Hippahips:I have a question for you
- Thread starter luvmylbb
- Start date
Hi Sheir, pretty name you got there.
I don't really have a definite answer to your question. All I can tell you is that I do more of strength training than anything. Most of the time I'm trying ("trying" is the key word here, maybe even "struggling":+ ) to bulk up, which makes me hungry and tired for the most part that I can only manage to put in 2-3 cardio sessions a week, really... 3 if I'm lucky.
The only rotation I've ever followed was Cathe's May rotation. I do look at every one of her posted rotations and browse through what other ladies are planning for the month to get ideas. My body was at its best when I alternated a week of weight training with a week of endurance training, with the weight training week having less cardio and the endurance week having more cardio (this way my knees get a break), which is what I'll be doing for the next 6 weeks before Cathe camp. After that, I'll switch to something else, maybe variety training or a fat loss rotation. I get bored fast and my attention span is short, and I switch gears every month or two to prevent boredom and keep the body guessing. The big thing for me is to keep my body from adapting to one routine.
I try to not be so gung-ho with the weights. I stick to a weight for about 4 weeks before moving on to a heavier weight. How much weight I add depends on the body part. I usually go with increments of 2.5 lbs. for large muscle groups like chest, back and legs, and increments of 1.25 lbs. for shoulders and arms. If I can only find a way to add half a pound for shoulder work without having to spend a fortune on Platemates, I'd do so. As much as I want to continually shock my body, I also don't want injury. I was doing maintenance for most of last year and wasn't able to progress, but I hope to do that this year.
As far as diet goes, I just try to eat clean as much as I can, and every three hours, if possible. Right now I'm trying to get even more protein in as the usual 80-100 grams a day doesn't seem to do much anymore. The only things I avoid are rice, pasta, sugar and junk food (chips, pastries, anything in the snack and bakery aisles). Other things like fruit and dairy, which some avoid, are pretty much fair game to me. I do make sure they're in the right amounts and in the right proportions in relation to the other foods I'm eating -- well, except for watermelon because I've been eating way too much of that lately;-).
I'm also not a big proponent of fat loss because my main goal is strength and flexibility (I squeeze in yoga once a week). That might change as I get older. I do a cutting routine about twice a year, when I'm really starting to feel flabby. Weight training can make me really hungry, and it should, since the body uses up a lot of energy as it recovers. I just go with how my clothes fit. If my pants are getting tight in the hips and thighs, then I know it's time to do a fat loss rotation. That's it. I'm not into numbers a lot. I hardly ever weigh myself. I do measurements only before, during and after a cutting period. My life is stressful and complicated, and obsessing over numbers might only drive me over the edge. As long as I'm seeing gains in the weights I use, no matter how slow, I'm okay with that. I try to make the fitness part of my life fun, otherwise it won't be worth doing.
Hope this answers your question.
Pinky
I don't really have a definite answer to your question. All I can tell you is that I do more of strength training than anything. Most of the time I'm trying ("trying" is the key word here, maybe even "struggling":+ ) to bulk up, which makes me hungry and tired for the most part that I can only manage to put in 2-3 cardio sessions a week, really... 3 if I'm lucky.The only rotation I've ever followed was Cathe's May rotation. I do look at every one of her posted rotations and browse through what other ladies are planning for the month to get ideas. My body was at its best when I alternated a week of weight training with a week of endurance training, with the weight training week having less cardio and the endurance week having more cardio (this way my knees get a break), which is what I'll be doing for the next 6 weeks before Cathe camp. After that, I'll switch to something else, maybe variety training or a fat loss rotation. I get bored fast and my attention span is short, and I switch gears every month or two to prevent boredom and keep the body guessing. The big thing for me is to keep my body from adapting to one routine.
I try to not be so gung-ho with the weights. I stick to a weight for about 4 weeks before moving on to a heavier weight. How much weight I add depends on the body part. I usually go with increments of 2.5 lbs. for large muscle groups like chest, back and legs, and increments of 1.25 lbs. for shoulders and arms. If I can only find a way to add half a pound for shoulder work without having to spend a fortune on Platemates, I'd do so. As much as I want to continually shock my body, I also don't want injury. I was doing maintenance for most of last year and wasn't able to progress, but I hope to do that this year.
As far as diet goes, I just try to eat clean as much as I can, and every three hours, if possible. Right now I'm trying to get even more protein in as the usual 80-100 grams a day doesn't seem to do much anymore. The only things I avoid are rice, pasta, sugar and junk food (chips, pastries, anything in the snack and bakery aisles). Other things like fruit and dairy, which some avoid, are pretty much fair game to me. I do make sure they're in the right amounts and in the right proportions in relation to the other foods I'm eating -- well, except for watermelon because I've been eating way too much of that lately;-).
I'm also not a big proponent of fat loss because my main goal is strength and flexibility (I squeeze in yoga once a week). That might change as I get older. I do a cutting routine about twice a year, when I'm really starting to feel flabby. Weight training can make me really hungry, and it should, since the body uses up a lot of energy as it recovers. I just go with how my clothes fit. If my pants are getting tight in the hips and thighs, then I know it's time to do a fat loss rotation. That's it. I'm not into numbers a lot. I hardly ever weigh myself. I do measurements only before, during and after a cutting period. My life is stressful and complicated, and obsessing over numbers might only drive me over the edge. As long as I'm seeing gains in the weights I use, no matter how slow, I'm okay with that. I try to make the fitness part of my life fun, otherwise it won't be worth doing.
Hope this answers your question.
Pinky
Hi Karen, I normally train in cycles. Since weight training makes me hungry all the time, I do gain some fat during these "bulking" periods. A cutting period is a span of time when I cut out a certain number of calories everyday and increase my cardio (from 2-3 a week to 4-6) to burn the fat. I also replace the heavy weights with endurance workouts, so there are days when I work out twice. I'm careful to cut only about 300-400 calories a day or 60-80 calories every meal, these calories coming from starchy carbs. This makes my progress slower but less drastic and less stressful physically and mentally. When get the measurements I want, I stop. I really don't want to get my body fat that low. There are health risks to it, and I'm not getting any younger.;-) There is a lot of information on the web about it. If you enter the words "cutting period" and "fitness", I'm sure you'll get a good handful of sites that can give you more information. There are diets by fitness competitors that are posted everywhere, and some of these are pretty extreme -- very low in calories though high in protein. I don't do such diets. They'd kill me. I get ideas from these -- recipes and meal plans -- but I add what I know my body needs. There is actually a lot more about it that I feel I need to know since I don't do this quite often, but I hope this answers your question.
Pinky
I get ideas from these -- recipes and meal plans -- but I add what I know my body needs. There is actually a lot more about it that I feel I need to know since I don't do this quite often, but I hope this answers your question.Pinky