Do you do cardio vascular exercise regularly?

For me, the most beneficial exercise I have found is very high intensity interval training. Work got very stressful over the last 6 months or so, so I've scaled back to 30 minutes of aerobics and a little bit of strength training.

The really helpful stuff, as far as language learning is concerned were intervals like:
Treadmill / one minute on, one minute off, increase speed and incline each interval. 6 times
Mix push/pull/legs/core: 10 pushups/10 lying pullups/10 flights on stairmaster/10 V ups/ rest 15 seconds/10 times.
Another: rowing machine 250 meters (100 resting/150 sprinting), 10 pushups, 10 V ups/ 10 rounds
Elipitical: various intervals like 30/30 seconds for 10 rounds (plus warmup and cooldown)
Magic 50: 5 dumbell snatches (per arm), 5 dumbell swings (per arm), 10 burpees, rest 60 seconds. 5 rounds
All of those workouts only lasted about 20 minutes total. For me, they would put me in the 85-100% max heart rate range for a significant portion of the workout.

Just writing that all out has me thinking about easing back into it. (Obviously it was very intense and requires that your sort of in shape to begin with).

As a note, easing into it can include:
Lower speeds, less rounds, lighter weights, shorter distance.

I played soccer pretty competitively until around the age of 14, so that was my main cardiovascular exercise. It made me pretty good at distance running, one of the best in my class anyway, even though I didn't do much formal jogging. After I got tired of that, I swam competitively on a private club team and my high school team until I was about 19 and started college. That was when I was the most aerobically fit of my life, going several miles most mornings and night.

In college I mostly stopped aerobic exercise, doing weights and sprints on a soccer field instead. This continued until I was about 26, when I hurt my knee, horsing around with my dog of all things. For a couple years after that I did next to no exercise, since every time I tried doing anything with my legs, even brisk walking, my knee would bug me, and I was getting pretty out of shape. I think this had a feedback loop with the fact that I was kind of depressed and not doing much with my life at the time. I started getting out of the funk and learning languages at roughly the same point, about two and a half years ago, but it was only recently, several months ago, that I started tentatively doing some weights exercises and realizing that if I did it right my knee was pretty safe. Now I am including fast walks as an aerobic exercise and I plan to try jogging again soon.

Girevoy sport. A minimalist, mesmerizing, 'Zen and the art of' kind of thing.

I have private breath yoga lessons, I like very much to go to the gym, especially the circuit training. Before, I liked dance, somthing like Bollywood, and when I was a child I liked gymnastic, but I was a bit useless LOL.

I walk with my dog once every day, sometimes two times. Otehr times I don't sports at all, but this is bad, then I feel stiff muscles and fat. I have hypermobile joints (double jointed) therefore extremely flexible.

I'm a road cyclist, but a bit of a lax one. I haven't been out much of late, but when I do, it's up a mountain, typically with a cat 3 or 2 climb in it. I need to do it early in the day though, as Sicilian summers are hot, and uphill in the midday sun would destroy me. Early starts also mean I can avoid the need for suncream.

I don't tend to push myself into the cardio zone all that much though -- I'm a distance man at heart. That's what saw me return from Corsica to the UK last summer by the scenic route: from Corte to Bastia for the ferry, then from Marseille up the Rhone to Lyon, then uphill to St-Etienne, down the Loire as far as Angers, Rennes, up to a friend's place near Saint-Brieuc, and then to Saint-Malo for a ferry to Portsmouth, and then on to London.

All this time I was pulling a somewhat overloaded trailer behind a racing bike (carbon stays, so I couldn't fit a luggage rack), and my god was it fun!

Over the past month I've developed plantar fasciitis in my left foot. It's very painful, and kind of depressing since I can't go on long hikes anymore - my activity of choice. I'm seeing a chiropractor twice a week for soft tissue work, and I'm hopeful that we'll get it under control so I can get my normal life back! Now that the weather is warmer, I'm planning on cycling more, so that at least I can get my body moving.

I finally tried about twenty minutes of some sort-of-jogging (not a long run, but repeated short distances) for the first time in years and feel pretty good. We'll see what my legs have to say about it tomorrow.

Here's what I meant by Girevoy Sport, this is the "long cycle". This woman is crazy strong, keep an eye on her unwavering form:



You can read about this Energizer Bunny here,

http://www.redwoodtimes.com/ci_9476832

10 to 15 minute on a threadmill at about 10.6 km/h every day. Plus 2km walk to work then 2km walk back.
More than that (or faster than that) would make me lose weight which I don't really want to.

My main cardio exercise is cycling to work every weekday, it's about 2.5 miles each way and the way back is all uphill; a bit of exercise is nice after a long day sitting down at work! It's quicker and more fun than walking or taking the bus. I generally walk or cycle most places, and I also do weight training a few times a week although I'm not always consistent about it if I'm busy or tired. As for the benefits of exercise, I'd probably feel them more if I could sleep more...

I am a runner. I have been running fairly regularly for about 20-25 years, although I did slack off during med school and residency. I have run 5 marathons, and a ton of halfs and shorter races. I have another marathon coming up in Memphis the first weekend of December. A few years ago, I started cycling and got into triathlon. I have done a couple of 1/2 Ironman events. I had signed up for a full distance in FL for November, but had some unforeseen events happen this summer which curtailed my training significantly, so I will not be doing it. I am keeping it on my bucket list, however.

For me, running is my therapy, and a stress reliever. A time to get away from work, kids, etc. Cycling and swimming are the icing on the cake!

Am curious, what kind of a doctor are you ?

I am a general surgeon. Went to Ole Miss (big win over Alabama Saturday). Went to med school in Jackson. Did my residency at Vanderbilt. I have been in practice for 16 years here in Mississippi.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeez.... you were pushing for the world championships?!? Even if you didn't get there in the end, that's bloody impressive!

These days once you've qualified, you go into a ballot, unless you're at the top of the game.