Cardio value of LL

A

Amadeus

Cathlete
Hi Cathe! Congratulations, I love boys, I have three. It's really cool to be the "woman of the house" isn't it?

I know you've answered this before, but I haven't had any results in my search.

I think I read in one of your posts that Leaner Legs counts as a cardio work out and a leg workout because of the "no breaks" philosophy it incorporates. (For me it's almost an interval workout.)

Do I have this right?

If the educated crowd can lead me to an archived thread that would be great!

Thanks everyone.
 
Don't really have the answer to this one, but I read in one of Covert Bailey's books that whenever you feel "the burn" in your muscles it means that they are having to work anaerobically, or without oxygen. Whenever this happens, you cannot consider it a cardio workout, even though your heart rate is up there. He says that...

"Weightlifting is not aerobic..ever!!!! You may think you are breathing aerobically when you lift weights, but believe me, no matter how deeply you breathe, you can't supply enough oxygen to the muscle to make it aerobic: the demand is simply too intense. To your muscles, weightlifting is not gentle exercise and is thus totally anaerobic, so fat-burning shuts down. Muscles burn only sugar during weightlifting, so they produce lactic acid, which causes that sensation called the "burn"."

He goes on to say that, in fact, all the fat loss occurs after the weightlifting session and the weightlifting helps you do your real cardio workouts longer without becoming anaerobic.

This doesn't really answer your questions and I cannot speak for Cathe of course, but just thought this was interesting.....Janice
 
Argh!!

Isn't that contradicting the Firm's AWT theory?

That would explain why I don't lose fat with the Firm unless I cut my calorie intake.
 
Maybe she said that LL is an endurance workout (as in MUSCULAR endurance) because of the lack of breaks, and you understood that to be a CARDIO endurance workout. I know in MIS Cathe says that even though your heart rate is up, you are getting a muscular strength and endurance workout. I would think the same would be true of LL, although with less emphasis on muscular strength gains.
Wendy
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-25-02 AT 10:32AM (Est)[/font][p]What a great thread!!!! Thanks for the info!

I've been counting the Firm's Lower Body Split as a cardio w/o because my heart rate goes up. But I guess this is wrong?
 
All exercise is works muscles

I think too much fuss is made about the distinction between the two types of exercise. Exercise is exercise, and all exercise works muscles in the body. The heart is a muscle too. To burn fat you have to expend more energy than you take in. Exercise of all types help you to do that whether it's at the time you exercise or later in the afterburn. Working all the major muscles are important.
 
RE: All exercise is works muscles

I agree that working all muscles is important, but I do think there is a difference between cardiovascular endurance gains and strengthening your heart muscle. Your heart will get stronger pumping blood through your body when you are strength training, but that won't give you the cardiovascular endurance to run a mile. And, there is certainly a difference between cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance. A person can definitely have one without the other; they are distinctly different things. (In other words, a person who does cardio consistently and using a variety of lengths and intensities will gain cardiovascular endurance, but may not have much muscular endurance at all if they are not training with weights.)
:) Wendy
 
Hi Amadeus! Sorry I took so long to get here;-)! I also could not find the post that you were referring to but most likely what I said was that you will get "some" cadiovascular benefit from this workout simply due to the nature of it (fast paced, few rests, and use of large muscle groups), but that I would not count this as a source for a true cardiovascular workout.

I personally do not believe that "heart pumping" weight training workouts can be considered true cardiovascular workouts. In fact of all the weight workouts that I offer, LL and
Power Hour are possibly only the two that I feel may offer just a small amount of cardiovascular benefit.

Any time a muscle contracts repeatedly for more than two minutes, it will require air, or oxygen, for continued energy. So some may view this to mean aerobic activity. But the common meaning of aerobic endurance is the ability of the cardiovascular system (heart, lungs, blood vessels)to deliver very large amounts of oxygen to the working muscles. This kind of oxygen supply is only available through vigorous and sustained activities such as running, biking, hi/lo and step aerobic workouts, etc. You need to do these activities for at least 15 to 20 minutes to build up and condition your cardiovascular system.

Fast paced weight training workouts may increase your heart rate, but only the specific muscles being worked receive the benefit, hence "muscular endurance". But the way the body actually handles that oxygen "cardiovascular endurance" does not get a workout.

I know this topic can get confusing and I hope this helps to clarify the difference:).
 
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