How do beginners build cardio without wrecking their joints?

Starting cardio as a beginner with joint concerns is smart, especially after being sedentary. Your doctor's advice to go low-impact is spot on, so focus on activities like biking or brisk walking that won't pound your knees. With your bike and park access, those are perfect options, and you can even do marching in place or gentle yoga flows in your apartment on off days.

If I were starting over, I'd begin with 20-30 minute sessions five days a week, alternating between biking and walking to keep it varied. For week one, bike at an easy pace where you can chat comfortably, aiming for 10-15 minutes, then walk the rest if needed. Build up by adding two minutes of slightly faster pedaling each week, like increasing from a casual 8 mph to 10 mph on flat terrain. Track your heart rate with a simple app or watch to stay in the 50-70% max zone - calculate max as 220 minus your age, then multiply by 0.5 to 0.7 for your target.

Listen to your body and stop if your knees flare up, maybe icing them afterward as a precaution. Progress gently, perhaps incorporating hills in the park by week three for added challenge without impact. Consistency beats intensity here, so after a month, you'll notice better endurance without the joint wrecking.

Start with brisk walks and the bike, the way we used to do mall laps with a Discman and a pocket of printed photo maps for routes. I rebuilt my lungs after a desk-bound year by doing 20 minutes walking, 5 minutes easy spin, repeat, and I burned the same three CDs for months until it felt easy. When you can chat but not sing and add five minutes to one session each week.

Covered in the FAQ. Low impact means walking, cycling, or water work with 10 percent weekly increases and the talk test. Medical concerns belong with your doctor, not a thread we're cleaning up.

Back in my day and we'd just walk everywhere, no fancy gadgets, and it built endurance fine. I remember carrying photo albums on hikes, or listening to CDs on a portable player while biking - simple times. Kept the joints happy without all this overthinking.

Think zone 2 like good exposure, not blown highlights. Warm up 5 minutes, then 20 minutes where you could chat, then cool down 5 and call it a clean frame. On the bike aim for a smooth spin around 80 to 90 rpm with the seat high enough that your knee stays slightly bent at the bottom. Walk on the softest path in the park and let the talk test be your metronome. If your heart rate monitor argues with you, trust breath and conversation over the gadget.

Tried running once as a beginner, tripped over nothing and face-planted - hilarious now, but wrecked my ankle for weeks. Switched to biking, which was factual low-impact, and I just pedaled around the park daily. No joint issues after that. Fact is, start with 10 minutes, add time each week. I overshared my cat joining me on the bike once, chaos ensued when it jumped off mid-ride.

Walk every day, ride the bike sometimes, add minutes slowly, stop when painful.

Cardio without joint drama is mostly a patience and bodyweight problem. Bike is your friend because it removes impact and forces consistency. Do five days of easy effort where you can talk and you will get fitter even if it feels boring. Diet will do more for your knees than any fancy plan and so tighten that up alongside the rides and walks. Track time on feet and time on saddle and ignore the urge to chase numbers for a month.

Idk and this worked for me after a long slump and cranky knees. Treadmills felt loud, crowded, and weirdly stressful. The bike was boring at first and my heart rate monitor lied every other ride. Shoes and gadgets are stupid expensive for beginners and half of it solves nothing. I kept it cheap and simple because I was about to quit.

Five days a week, I did 5 minutes easy warm up, 20 minutes easy cardio, 5 minutes cool down. Easy meant I could hold a thread of conversation and breathe through my nose most of the time. Progress was adding 2 to 3 minutes to one day each week or a tiny gear bump while keeping breath steady. One practical tip that saved my knees was setting the bike seat high enough so my knee stayed slightly bent at the bottom. Timer on the phone, same time after dinner, no decisions to make.