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Anonymous
Question for ya /fit/.

I've been trying to increase my cardio workouts by pushing myself to do things I've never done before. I was doing about a hours worth of excercise on an eliptical machine (roughly 600-700 calories burned), but I decided to take up running on a treadmill. While I am pleased that I was able to run about a half a mile without stopping on my first try, I noticed that afterwards I got the most horrendous pain with what seems to be my Tibalis Anterior.

After a bit of Google research, it looks as if it's just an inflamation and with rest and icepacks it will go away on its own.

Now here's the question. I'm all for "no pain no gain", but I waitress for a living. Having sharp shooting pains with every step I take is NOT fun when working 7-8 hour days on my feet the whole time. Is there any way I can increase my cardio workout without aggravating/invoking this sensation? Or is it one of those things that will go away over time?

tl;dr - Any cardio excercises you recommend that won't induce leg pain?
>> Anonymous
Shin splints or muscle pain? Shin splints you'll adapt to over time, to get rid of them you need to strengthen your leg muscles so they'll absorb the shock of impact better. Muscle pain is probably from the your TA's not used to being worked and are extremely tight. Gentle stretching should take care of the problem for both cases.

Also, R.I.C.E. your legs at night.

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
>> Anonymous
You jumped in over your head. It will go away eventually, or lower the intensity and build up to it. Some "good ache" soreness is good, shooting pain is usually a bad sign regardless of your profession.

You can try low/no impact workouts also to see if that makes a difference.
>> Anonymous
>>416805

I love the eliptical machine, but I'm not burning enough calories it seems. This is why I'm trying to do other things.
>> Anonymous
>I love the eliptical machine, but I'm not burning enough calories it seems. This is why I'm trying to do other things.

Variety is good. Keeps your body from becoming efficient at specific exercises (thus burning fewer calories), as well as keeping you from being bored.

But do NOT trust the calories-burned function on gym machines. Go by time and intensity/heartrate. If by the end of your workout you are sweating and feel tired, but also slightly energized, then you are burning enough calories. If not, then you're doing it wrong.
>> Anonymous
>>416827

>>But do NOT trust the calories-burned function on gym machines. Go by time and intensity/heartrate. If by the end of your workout you are sweating and feel tired, but also slightly energized, then you are burning enough calories. If not, then you're doing it wrong.

When I'm at a steady pace on the eliptical, my heart rate is about 135-140. When I intensify that workout, I go around 165-170. Does that sound about right?
>> Anonymous
if you can only run a half mile, then you're doing it wrong
>> Anonymous
You'd burn 600-700 calories by jogging at a decent pace for an hour. Considering that an hour long jog at a decent pace would put you at about 7-8 miles and you can only run a half mile without stopping, I'd say you're not working nearly as hard as you think you are on that eliptical.
>> Anonymous
i spent about 5 years not doing shit, then went out and started playing soccer again. and let me tell you the crazy, wacky pains i got for 3 months from sprinting around after being so accustomed to the couch: first my knees hurt like hell, then my ankles and knees, my thighbones, my hip joints, my lower back, my ribs (?!), the bridge of my foot, even my toes were in pain at one point... i figured it was all temporary complaining from a lazy body. i was right. unless the pain is debilitating, its most likely just the pain of getting stronger.

also, i get bored of jogging, so i just run as long as i can at 15 mph. so far i can go 3/4 of a mile, haha. that induces a lot of leg pain though, so might not work for you op.
>> Anonymous
OP - You have shitty shoes. Get better ones. Read up on the POSE method for running.

In the meantime, take two ibuprofen with every meal for a week. Drink plenty of water. The pain will go away. If you're attempting to increase the payoff from your "cardio" workouts, do HIIT or CrossFit metcon workouts. The high-intensity will kick your metabolism into overdrive and will take your body several hours to come down from, which will result in greater net calorie loss. Low-intensity, long, slow distance work like you're describing really doesn't take your body that long to recover from metabolically, and doesn't really consume that much energy in the first place.