Hi All,
Background: I started exercising about 20+ years ago. I did all 60-min steady state cardio because that was the "thing" back then. I incorporated weights a few years later, but they were 5 lbs and looking back were not challenging in any way. I did the same 4-ish video tapes for about 15 years. I never knew to change things up or challenge myself. Even though I did the same cardio workouts over and over, I must have been in pretty good cardio shape because I could hike, walk, go up stairs, etc. without breathing heavy. I also take the stairs whenever possible (at work, in public, on vacation) and never take elevators/escalators if I can help it. I could talk no problem while hiking or stair climbing.
About 5 years ago I found Cathe. I started out with just her cardio (again, I thought cardio was the "thing" to do) and mainly did Imax 3, Step Blast, Body Max 2 Cardio over and over (again the 60-min steady state cardio thing). I was still in great cardio shape when I did my extracurricular activities.
A few years ago I started doing Cathe weights and loved it. I still did my cardio, but incorporated weights in about 4 times per week. I broadened my video collection to include ALL Cathe videos and changed it up daily. Still in great cardio shape - I could do X-77 without issues, Imax3 while talking, The 30-minute HiiT videos seemed like a warm-up, therefore I would do two of them. All cardio I did was at least 60 minutes long.
Then fairly recently I focused mainly on weights and incorporated cardio into my rotations. And the cardio I did incorporate was mainly HiiT at around 20-30 minutes. I did a couple rotations based on heavy weights - the rotations only had 1 day of cardio included. I didn't feel it was enough, therefore I would add 1 or 2 more cardios in the week. However, all cardio was short (30-ish minutes) and HiiT-ish, not steady state.
I have noticed that my cardio fitness is just lacking now. I went hiking a couple weeks ago and was easily able to hike, but I was breathing heavy - I have never done that and usually talk during the entire hike without issue. At work, I am used to running up and down the stairs all day long, while carrying equipment and talking on the phone, without any huffing. After I noticed this, I decided to incorporate more cardio back into my rotations. I had a hard time! I started with RwH Plyo (I know it is a harder one, but I wanted to start with a shorter video) and I had to modify the majority of the workout. I then decided to do Imax3 (a workout I loved but never had an issue with), and I had a very hard time. I did PRS (such a fun workout that I could carry on a conversation throughout - I know, not ideal, but my household seems to think that my workout time is their talk time), and again, while I could finish it, I felt the heavy breathing.
What I have really noticed is that my recovery time is taking longer and longer. If I was a bit out of breath before, I could easily and quickly recover in the timeframe Cathe gives between moves. Now, I either have to pause the video or go into the next move spent.
Now I am wondering what to do. With the heavy weight training + (minimum) HiiT cardio, I got great body results - very cut, visible muscles. With mainly cardio workouts with some weights mixed in (what I was doing prior), I don't gain weight, but I notice I am just....skinny. Almost like skinny-fat.
I do have severe (yet controlled) asthma - which is why I got into cardio in the first place. Having great cardio stamina really helps me control and recover from my asthma. I was thinking of doing half-and-half (3 days cardio and 3 days weights), however, that is what gave me the skinny-fat results.
I know I am obviously 20+ years older than when I first started, but this loss in cardio fitness seemed very rapid and tied to the fact I was only doing 1-3 HiiT-ish cardio sessions per week. I feel I really need 60 min steady state cardio several times per week despite all the studies showing otherwise.
Has anyone had this happen to them or any advice? Thanks!
Background: I started exercising about 20+ years ago. I did all 60-min steady state cardio because that was the "thing" back then. I incorporated weights a few years later, but they were 5 lbs and looking back were not challenging in any way. I did the same 4-ish video tapes for about 15 years. I never knew to change things up or challenge myself. Even though I did the same cardio workouts over and over, I must have been in pretty good cardio shape because I could hike, walk, go up stairs, etc. without breathing heavy. I also take the stairs whenever possible (at work, in public, on vacation) and never take elevators/escalators if I can help it. I could talk no problem while hiking or stair climbing.
About 5 years ago I found Cathe. I started out with just her cardio (again, I thought cardio was the "thing" to do) and mainly did Imax 3, Step Blast, Body Max 2 Cardio over and over (again the 60-min steady state cardio thing). I was still in great cardio shape when I did my extracurricular activities.
A few years ago I started doing Cathe weights and loved it. I still did my cardio, but incorporated weights in about 4 times per week. I broadened my video collection to include ALL Cathe videos and changed it up daily. Still in great cardio shape - I could do X-77 without issues, Imax3 while talking, The 30-minute HiiT videos seemed like a warm-up, therefore I would do two of them. All cardio I did was at least 60 minutes long.
Then fairly recently I focused mainly on weights and incorporated cardio into my rotations. And the cardio I did incorporate was mainly HiiT at around 20-30 minutes. I did a couple rotations based on heavy weights - the rotations only had 1 day of cardio included. I didn't feel it was enough, therefore I would add 1 or 2 more cardios in the week. However, all cardio was short (30-ish minutes) and HiiT-ish, not steady state.
I have noticed that my cardio fitness is just lacking now. I went hiking a couple weeks ago and was easily able to hike, but I was breathing heavy - I have never done that and usually talk during the entire hike without issue. At work, I am used to running up and down the stairs all day long, while carrying equipment and talking on the phone, without any huffing. After I noticed this, I decided to incorporate more cardio back into my rotations. I had a hard time! I started with RwH Plyo (I know it is a harder one, but I wanted to start with a shorter video) and I had to modify the majority of the workout. I then decided to do Imax3 (a workout I loved but never had an issue with), and I had a very hard time. I did PRS (such a fun workout that I could carry on a conversation throughout - I know, not ideal, but my household seems to think that my workout time is their talk time), and again, while I could finish it, I felt the heavy breathing.
What I have really noticed is that my recovery time is taking longer and longer. If I was a bit out of breath before, I could easily and quickly recover in the timeframe Cathe gives between moves. Now, I either have to pause the video or go into the next move spent.
Now I am wondering what to do. With the heavy weight training + (minimum) HiiT cardio, I got great body results - very cut, visible muscles. With mainly cardio workouts with some weights mixed in (what I was doing prior), I don't gain weight, but I notice I am just....skinny. Almost like skinny-fat.
I do have severe (yet controlled) asthma - which is why I got into cardio in the first place. Having great cardio stamina really helps me control and recover from my asthma. I was thinking of doing half-and-half (3 days cardio and 3 days weights), however, that is what gave me the skinny-fat results.
I know I am obviously 20+ years older than when I first started, but this loss in cardio fitness seemed very rapid and tied to the fact I was only doing 1-3 HiiT-ish cardio sessions per week. I feel I really need 60 min steady state cardio several times per week despite all the studies showing otherwise.
Has anyone had this happen to them or any advice? Thanks!
