what do you guys think of this?

[Cbelle]

So I posed this question to a wellknown fitness professional (who shall remain anonymous):

Should you approach your workouts differently depending on your goals i.e. to look like Cathe vs to look like Jennifer Aniston (cut vs toned)? Basically the age old heavy weights, light weights, lots of cardio, little cardio question.

His reply was

"Not really -- what you do is train like you want to look like Cathe Friedrich and when you have enough muscle you STOP striving for increases in muscle strength.

Strength=muscle

You maintain once you have the muscle you want.

If you find you are too CATHE and you don't want to be? Stop losing body fat. Easy to fix."

So I guess his answer is, train the same way (i.e heavy), just stop before you get too cut. Interesting.

 

[Fit_mommy]

I am not an expert by any means so I can't comment on the validity of what this person told you but I firmly believe that there is more than one way to get the results you are after. I think it all depends on each individual. This person has probably proven his/her method to work well and therefore believes in it but that doesn't mean that another person could not get the same results with a different method.

Just my 2 cents!

 

[Muffin Top]

I guess I'm confused as to what you stop? Stop strength training altogether? Then what do you do to maintain? I'm just wondering what his advice was to maintain once you have what you want? Sorry...I'm just adding questions rather than answering any.

 

[Cbelle]

I got the impression it was stop lifting for gains and start lifting only for maintenance which I don't necessarily understand either I guess.

He also didnt address my cardio question in the equation.

 

[Luv2WorkHard]

Isn't he basically saying this in an issue of "muscle endurance" vs. "muscle building"? In other words, I think he is saying, when you are starting out, lift HEAVY as if you want to have the biggest muscles in the world. Then, once you achieve the level of muscle you think looks good (and we all have different preferences on this), you stop heavy lifting (which BUILDS muscle) and begin endurance lifting (which MAINTAINS muscle).

And yeah - he didn't address cardio. My guess would be keep it consistent, but he doesn't say this.

Interesting.

Dianna

http://www.picturetrail.com/Luv2WorkHard

 

[Cbelle]

Ok that sounds about right. My question about the cardio was

Is less more? For example, Body For Life touts 20 mins 3x/week but virtually everyone else says at least 4x/week for 30-60 mins for weight loss.

 

[Luv2WorkHard]

The amount of cardio required for weight loss is one of the big mysteries of the world, it seems! This is probably because there are SO many variables (natural body type, metabolism, diet, type of cardio, amount of muscle mass, etc.) The variables are endless.

While I do not have a cut and dry answer (if I did, I'd be a millionaire!) I have consistently heard that if you want to achieve weight loss, you have to do a MINIMUM of 20-30 minutes of cardio, 3-4 times per week. Again, this is minimum. I would always recommend more if you truly want to achieve some weigth loss results (45-60 minutes, 5-6 days per week). This is just my opinion and what has worked for me. WAY back in the day, I can remember working out a few times a week for 30 mintutes. Did it make a difference in my physique? Sure. Did it make a HUGE difference in my physique? No. Once I kicked it up to 5 days per week, 50-60 minutes at a time, that's what really made the difference in my fat loss.

Dianna

http://www.picturetrail.com/Luv2WorkHard