple machines instead of always on a treadmill. CC as a treadmill run is my favorite, but I still get a great and enjoyable workout on the elliptical or spin cycle. If you are doing CC many times a week, it may be good to cross train on other equipment or convert some of your runs to run+walk or walk only workouts. When I developed plantar fasciitis I had to convert all my hills to walks and I cant say I got a less intense workout. Walking at a high incline (over 10%) is more tiring than running on the flats.
 
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Thanks, everyone. :)

My trusty ASICS were old, so I just bought a new pair. And while that may help a bit, I think walking the hills for a bit might be smart. I'll limit high impact step to once a week too. And during the weeks I do both step and CC, I'll make CC a low impact walk. I'd love to get another machine like an elliptical, but I have no room.

And here I was increasing my speed on inclines. :rolleyes: My brain thought it was fun, but the knees...not so much. Ah well, live and learn.
 
I hate to run, but when I walk on the TM, my inclines are anywhere from 5 to 18. I love to mix it up. Fast and low to slow and high and everything in between. :D
 
Ok, I AM gonna say something...

Don't think walking on the treadmill on an incline isn't a hard enough workout for you--you definetely don't have to run. Nothing gets me sweating like a good, hard (FAST paced) walk on the treadmill at the highest incline I can manage (although my treadmill only goes up to 12 for inclines :()

Seriously--you don't have to run up the hills to get your heartrate high. Incline walking is a killer workout. :)
 
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