Intermediate vs. Advanced

B

brendazzzz

Cathlete
Could someone tell me what the difference is between an intermediate exerciser working out 45 minutes, maintaining a good HR, and burning 500 calories and an advanced exerciser working out for 1 hour or more to get their heartrate up and burn the same number of calories? I'm just wondering... why do I want to build my stamina and endurance just to have to exercise longer?? I exercise to maintain my weight and to be healthy not for weight loss... Could someone explain this to me? Thanks!
 
Someone who is considered 'advanced' is probably stronger and has more endurance than someone who is considered 'intermediate'. They should be conditioned to go longer and harder, and like the intermediate person, they continue to get stronger. If you are not getting stronger, then you are not progressing, and PROGRESSING is the key to being fit, NOT overall calorie burn. Burning lots of calories is rewarding, but it is only a small part of being fit and reaping the benefits of being healthy. Also, the number of calories burned varies from person to person and day to day, workout to workout, etc, etc.

For example, imagine an overweight, itermediate exerciser who burns 600 calories in an intense hour workout. Now imagine a very fit and petite (not all fit people are petite, and not all intermediate people are overweight but for the sake of the arguement...) exerciser who burns 250 calories but exercises for 80 minutes. We know that the more you weigh, the more calories you burn in a given workout. A person will also burn more calories if they are not as conditioned cardiovascularly(sp?)speaking, and so their heart must work harder to do the work. That will probably register as more calories burned. But actual calories burned does not mean you are getting a 'better' workout than someone who weighs less or is more conditioned, and it certainly does not mean that you are more fit. So, it is possible for the advanced person to get more fitness gains from a workout and burn less calories than the intermediate person who burns more calories.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, try not to get too focused on the calorie expenditure of working out. Yes, it is a nice number and can provide a basis of comparison. But it does not take into account how fit you are and the goal of working out should be to be fit (body and mind), and not burning tons of calories. If you forget about the importance of progressing, then you will eventually lose some fitness gains and possibly start regressing.

C
 
Along with pixie, I would say that an advanced exerciser doesn't have to go longer, but is able to go stronger, thus within a given amount of time, say 45 minutes, is able to do a harder workout. I don't necesarily workout to lose weight, but to keep healthy, just like you mentioned. But the cardiovascular improvement is a huge part of my health reason for working out, and that's one of the advantages of continuing to progress.
 
I'm not sure I quite get it and this has been bothering me for awhile... I have been exercising regularly for 3 years now. I probably went from intermediate to int/adv and now back to intermediate. I'm in good shape and work hard in my workouts and I do this to maintain. For these reasons I don't know why I need to work harder, to get stronger, to have to workout longer... to maintain... Anybody understand what I'm so poorly trying to say? :)
 
Are you doing the same kind of workouts most of the time?

It's pretty easy for the body to get used to specific types of cardio workouts, especially as you become more advanced (for weights, you can put off the adaptation period for a while by increasing the weights). As your body gets used to, say, step, it becomes more efficient at it, which sounds good, but means that you burn fewer calories for the workout.

To break that plateau, you have to add in some workouts that your body hasn't figured out yet, like, for example, kickboxing, or hi-lo or stationary bike or whatever. Or even step back from your normal mode of exercise for a while, and try a different type of cardio.

This is one of the advantages of cross-training, since, if you mix things up enough, your body can't get too used to any one mode.

Another possibility is that you are actually overworking, and your body is holding on to weight as a reaction to perceived stress. And/or that you aren't allowing enough recovery between weight workouts to allow for strength gains.

It would be helpful if you'd post your regular rotation.
 
I'm sure others will chime in here but what popped into my head right away when I read this post is that it comes down to goals. If your goal is to become fitter, stronger, more flexible or whatever, you will have to work harder (not necessarily longer but harder) than you do to maintain your current level of fitness.

Why should you have goals? Personally, I need goals in order to stay motivated. If you don't have goals, you don't progress. And if you don't progress, you get bored. And if you get bored, you quit working out. Maybe an over generalization or exaggeration but that's how I feel about it.

Sue
 
This is an interesting question. I too wonder about this. I'm not trying to take away your post but I was curious to know same thing. Here is my rotation:

I just added more Kickmax sessions (3x a week now) and do workouts 1 hr and about 20 min versus my normal 50 min. I used to do strength 3x a week, cardio 2-3 times a week. Now I am trying to do this. Is this too much for lower body?

sun-rest
mon-Lower body (45 min - SS - firm), fat blaster (TJ - 1/2 hr intense interval cardio)
tues- kickmax (minus leg conditioning), tone it up (only upper body part), pilates abs
wed- Firm, KPJ (kick, punch jam - turbo jam -cardio)
thur-kickmax (minus leg cond), abs, good 1/2 hr stretching
fri-firm, Fat blaster or KPJ, pilates abs
sat-kickmax (minus leg cond), tone (upper only)

Should I increase weights than in upper body to be more fit? I usually do 3-5 pounds sometimes 6. She does a lot of reps in SS. Thanks.
 
If I'm understanding you correctly, you want to know why you should work harder if you're at a point where you're satisfied? Well, as long as you are maintaining your fitness level and are satisfied, then there's probably no reason to work harder. I would say that when you see that you are losing ground, to pick it up a bit (the suggestions from Kathryn are good). But there are others out there who have more expertise with this than I do.
 
Yes, that's what I'm trying to say or ask. I have a large variety of workouts from The Firm, Slim Series, Christi Taylor, etc. to, of course, Cathe! So, by the time I rotate it's new to my body again and I can get away with 45-60 minute workouts 3-4 times a week. I read of people working out 6 days a week for an hour or more and just wonder what the advantage of that is other than perhaps weight loss...
 
I think it depends on your goals :) I was an intermediate when I first started doing Cathe because I had to pause halfway through or use lighter weights, now I can go strong through the whole workouts and when I need to - I increase my weights to keep progressing. I workout at least five days a week and get in a lighter workout one day a week. I enjoy working out - its just part of the day for me........

but my goal is to constantly increase my strength or cardiovascular or muscle endurance. RIght now I am into my cardiovascular and endurance.......before it was improving strength and posture.......i change it up or I get bored!!!
 
Well, then I would say, stick to what you like. As the poster above mentioned, the enoyment factor is a big one. Again, there may be health benefits, but to be perfectly honest, I don't know how major they are.

ETA
Here's a link I found (my curiosity got the better of me!) from the National Institutes of Health (I think :) )

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/exercise-heart/page6.htm

Note the last paragrah "Is there a top limit to exercise"
 
Thanks for that info. It's nice to know that basically we're all right and it's just a matter of preference. I can't imagine choosing to exercise 60+ minutes, 6 days a week, but to each her own, right?!
 
There's also the question of stimulating the growth hormone. What many intermediate exercise programs lack is the stimulation of the fast muscle twitches (cardio and weight training stimulate the slow-twitch muscle fiber). If you add in anaerobic exercise to your program (IMAX, IMAX2, IMAX3, LOWMAX) etc., you will begin to work your fast twitch muscle fibers -- which in turn stimulate the HGH hormone, thus creating a sort of "fountain of youth" for those of us who are over 40.

Reference: READY, SET, GO! by Phil Campbell -- highly recommend this book.

:)
 
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