Gist is this:
- My goal with cardio is health/longevity
- I struggle to get and maintain a high BPM due to local muscle fatigue. Around 150 BPM or so seems be a wall of sorts
- I can however maintain up to 140 or so BPM no problem
Things I've tried:
- Jogging/running. This would work, but I get shin splints very easily. I've tried various things and it's been a problem since I was a kid. I think there's something just physiologically wrong with my shins and I give up here
- Fast walking, on an incline - I can do this, but my heart rate won't go above 150 or so
- Jump roping - also shin splints. Running gives my shin splints on the front, these give them on the inner sides and it is awful
- Stair climber - no shin splints, but my glutes tire out before I get a good cardio workout. I've really put some effort into these and was able to go longer (best was 45 mins or so), but as I got better my heart rate wasn't going up as much
- Jacobs ladder - my Crunch has this. Essentially a ladder at an angle you climb forever. Like a stair climber but it brings your arms into it. This doesn't have a heart rate monitor on it so I don't know actually know my BPM on it. I can't last long on it, most I did was 5 minutes, but I could feel my lungs burning so I think it works. Other times my quads just give out too fast before I feel like I get cardio benefits
- A couple years ago or so I bought a fitbit watch (broken now, don't buy one) to measure my heart rate. I was surprised that my resting heart rate was in the 50s despite hardly ever doing cardio at that time. After a while of doing some cardio exercise, I think I got some overnight readings in the high 40s. Is it possible I have a hard time getting my BPM up because my cardiovascular system is already in good shape? Really doubt it but idk
- Does a long cardio workout at say 140 BPM work just as good as a short one at a high BPM?