Cardio vs Strength

J

JudyHoctor

Member
I know many of you have routines/rotations down pat, but I have been off of my routine for about a month. I am really having a hard time because I've not really been able to fit in more than an hour of exercise time into my day. I had been doing exclusively Cathe's cardio tapes and then switched and did exclusively MIS and the Power Strength series (?) (as I said it's been a month and I've already forgotten the name!). I am still needing to lose about 25-30 pounds so I'm guessing I need to focus more on the cardio, but I definitely want the buff look that lifting provides. How can I do both and still keep to an hour per day. Any ideas? I'd love a rotation if you have one, keeping in mind that I have all the cardio tapes and the strength tapes above (I do not have the CTX tapes).

Thanks! :D
 
By all means take advantage of Circuit Max and Body Max which are two of Cathe's "best bang for your buck" tapes. Body Max is longer, but you could do the strength work another day tacked on to another tape. Of course they combine strength with cardio.

Another alternative would be to sort of improvise your own CTX concept workouts. For example, do the HiLo portion of MIC with the chest workout from PS chest/shoulder/triceps, for an under 1 hours workout. Or the step portion of MIC with shoulders from the same PS tape. Or do a tricep workout then head outdoors and take a walk.

There's always a way. I'm work of trying to do the same thing with keeping my weekday workouts to under one hour....it takes a LOT of planning. I write my workouts on a calendar, then line up my tapes downstairs in the workout area.

Do you have cardio machines (like a bike) that you can use besides your tapes for cardio? Hey, anyone can walk!
 
You can always count on HB to give great advice:)! I love to read her posts.
The only other thing I can think of is to alternate the tapes so you get 3 days cardio and 3 days strength. You could do The PS Series on MON-WED-FRI and any Cardio on TUES-THURS-SAT. Of course Sun is a rest day. If you wanted to fit in MIS, do it on mon, wed, and fri. I honestly think (and this is just my HO) that starting back or just begining with exercise you should always start with a total body strength routine rather than a split routine. Just to build you core strength evenly. Than after a month or so switch to split routines if you wish.
Ok, that's about all I can think to add. Good Luck!! You can do it!!


Aimee
 
Hi. I'm reading alot about "circuit training" and would like some guidance: What do you think of the following schedule - Starting w/Monday. Please keep in mind I just did my FIRST ever MIS tape on Sunday - and used fairly light weights (first attempt w/barbell, etc.. -- they very cute guy in the store was MOST helpful..) So, Here goes: Wedding Vid Step, Wedding Vid Strength, Cardio Kicks, Wedding Vid strength, MIC, MIS.

I have very limited time each day and work out VERY early on weekdays(4:30am) - so am worried about doing MIS 1st thing - any opinions? I would LOVE to lose 5-10 pounds, but after three straight months, have lost nothing -- but I do feel better and my MAIN goal is appearance / fitness level.

BTW, If I feel completely wiped out - I will give myself the day off -- hence aiming for a 7 day routine, usually ending up w/6. Just want to make sure I am not runnign myself in circles...

Thank You!
Kathleen
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-11-01 AT 07:16PM (Est)[/font][p]Mason -

Re: doing MIS first thing in the AM - I read an article about exercising first thing in the AM and it said that even if you've only slept for 5 or 6 hours, and you feel a big sluggish, you will be the most rested at that time than at any other time in the day, which makes perfect sense.

I've heard that if you are new to AM workouts you will not lift quite as heavy as in afternoon workout, but your body will quickly adapt and you'll be able to lift just as heavy in the AM.

Your rotation looks good to me. Those last 5-10 lbs are VERY tough to lose. You may have to fine-tune your eating as well if you're not seeing any results after 3 months. Maybe even throw in an cardio interval workout in there to shake up your routine.

And, never underestimate the power of rest days. You may need more than 1 rest day per week, esp. if you are using your heaviest poundage. Some people see results with LESS workouts than more because they give their muscles a chance to recuperate and heal more completely.
 
Thank you SO much. I THINK I know what I am doing - but everyone on these boards seems SOOO knowledgable, that I like to hear it from you out there (especially as I'm new to weights). I'm happy to hear that I can do MIS in the a.m., as I was worried about only getting in one MIS a week -- I'll try to do that at least two times and maybe add one more cardio session. and REST. I'm bad that way -- I always feel I'll slip back if I take a day off. But I DO.

Thanks again for your help.

Kathleen
 
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