cardio and weight training (kind of long!)

[jennifer2]

Cathe,

In an older post, you told someone who wanted to get really defined that she should take care not to "overdo" her cardio so that it wouldn't sabotage her strength training gains. I was just wondering, what would you consider "overdoing" cardio?

I'm at a point right now where I'm really happy with the muscles I've gotten with my weight training (thanks to your wonderful tapes, of course

). I see a hint of definition, and I *know* I would see a lot more "cut" in my muscles if I could only get this layer of fat off! I figured my strategy now should be to do more of a maintainance routine for my strength (since I'm not really looking to make any major gains--I'd love to get stronger still, but I think that's just going to take time), but now really focus on upping my cardio so that it gets this stubborn layer of fat to go away (or at least reduce LOL).

Anyhow, I want to make sure I get enough cardio that I accomplish my fatburning goals, but at the same time, I don't want to "overdo" the cardio and get rid of the muscle I've worked so hard to get. Any advice on how much cardio (or maybe what kind) I should shoot for? Right now I do cardio about 3 times a week for 45-60 minutes. I do step, run/walk, and kickboxing, so I do make an effort to do different activities...

Thanks in advance

PS As per your advice to me a long time ago, I have decided to meet with a nutritionist (I had an appointment two weeks ago, but we had to reschedule), so I hope that ensures that nutrition part will be taken care of

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Jennifer!

I would say that more than 5 to 6 cardio workouts per week is too much. There are always exceptions to every rule but, generally speaking, I would say going past 5 or 6 cardio sessions per week (unless they are 20 to 30 minute varied intensity workouts)is setting your body up for potential overtraining.

In your case, as a suggestion, I would recommend doing a fourth cardio per week. I would make it an interval workout to really shock your metabolism. This in combination with what your nutritionist suggests (food selection wise) will most likely produce the results you are looking for.

As for maintainence with your weight program, I would suggest doing a maintenance program for three weeks and then hitting it hard again for 3 weeks. Keep alternating in this fashion in addition to the above cardio and diet changes. Good Luck!

 

[jennifer2]

Thank you, Cathe!!

I'm willing to work hard, but I just wanted to check with you first so I didn't have to work *too* hard and find myself getting burned out and lethargic LOL!

Thanks as always for the motivation