Humor me about cardio...please

[Road2ANewMe]

I am curios why too much cardio is a bad thing. I have discovered, since having my Go wear fit, that I am VERY lazy. Before my workout today, I only had about 4k steps! So, for me....i think I need cardio daily. Atleast some purposeful exercise...even if its just walk away the pounds. So, why is daily cardio bad??

Also, i know the importance of weights, but I can't seem to make myself do them! Please remind me why I need them for weight loss....

Jessica

 

[marnapril]

the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn during resting state. it takes more calories to support muscle than fat. plus muscles are sexy

 

[fit44]

Jessica,

I don't see anything wrong with it if your goal is to lose weight. Since I'm in my summer/fat burning mode, I do some form of cardio everyday. I vary the intensity by alternating interval and steady state. I keep my weight training separate from my cardio.
On weight training days, I always do weights first. I make sure I give 110% to my weight lifting and what energy I have left, is for cardio.

 

[LaughingWater]

Cynthia, do you do cardio right after weight training, later in the day, or do you mix it up?

I just started adding some short cardio immediately after weight training, and I find myself wiped out for the rest of the day. I'm okay with that provided it's not detrimental to my ability to build muscle ~ I figure I'll adapt. BUT if saving cardio for later in the day or evening would be smarter, I can do that too.

 

[Miss Lee]

Yeah Cynthia, how do you do schedule your cardio? I've always had to put a fair distance between my weight training and my cardio -- usually one in the morning and one in the evening which, coincidentally, is why I almost never do them on the same day. I have a tendency to procrastinate, meaning, I almost never get around to doing a workout in the morning.

 

[fit44]

Cynthia, do you do cardio right after weight training, later in the day, or do you mix it up?

It depends on my energy level. I generally do my cardio later in the day because I have more energy for Cathe's step. I've been working on mastering her cardio I just finished mastering Step Blast, and will work on Rhythmic Step

If I do anything after weight training, it is cardio coach volume 1 or 2.

 

[RapidBreath]

A couple of reasons

1. Too much cardio produces a cortisol response forcing you to hold onto fat.
2. Weight training helps prevent the loss of muscle which often happens during a weight loss. Also, it encourages bone mass. Muscle loss will stall weight loss every time. Not that you need to be lifting heavy! I don't lift heavy because for me doing a push up is lifting heavy, so I just do one circuit a week and the rest is yoga.
3. No rest for the heart is not a good thing. It really does need some time to recover, it is a muscle just like any other muscle.

I hope that helps you to understand why one day off from cardio per week is necessary. You could do 6 days of cardio and one day of whole body weights per week. That way you are physical everyday but don't over do the cardio. Just a suggestion.

 

[fit44]

Cardio, how much is too much, is highly debated on all fitness forums.
I think you have to find what works best for your body and your specific goals. For me, cardio helps me lose weight when that is my goal.
I consider walking steady state and use it as a form of active recovery. I personally feel better when I walk for my rest day.

Here is an article I found helpful when I was confused about why extra cardio works for me.
http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/training/the_cardio_secret

I love this advice from Cathe.
I saved this to my computer because I want to use this rotation one day.
http://www.cathenation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171698&highlight=Chap!+main+advice+give

 

[LaughingWater]

Thanks for the links, Cynthia.

 

[hotdogsaregross]

Great links Cynthia, thanks

 

[Road2ANewMe]

That link was very interesting! I might do cardio (atleast some sort of intentional cardio) everyday this week and see what happens. I burned half the amount of calories this weekend as i normally do on a given day! That's terrible!! So, I have a deficit during m-f then go way over on sat and sunday. The weekends are killing me! I guess I need to give up my sunday naps!

Jessica