Weight training without cardio

M

Maximus

Cathlete
At the start of the summer I decided to start doing my lifting during the week so I didn't have to spend my usual 2 hours at the gym on Sat & Sun when I was down the shore. So I was doing cardio in the morning at home before work & then hitting the weights after work at the gym. Then last Thursday I hurt my foot & haven't done any cardio since.

What I've noticed is how much stronger I am. I've increased pretty much every exercise by at least 5 lbs--I've actually gone up 25 lbs on squats & leg presses. I can't believe how draining tough cardio exercise must be. Even though I love weight lifting, cardio has always been the core of my routine. Focusing on strength training has helped me not only break my plateau of the last 5 years or so, but go far beyond it.

I've always heard trainers say to build strength weights should be done first & cardio second, but cardio has always been most important to me so I just didn't care. I wanted to make sure I wasn't too exhausted for an intense cardio workout so I've always done it before weights.

But I'm amazed that I'm still learning new things about this stuff after doing it for 16+ years.

My foot is feeling much better so I think tomorrow I'm gonna try Low Max. But after tonight I'm done w/weights until next Tuesday, so hopefully I can keep this trend going. Wish me luck! :)
 
Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. LOL!

Seriously, I just cannot believe how lucky I am. How many people can drop a 25 lb weight on their foot & not only come out of it w/o any breaks, but have it heal in a week? :) :) :) :) :) :)

I really do live a charmed life (knocking on wood)........
 
Thanks for posting this. I'm really trying to find the right mix of cardio and heavy weights. I appreciate your relating your experience. I'll definitely keep it in mind as I move forward!
 
I'm backing off on the cardio until after our heat wave is over. I don't have air conditioning in my house and it's been in the high 80's for the last few days. I think it will be just yoga tonight.
 
I'm trying my leg workout tonight, see how the foot holds up. I cannot wait to do Low Max tomorrow, I'm going insane w/o my cardio. x(
 
This really does make sense when you look at how bodybuilders train. They practically do no cardio during the "bulking phase" and even when they DO cardio, it's for a short duration (albeit intense) because the popular belief in the bodybuilding world is that cardio eats away hard-gained muscle.

I always do weights before cardio, but I haven't lifted weights in about a week or so. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and tried to do weights afterward and I was so exhausted, I just couldn't do it!

I REALLY don't understand how some people can do lower body strength AFTER running for an hour!
 
P90X emphasizes weight training, and keeps cardio moderate and to a minimum. It's a very effective way to build muscle, IMO.
 
Thanks for posting this, Maximus. After I read your post, I went back and reviewed my workout log. I was getting much better results when I did weights more regularly than cardio. Last week I slacked off the weights quite a bit but kept the cardio in my rotation and I actually GAINED weight!

This week I am going to start focusing on weights again and back off the cardio a bit and see how that works. And I'm going to fit in the weights BEFORE the cardio.

Boy, isn't it amazing how the human body reacts to small changes in a routine?!?


Angie
 
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