Still effective? An hour of cardio, but a break every 10 minutes?

You will get benefits,of course.Doing something is better than nothing!
When I start running again,I will do wind sprints very beneficial :))

That’s called circuit training and it’s what my doctor, an Ironman triathlete, recommended I do. I run for 10 minutes, walk for 3, run for 10, etc. I find (and he said) it’s actually more effective than straight running. He said never to do it two days in a row though, because that would be considered overtraining. On alternate days I do strength training or Pilates/fusion workouts.

I find that I can’t keep up the cardio-kickbox more than 10 minutes without flagging. I have very good form and energy bursts, but low on tolerance/stamina. I’d pause every 10 minutes, break for 2–4 minutes until I feel normal, then resume the DVD.

Maybe I’m a “lazy” exerciser, but the breaks keep me going. I think this comes at the cost of, from what I’ve heard, “not burning consistently.”

… I would appreciate any advice or insight—if what I’m doing is any effective, since it’s basically a string of 10-minute cardios.

2nd vote for an exercise of lower intensity, instead of a full break. Then back up to full intensity. You can lower your heart rate while still burning away at it.

A full hour of actual aerobic exercise per day is good any way you slice it. Try not to take more than 5 minutes of resting time between exercise intervals. When you are ready increase your exercise interval up to 15 minutes then to 20 minutes then to 30 minutes. Try mixing up your workout by doing multiple intervals of 5 minutes of hard effort followed by 5 minutes of very easy effort (to recover). Eventualy atempt to go non-stop for a full hour by alternating pushing hard then going easy.

Use a heart rate monitor to help you maintain a good training zone heart rate. Keep a training log so that you can track your progress.

Our bodies need regular an vigorous exercise in oder to maintain good health. Make exercise part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth, eating, showerin etc. It is better to exercise a little EVERY day than to do a lot once in a while.

Good health!

What you’re doing is definitely effective. If you keep up what you’re doing, I’m sure you’ll find that you need to stop less and less often. Eventually, you will probably be able to do the whole routine without a break. Anyway, it sounds like you’re getting a lot of excellent exercise as it is, so keep it up!

This will be effective, but really the only thing that matters with cardio is intensity. You’ll get way more benefit overall if you do a shorter more intense workout than a longer less intense workout. Also taking breaks every 10 minutes will generally be less effective than just keeping going, as your heart rate will lower, however if this allows you to keep going harder when you are running then it could be beneficial. It’s hard to say definitively without knowing more.

Many people practice interval training, that is short bursts of intense exercise with “rest” periods of less intense work.

I have heard of people setting up 2 treadmills running side by side, one at 4mph, one at 10mph. You can start off with whatever you want, but generally you might do a minute at 4mph, then 20 seconds at 10mph, and repeat. As you’ve done more and more you could work up to a minute of each alternating. It doesn’t have to be running, you could do it with stationary rowing, cycling, anything really.

There’s info about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_training but really there’s a lot of conflicting info online about all kinds of exercise.

Really it all depends on what your goals are, and different things work for different people, so I would say just find something that works for you and go with it. It can really help to read about what other people find effective and try a bit of everything in order to do this.

I do this sometimes when I do Tae Bo or am jumping rope because its hard for me to jump rope for more than 10 minutes straight.I’m able to get through the workout better and put all my effort into it.