Cathe - please help

[awingert]

Cathe,
I would really like your input on this.
I have been using your tapes since February and I love them! The following is a sample week of my previous workout schedule:
Monday: BodyMax
Tuesday: StepWorks
Wednesday: Kick-boxing
ThursdayowerMax
Friday: Firm Tough tape
Saturday: IntervalMax
Sunday: Yoga or Precision Toning.

I rarely took time off, working out an average of 28-30 days a month. My average length in my heartrate zone (Between 133 - 180 - I am 34 years old) was about 42 minutes for cardio days and 30 min for strength days. I usually used 1 pound weight gloves for the cardio days. It took a lot of effort to get into my HZ range and if I stopped to get a drink of water, my HR would go below my target range within about 20-30 seconds.

I got married on 11/26 (yay!) and was away and did not work out for a total of 12 days. My first day back I did PowerMax and was in my HZ for 50 minutes and entered my zone during the warm up! My heartrate stays elevated for longer periods of time and does not recover as quickly.
Since I returned, I worked out 4 times the first week and plan on 5 times this week.

This is my first question - is it better to work out fewer number of times per week or try and get back to the point where it is hard to stay in my zone?

Also, I have been back, my butt and hips have shrunk a bit (another yay!) - is this because I am losing muscle mass or because I gave my muscles a break during the time I was away?

Thank you in advance for your help and thank you for your wonderful tapes!
Angela

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Angela (newlywed )!

Congratulations on your marriage!

Wow, what a schedule. That 12 day break sounded like a wonderful rest and recovery session for your body

. Although the adrenaline that runs through our body's before we marry can cause us to push ourselves to extremes, it is always best to remember to treat your body with respect before it bites back in revenge. The pace that you were on(working out 28 to 30 days per month) can only go on so long. Eventually, your body would wear down due to overtraining and it would most likely be displayed in one or more of the following ways: mental and physical exhaution, acute or chronic injuries, colds and/or other illness', exercise boredom and burnout, irritability, mood swings, anxiety, and depression---just to name a few of the most common. Even though it seemed as if Sundays were your lighter workout days(but that also depends on the type of yoga you were doing), the previous workout days all involved such high intensity that you really would have been better off with a full rest day(vs. just a lighter workout on Sundays). I am a firm believer of rest days atleast one day per week. The body physically heals and restores itself and mentally rejuvinates itself. The quality of your workouts increase tremendously when your body has had some down time. Also, I always encourage high intensity workouts to be alternated with lighter workouts to allow the body a little recharge time for the next highly charged "push" day. Finally, I encourage cross training. I do see that you have a good variety of video workouts lined up but it would be the icing on the cake if you could also incorporate some outdoor or other indoor activities to keep the muscles stimulated through these various modes of activity.

With that background of information, the answer to your first question, in my opinion, would be to workout fewer days per week(5 or 6)and of these 5 or 6, make 3 or 4 of them your highest intensity workouts. I think you'll be amazed at how this method will also bring you back to the point where your heart rate recovers quickly after your workout(but in my opinion, a safer and more effective manner).

Regarding your second question, I think the reason your hips and butt have gotten smaller is because, as you've stated, your muscles have restored and recovered. Although a 12 day break is not the kind of break that I usually advocate between workouts(its usually more like one or two), it is the kind of break that I would advocate when I feel that the body has been exposed to high levels of fitness for long periods of time. So in your case specifically, I think your body's positive physical change was due to the loss of mental(pre-wedding)stress and also to the high gear/intensity pace it was on for so long.

It isn't overly odd that your heart rate is currently so high during your workouts and already gets that high in the warm up, since that is a body's normal reponse to a longer break away from fitness. To ease this transition, however, I would recommend coming back at a more gradual pace. I think 3 to 4 workouts per week for two weeks in a row would be better than 4 one week and then 5 the next week. Then the third week you can go to 5 workout days per week. After that you should find that you will be more comfortable resuming 5 to 6 workout days per week(a friendly suggestion)without any problems. Good luck to you.

 

[awingert]

Thank you so much Cathe!

I really appreciate the time that you took to not only respond to my post, but my suggestions as well.
Thanks again!
Angela