weight training days feel like rest days...?

CollinsMom

CollinsMom

Cathlete
I used to do cardio every day, about 6 days a week. Then I started adding some weights later in the day to firm up. Recently I have taken some days and done nothing but total body weights.

For some reason, I feel like I am "cheating" on these days. I sweat, I work hard, but I don't get this intense elevated heart rate and dripping sweat like on my straight cardio days.

Any thoughts....?
 
If you're looking for that "high", try adding in a set of 25 jumping jacks or something similar in between body parts.
 
Nope, the heart rate won't get up that high....I don't even bother with the monitor on weight days. And I don't sweat much either - which is why I do weights on the days I have other things outside the house to do later on.

But make no mistake, I don't feel a bit like I'm cheating. Weight days are a harder workout. I think it's much harder to do barbell curls than it is to jump around for 45 minutes.
 
I don't know, my weight days definitely don't feel like rest days. More the opposite--my cardio days are easier than my weight training. My weight routine consists of about 1-1.5 hours of really pushing myself at the gym. My leg routine alone is enough to make me want to take a nap. ;-)
 
I used to feel like I was cheating on weight days too.

That is why I deliberately added weights only days. I do 3 weights only workouts and 3 cardio only workouts.

Here is my rotation for this week:

Step Blast
Supersets
Maximum Intensity Cardio
Push/Pull
Cardio Kicks
Body Max 2 Double Upper Body

I've been on this type of rotation for almost one month and I can tell a difference. I think I had hit a plateau by thinking I had to do cardio every day.

I recently read this, for what it is worth.

Do weights before cardio if doing both because when you are worn out from cardio and move to weights without rest, your lifting form can suffer.
 
>
>Do weights before cardio if doing both because when you are
>worn out from cardio and move to weights without rest, your
>lifting form can suffer.

Amy, I'm not picking on you(!), but I have always heard the opposite. Cardio warms you up and then you are all ready for weights (assuming you are doing both in the same day). If you do weights first, you fatigue your muscles too much and then you have trouble pushing through the cardio.

I used to teach a weights class and then a step class (one hour each). I was having a lot of trouble with my energy level and struggling through. I spoke to several people and the director at my gym gave me this stupid look and said "well, naturally, you need to do the step first and then weights to use your body to maximum capacity. No wonder why you're struggling, you're exhauasted by the time you get to your cardio!" I switched them to do step first and then weights and it made ALL the difference.

I bet there are people here that agree with each of these theories. I'd be curious to hear everyone's thoughts.
 
It all depends on what your goals are and where your focus is. Strength training should be done before cardio it making gains i strength and wt lifting is your goal. If you do cardio before wts the cardio depletes your glycogen stores and so the muscles have no fuel. If cardio is gonna be your focus and you want to do a little wt training then sure do it afterwards. But I would say if its a true weight lifting day then do the wts first for best benefit.

Catherine http://www.smileyhut.com/silly/arrowhead.gif

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I'm with you. When I do a weights only day, I feel like I'm not working out hard. My cardio is my toughest workout, by far. And even lifting heavy weight, since my heartrate is not elevated like it is for cardio, I feel like I'm taking it easy.

I know weights are good for me, and I've seen the change in my body to reflect it, but I still need that cardio zap to make me feel like I've really pushed myself.

The only total body weight workout that I've felt good about afterwards is the Total Body premix in Drill Max.


Do all of you get that elevated heart rate when you do weights? Maybe I'm doing something wrong...
I felt he burn, but should I feel more?
 
First of all, you are not picking on me at all! You are just stating your opinion.

I had always heard the same -- cardio before weights.

But I read this in some magazine (I will try to find the quote and post it here -- I think it was Self, but I am a magazine addict, so it may have been Glamour or some other magazine).

I am not sure I agree with the weights first theory -- but I did read it just recently.

I don't do the weights first theory; it is just something I read and thought I'd share.
 
Have you tried the Gym Style series, using same weight as Cathe?

It kicked my butt.

I agree, though, I like the cardio zap. I am just trying to change my usual pattern by doing all cardio and all weights on consecutive days.

Before I devised this personal plan, I got so hung up on Body Max 2 and Low Impact Circuit, I was doing them almost exclusively.

I tend to do that when Cathe has a new series - get hung up on doing just the new DVDs.
 
I weight train pretty hard, but also feel like my weight days are a light workout day. Definitely cardio workouts are my harder workouts.
 
I think it depends on how you interpret "more difficult" or "harder." Some think that being winded or really getting that cardio high is working harder and others think that the legs shaking hard during a squat is working harder.

I tend to do either weights or cardio and don't mix the two a lot. Personally, I can do weights at any time of day without feeling like I am too fatigued to continue. With cardio, I find it very difficult to do a work out very early or at very high intensity if I am not really ready and awake. I think that I look at my cardio days as more difficult b/c of that.
 
I know that doing cardio keeps my heart rate up constant for a longer period of time but some of the weights workouts are pretty intense for me. I did Muscle Endurance last night and my heart rate was up there because Cathe moves through each body part with no rest in between. I had to stop a few times and bring my heart rate down. Do any of you have to do this????
 
i think it comes down to the fact that (for me, at least) weight training is hard and cardio is hard but they are different kinds of hard on my body. as long as i am using the correct weights, the workout still makes me feel like i've worked hard and accomplished something. but the "hard" part of weight work is something i love, a feeling that just pushes me to try even harder. whereas the "hard" part of cardio is a feeling that i know i need, but it's just not one i enjoy as much, so those workouts feel like more work to me.
 
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