Cathe - weights and cardio on the same day - counterproductive?

jenmgo

jenmgo

Cathlete
Hi Cathe,
Im hoping you see this post in the midst of all the others.
I have a problem - i am a cardio junky. I do cardio every day i workout.
I also do weight training (after proper resting of course).
If i do only weights without any cardio, i dont feel like i got a good workout - because i didnt sweat buckets or gasp for air :)

My question is when i do cardio and then a weight session in the same workout (say hour cardio, then your lifting workout) is it counterproductive? I'd like to be more cut and im wondering if doing my cardio all the time before weights is not letting things happen for my body. Should i do cardio one day and weights the next and never do them both on the same day (except for a circuit type workout of course)? Am i being counterproductive?

Please advise, i hope you see this. I dont want to be working hard for nothing. I'd like to work hard, and smart :) Thanks! Happy Holidays!
 
Jen:

weight training, unless done in 90 degree heat, will not usually make you sweat buckets and gasp for air. It is not supposed to, even though some workouts may have a slight cardio component, usually workouts of more endurance type or that use supersetting with no rest in between sets.

You don't need to do cardio of an hour's length more than 4 times per week for optimum health. Any more than that does not really have benefit for your health and cardiovascular fitness, all it will do is answer some kind of need inside of you: getting rid of anxiety, stress, a certain inner jitteriness? So put your mind at rest that if you take away 2 cardio workouts and dedicate that time purely to strength training, you will not lose cardiovascular fitness nor gain body fat.

If you really give it your all and get properly into the mind set of weight training, if you start a definite strength training program with a distinct goal and stick to it with discipline, you will find, as I and many others have who previously considered themselves to be cardio junkies beyond the possibility of finding the patience to weight train, that weight training can help control that jitteriness, can also relieve considerable stress, can leave you mentally and physically exhausted after a great, sustained workout, and that when you stick wih the program and work towards your goals, it will give you immense satisfaction.

If you don't already own them, I would suggest purchasing Cathe's Muscle Max and the Gym Styles series. I would recommend doing Muscle Max twice per week until you have built up considerable strength (probably a month depending on what position of strength you are starting out from) and then start a disciplined program of strength training with the GS series. You will make great increases in the amount of weight you can lift, you will see yourself getting visibly and demonstrably stronger and as this happens, your desire to challenge yourself further with weights will grow and you may just find yourself hooked!

Oh, and did I forget to mention? You will acquire a more compact body with more lean muscle tissue giving you not only that more defined aesthetic that you desire, but also greater muscle strength and endurance in the lower body to assist with your cardio workouts, thus making them more explosive and more enjoyable.

What do you have to lose by getting focused on weight training now?

Clare
 
Clare,
I think you misunderstood my post. I do a lot of weight training now as it is. i have all of cathe's weight workouts and i'm not afraid of heavy weights. I know its necessary to do both weights and cardio for optimum health. I've been lifting for a few years and have made significant strength gains.
I was looking for Cathe's opinion on doing both workouts in the same day and seeing if thats a good way to go or if it would be counterproductive. I know every body responds differently. I know weight training wont make me sweat buckets - or have me gasping for air. However, i do work up a good sweat with hard weight training, but its not the same as a cardio sweat.
I do both cardio and weight training regularly, and have been doing that for quite some time. I was looking to see Cathe's opinion on my routine/schedule of it and to find out if i'm counter productive by doing both a cardio and then a weight workout in the same day.

Thanks for your input anyway.:) Hopefully Cathe is able to respond.
 
Hello,

I know exactly how you feel!!! I used to do a weightlifting workout and then do a cardio workout afterward. I would not feel like I worked out unless I did that cardio portion too. I would do the cardio everyday regardless and then alternate upper and lower body. I would schedule a rest day every 3 - 4 days. I would repeat this pattern for a few months and then all of a sudden I would get wiped out and I needed a week off. My knees would be sore and my back would be hurting. My performance would suffer suring the workouts.

I don't know if al lof that was counteroroductive, but my issue was overtraining. After a few months of this routine, I became hungry, irritable, and just plain tired. I could not sustain these 2 hour mega-workouts anymore. Now, I have set limits. 90 minutes is the max - that way I can still do Body Max 2!! Mostly, I workout about 1.25 hours per day. I rotate the cardio and weightlifting. I feel a lot stronger and a lot better for all my workouts. I eliminated boredom and I look forward to getting in that workout. You didn't say if you had those symptoms so I would guess you are not overtraining.

Now, I know how you feel about weightlifting seeming to be a "light" workout compared to an all out cardio, foot stomping, body jumping blast. I overcame this thought by increasing my weights. I use the Gym Style Series, Cardio with Weights and I just got the Intensity Series DVDs. Once I starting working to my limit and pushing past, my heart rate would go nuts. After 45 - 60 minutes of purely focused and maxed out weight lifting, there was no way I could complete a full cardio workout - except for those new ones. (LIS is a nice light quickie if you want to add it onto an intense strength training day just for fun.) For example, if I would normally use 10 lbs for bicep curls, I would start with 12s and try to finish out the whole set with that weight. I start high and go as long as possible and then do 1 more and then drop down the weight.

Another thought is to consult a personal trainer or sports medicine doctor. I would think it really depends on your personal limits. I hit a wall and had to adjust.

Well, that is my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
 
Hi Jen-

I know you will want to hear what Cathe says, but in the meantime I'll offer up my .02..

I'm alot like you in that I like to do both cardio and weights on the same day.

I've found that works best for me is to only work one bodypart/day and pair it up w/ a cardio.

That way you can give 100 % to that bodypart you are weight training, but not be too tired for cardio ( or vice versa)

The other thing to consider is to do your cardio and weights at different times of the day.. Not always easy to do as far as schedule, but it does help with the fatigue factor.

As far as timing, I will do 20-40 minutes of weight training per body part ( bigger body parts mean more time! :) ) and 30-45 minutes of cardio depending on intensity. It still keeps you around an hour a day give or take.

I am a reformed cardio junkie and used to do a minimum of 60 minutes a day. I found that when I cut it back I saw better results. However..... I am not SO reformed that I can do it less than 5 days/week. ( I like to sweat buckets and gasp too, now its just for shorter times.! )

Take care, Lynn M.
 
Thanks for your responses, I do hope cathe can answer here. I do see on her rotations that she will have cardio only one day, and then weights only the next. So it makes me wonder about my method, and maybe thats why i cant get that more cut look. or it could be my food, altho it ry to eat as clean as i can (i do have a sweet tooth..and it IS the holdays :) ) and also genetics has a role.
Hopefully Cathe can chime in here and let me know. I love to workout, even tho lately i'm in a slump. I dont want to be working out so hard that im being counterproductive.
I like your idea of cardio and one body part a day, but some weeks i cant workout every day etc.

THanks for your feedback.
What do you say, Cathe?
 
Cathe i saw you were online earlier and was hoping you could give me some advice to my above question. So i am 'bumping' it up again , thanks in advance! :)
 
OOOOHHHH Good suggestion!!!

I will have to try this out! I think when they come out with that workout blender online it will be a lot easier to compile all of the exercises together. I am so psyched for it!





>Hi Jen-
>
>I know you will want to hear what Cathe says, but in the
>meantime I'll offer up my .02..
>
>I'm alot like you in that I like to do both cardio and weights
>on the same day.
>
>I've found that works best for me is to only work one
>bodypart/day and pair it up w/ a cardio.
>
>That way you can give 100 % to that bodypart you are weight
>training, but not be too tired for cardio ( or vice versa)
>
>The other thing to consider is to do your cardio and weights
>at different times of the day.. Not always easy to do as far
>as schedule, but it does help with the fatigue factor.
>
>As far as timing, I will do 20-40 minutes of weight training
>per body part ( bigger body parts mean more time! :) ) and
>30-45 minutes of cardio depending on intensity. It still keeps
>you around an hour a day give or take.
>
>I am a reformed cardio junkie and used to do a minimum of 60
>minutes a day. I found that when I cut it back I saw better
>results. However..... I am not SO reformed that I can do it
>less than 5 days/week. ( I like to sweat buckets and gasp
>too, now its just for shorter times.! )
>
>Take care, Lynn M.
>
 
Also, I like doing an upper lower split. For example:

Monday: Heavy upper body and cardio
Tuesday: Light lower body and cardio
Wednesday: Off weights and just cardio
Thursday: Light upper body and high intensity cardio (sprints on a treadmill for example)
Friday: Heavy lower day and usually I cant manage to do cardio on heavy leg day lol

and weekends are up to you...I usually take them off! But I like this set up so you can do both cardio and weights.
 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart.

CLARE, do you think GS is better than S&H? i have S&H, but not GS. and i have read that it is always best to do weights before cardio, b-cuz cardio depletes the ATP'S that are needed to build muscle.
i also want to get the most for my workouts. i am 52 and need the best results for my time, cuz i can overtrain easily. iam a reformed cardio junkie:) i thought weight training was a waste of time, boy, was i wrong. now i want to build more muscle.

anyway, i have rambled. hopefully, cathe will give us her answers too, but thanks for yours,clare, or anyone else who would like to respond.:7
cathy
 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart.

i don't know why this thing keeps putting my posts up high on the page rather than at the bottom, but hope you saw my post, clare.
cathy
 
It's so funny to me the way the most of us have a definite preference for one or the other (cardio vs. weight training) and how that impacts our perceptions. As a weight training nut I always feel like I'm accomplishing nothing when I do cardio. Or, more specifically, when I do aerobic dvds (I KNOW I'm doing something when I run on my treadmill because I'm ridiculously sore). But when I weight train, I go as heavy as I can because I AM WOMAN. HEAR ME ROAR!!! I FEEL my power. When I do cardio dvd's it's more like "I'm a fool... watch me break my neck."
 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart.

hi again, maybe cathe might see this after the holidays.:7
 
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