Cardio + Weights vs. Cardio and Weights

[Venus]

Hi Cathe or any vetrans who'd like to respond,

I've been doing your weight DVDs for 2 years and Kickboxing. For cardio I've either done swimming, mountain biking, hiking, walking, or elliptical. Recently due to either weight loss or injury recovery or some degree of both, I've been able to add step aerobics in a couple of days per week if I keep the step no higher than 6" and modify any really high impact moves (I can do some high impact, just not really high impact).

With the addition of step & some high impact into my routine, it opens up new possibilities for weight lifting. Some days it's really hard to get up at 4:30 to have time to do separate cardio and weights routines. I've been experimenting with your combination DVDs like Boot Camp and Body Max. I love the routines, but my question is this...will I get the same strength results doing a circuit as doing separate cardio then dedicated weights? I know some days I'll have time to do both separately, but lately time has been really crunched, so circuits have been great. Also, if I understand correctly (I haven't done it yet), C&W doesn't use weight lifting for legs, just leg exercises, is that as effective?

Or would I be better off to invest in CTX or Timesaver?

Thanks!

 

[kathryn]

I love the
>routines, but my question is this...will I get the same
>strength results doing a circuit as doing separate cardio then
>dedicated weights? I know some days I'll have time to do both
>separately, but lately time has been really crunched, so
>circuits have been great. Also, if I understand correctly (I
>haven't done it yet), C&W doesn't use weight lifting for legs,
>just leg exercises, is that as effective?
>
>
I find I get better results both strength-wise and cardio-wise by splitting up my workouts (and doing at least one Interval a week). I usually alternate days (weights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and cardio on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, with Sunday a stretch or day off---ideally!), though on weekends, I will sometimes do a morning cardio workout, then a late afternoon weight workout (usually full body). I also have been getting in a little bit of extra cardio by doing 10 minutes of cardio (usually a "Quick Fix" or "10-Minute Solution" cardio segment, designed to be done in 10 minutes) before my weight workout, for an extra-long workout and a bit more of a metabolism blast.

It really depends somewhat on your goals. For best strength/muscle development, I definitely think a dedicated weight workout (prefereably a split) works best. For the best cardio results, separate cardio works best. But if you are looking more for overall fitness, tone, and endurance, or want to emphasize cardio over weights, then cardio and weights workouts are a great way to do that (since you can't use them every day, unless you find some that concentrate on upper OR lower body, you'd put cardio in between the as well).

Unweighted leg exercises can be effective, to different degrees, but not as much as weighted work, though some functional moves (like one-legged squats) are very effective and use more of your body weight as resistance than two-legged, unweighted moves.

 

[Venus]

Thank you! To help define my goals and clarify my original post:

Goals now:
1) Gain strength (coming off an injury where I had to stop lifting for 4 months. I'm now almost back to where I was before the injury but not quite)
2) Lose fat - this is just as important to me as gaining strength. I have lost over 80 lbs. but I still have 10-20 to go to be at the BF% I want (20-22%).

Those are my main two goals which at times seem counter to each other. My current routine is like this:
M 30 min cardio, 1 hour full body weights
T 1 hour cardio, 1 hour yoga
W 1 hour cardio
Th 30 min cardio, 1 hour full body weights
F 1 hour cardio
S 1 hour cardio, one of the Core Max routines or pilates

I also sometimes walk extra or bike extra (I'm in a mtb club) and I usually do some form of stretching (yoga or standard) for 15 minutes each day.

Finally, I cannot lift every other day yet. I have to take 2 days off between each weight workout which is why I'm restricted to full body workouts. Hopefully this will change soon, but I'm not quite 100% better yet and I don't want to push it too hard and end up back-tracking.

 

[mspeace]

I would like to commend Venus on her weight loss. You have done a wonderful job!!!!

 

[Venus]

Thank you mspeace

 

[desertbriez]

--bump-----------
cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!