My BRAIN needs cardio, I should be adding more strength

[amy_b]

I'm looking for a bit of advice. I think my brain really NEEDS cardio, like oh...every day. When I take a day off, I feel tired and un-engaged- sort of like I never really woke up all the way. Working out is my substitute for a drug. I think I could rotate step, kickbox, and hi lo forever and be happy.

I want to utilize my gym style workouts and see an increase in muscle definition. So far, I've used circuits for most of my strength work, occasionally throwing in Supersets, Push Pull, Pyramids, or Legs and Glutes, but on those days, I really miss my cardio. Any thoughts? I wonder if a good solution is to use GS for one body part per day. I don't really know how that works- do you call "Legs" one body part or quads= one, hams= one, calves= one???

 

[starlight6]

Hi Amy,

Legs, unfortunately, are one body part for your purpose. Although some people do a standing workout one day & a floor workout another day. But if you want to do one body part a day, you won't have enough days for that. Unless you give up your rest day, which is not highly recommended. (Sometimes I will do just that but only for 3 or 4 weeks.) Chest, back, biceps, triceps, shoulders, legs. The 7th day you rest! (I do a yoga or stretch tape.)

Right now I'm doing 1 body part a day with 2 cardios. Either an hour cardio (after lifting) in the AM & 1/2 hour in the PM, or a half hour in the AM & an hour in the PM. Sometimes I can't do the PM cardio due to my job, so I try to do an hour in the morning. But if I'm only up for 1/2 hour, or only have time for 1/2 hour, so be it.

My goal was to keep up my strength while increasing my cardio, & it's working very well. However, if your goal is to increase your strength while keeping up your cardio, perhaps 1/2 hour cardio AM or PM (depending on your schedule) would be the ticket?

Probably way more than you wanted to know!

Have fun!
Ruth:7

 

[Renee McFar]

Hello Amy.....My name is Renee and I am a cardio junkie. See I can admit it too!!!!

I am lucky enough to only work 3 days a week. So, my exercsie schedule is like this:

4 days a week I do 40-60 minutes if cardio and then follow up with some ab work (these are the days I work).

2 days a week: I do 60 minutes of cardio, followed by some strength work. Usually Pyramid Upper Body one day and Pyramid Lower Body the next day. I alternate these every couple of weeks with Power Hour or Muscle Endurance. Then if I am lucky, I squeeze in another 30 minute cardio in the afternoon.

1 day a week I do a circuit workout such as Step,Jump and Pump or Circuit Max , maybe even BootCamp. I will also be adding the new High Step Challange into this routine.

I have done the new Muscle Max...pretty good. I plan on doing GS Legs today. I am not sure how I am going to work the other Gym Style's into my routine yet.

You really should find time for strength. Your body needs it for bone strength as you get older. I think the Pyramind Upper/Lower Body dvd has some timesaver features on it. The Pyramids are awesome workouts. The lower body work can get your heart pumping hard!

The Muscle Endurance dvd may have some time saving options on it that you could fit into your routine. I have it on VHS so I am not sure about the dvd options.

LOL, Renee

 

[Shaz]

I think one body part per day would be good for you. You might want to do it first (before cardio) to get it out of the way so that you can enjoy your cardio. You might need to do a leg day without cardio (similar to the CTX series). Or, if really want to do cardio every day, you could do your own short leg routine, eg a couple of sets of 8-12 squats, stiff-legged deadlifts, and calf raises.

 

[amy_b]

One more question- I had a few sessions with a trainer who indicated to me that if you do cardio after strength, you are likely to "burn off" some of the muscle building you just did. However, I've seen Cathe sometimes prescribe 20 minutes of cardio after a strength workout.
So, I've sort of been "afraid" to do both on my days that are just strength. Sounds like the more accepted idea is that its fine to do both? Does it matter if you do it before or after?

 

[starlight6]

There are two schools of thought on this (of course). I prefer to do lifting before cardio, because I get all sweaty with cardio & want a shower! Also, they say your body burns more fat because the lifting has used up your glucose fuel.

Others prefer cardio first saying they wouldn't be able to give cardio enough intensity if already tired from lifting.

I think the bottom line is...personal preference. (You know what they say...the best workout is the one you'll do!)

Ruth