General question about rotations

[NadiasStudio]

Hi Everyone,
I have been browsing at the different rotations offered and I noticed that there is not a lot of cardio; mostly weight lifting. Being a step junkie, I wonder if doing more weights/less cardio will burn just as many calories? Will it be better than doing just cardio daily? Right now my workouts consist of 5 days of cardio with 1-2 of those days doing cardio/weights ("body max" one day and "cardio and weights' another day). Please advise.
thanks
Nadia

 

[Aquajock]

From what you've described, I do think your routine could benefit from more focused strength training than is afforded by Body Max and Cardio+Weights especially. Although the ACTIVITY of weight lifting does not burn as many calories as cardio, muscle mass development creates more metabolically active tissue that burns more of your fuel as well as providing functional mass for daily activities.

Consider varying your cardio modes, adding in hi/lo and kickbox to prevent mental/physical burnout AND possible overuse injuries. Consider also bringing in some of Cathe's targeted strength development series, such as Pure Strength, The CTX series (which includes "Leaner Legs" and targeted upper body training 1-2 muscle groups per day), Slow and Heavy, Pyramid Upper and Lower Body, and her new Body Blast Supersets and other strength series. You certainly can do a strength component after a cardio session; that's my preference as well. But IMHO you need more strength training than your current program affords, especially legs.

Hope this helps -

A-Jock

 

[RhiannonW]

Like you, I once did the routine you do. I was worried about replacing some cardio with strength training for fear of not burning as many calories. Cathe posted it's good to shake up your routine, so I just bit the bullet and tried it. I kept my eating the same; did 3 days intense cardio; 1 day cardio and strength(Bodymax or CircuitMax); and 1 day whole body weight training. I was happy with the results. I lost a little weight, gained definition and felt more energized. The thing that did suffer, which bothered me at first, was my cardio endurance went down. However, after 6 weeks of the rotation above, I went back to 4 days intense cardio; 1 day of cardio/strength. I was amazed at how quickly I gained cardio endurance back. 2-3 weeks!

 

[hippahips]

Hi Nadia,

When I first started stepping in the 90's, I loved it so much that I did so much more cardio (80% of it step) than weight training. I was in my 20's and didn't really care much about my health per se; I just wanted to eat whatever I wanted and however much I wanted and still keep my weight. Back then I thought, mistakenly of course, that as long as I was sweating it out almost every day, it didn't matter what or how I ate.

Fast forward to 2003... Although I try to balance cardio with weight training, there are weeks when I do mostly weights and very little cardio. I'm older now, my metabolism is changing, and my bones are genetically weak, which is the main reason why I'm into weights more nowadays. Believe A-Jock when she says that muscle helps you burn fuel. Yesterday I did all upper body weight training and skipped the cardio because I was simply whipped. I had a full dinner plus a pre-bedtime snack and yet I woke up at 7 this morning due to hunger pangs. I don't know if other people experience this, but I'm finding out that I'm actually hungrier after I do a weight training workout than a high-intensity cardio step session. Maybe my body has gotten so used to the step after all these years even though I vary the workouts, my step height, and the length of the workouts.

Try browsing the rotations forum and see what interests you. It's packed with excellent ideas on varying your routines and adding weight training with your cardio workouts. I hope you find something that suits you. Good luck.

Pinky

 

[NadiasStudio]

Thanks everyone!... for your feedback. I think I will give the rotations a try especially since I am still lacking good definition in my legs and arms.
Nadia