will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increase my wts????

C

chiro_ange

Active Member
hello cathe and educated crowd,

i think years of cardio has started to take it's toll on my joints. recently i think i stress fractured my left foot so i need to seriously rethink my training. i am an advanced exerciser and i have been a cardio slave over the past decade--doing 5-6 cardio sessions of 40 mins (minimum) per week. i want to increase my weights and decrease cardio due to all the pounding and allow myself to recover but i'm really worried that i'll pack on the pounds. mabye i am just so used to doing tonnes of cardio that i think, without it, i will gain weight. does anyone have experience with doing more weights and less cardio and actually seeing improvements in their body? if so, what did you do? pls share your experiences with me bc i'm really desperate to try to switch things up. if you could direct me to useful links showing rotations i would really appreciate it.

thank you in advance. angela
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

I too was a slave to cardio years back (especially during my anorexia), but discovered Cathe (serious weight training) and have never looked back. I still do incorporate cardio and circuit training, but lifting pretty heavy (matching Cathe's weights for the most part) has done amazing things for the tone of my body. I am now in better shape than I was before I had my daughter four years ago. I think, especially as we get older, weight lifting is so crucial in combating the inevitable decline in our metabolism and also aids in preventing bone loss. In addition, I just feel so much stronger in doing the daily routines in my life, plus I can carry my almost 38 lb. daughter with no problem:)

In terms of rotations, Cathe posts one every month, but there are many other women here who are marvelous at putting together various rotations geared toward specific goals (weight loss, muscle building, etc.) Check out the Rotations forum.
One other comment...sometimes, after lifting heavy or really working hard during a workout, your muscles may swell and retain water, making you feel "bigger". It is discomforting to me at times, but I realize that I am working hard at being fit and healthy. You also need to listen to your body, and give it rest when it needs it...I did that today, I did BodyMax yesterday and I am just exhausted today, so I did a little yoga/stretch and called it a day.

Good luck!

Amy
 
You sound just like me and I would definitely say if you start doing weights you will get smaller and feel better the pounding takes it toll
Any of Cathes workouts w/weights are great the power hour DVD has MIS on it and body max which has aweight workout too me I have allof Cathes tapes and some doubles on DVDs making the switch PUB/PLB DVd is good too!
oh and the push pull/Supersets
ok endless possibilites but know that you will not gain fat you will probably lose if you follow agood rotation tons on the forum here Good Luck Lisa
 
thank you so much. i guess i just needed to hear that all would not be lost if i stopped doing this amount of cardio which my body obviously can not handle any more. how many times per week do you guys do cardio and how many times do you do weights? the idea of working one body part per day intensely...is that enough for the lower body? ( i mean if you are a pear or have pear like tendencies) I hate the pear!

thanks again, angela
 
Hi,

I also had to do this 4 years ago. I was an avid runner, but I had unbearable butt pain,, so I sttopped just when I got pregnant. Then after my baby was born I realized that almost all cardio was aggravating my condition. I upped my weights and decreased my cardio to an hour 2-3 days a week. I do about 4 hours of weights or 3 days/ week. I even take off most weekends or a day during the week. I lost pounds and inches, mostly in the waist and breast. For about nine months I only swam and did weights. I have been the thinnest in my life. However, then I messed it up by taking a new birth control pill, yasmin. It contributed to my gaining 4lbs and inches in my hips and bust. I stopped the pill and hopefully I'll get back to where I was. Good luck. It is hard to break the cardio crave, but you will be glad you did. If you work hard with weights, you will look even better than you did before
 
Angela
I usually do cardio 3 times a week and weights 2 I do not workout on the weekends normally because I work the night shift mid to noon fridday and sat but every now and again I will stick in a workout if I feel up to it or if I get up early enough
You could also do 3 cardio/2 weights 1 week then the next
2 cardio/3 weights or if you work out 6 days a week split it even
Muscle endurance and power hour move pretty quick, when I wear my heart rate monitor i find it stays pretty high legs and glutes kinda does this too so it kind of is weights and cardio I think legs and glutes would be great for a pear and reall Muscle endurance really gets the legs good!I really am not a pear actually but I found my legs and thighs trimmed out very nicely with ME feel free to ask me any more ? I am definitely not an expert but have been at this at home fitness since 1984 believe me Cathe is the best at everything she does!
Lisa
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

I have to jump in here.
For many years I was a marathon and ultra-marathon runnner, covering about 50-70 miles/week and not doing too much weights at all, maybe an hour a week. The whole time my weight stayed about 130-132 lb w/ bodyfat of 18-20%

2 years ago I quit marathoning and started some serious weight training, 3- 4 hr/week, and also cut back the cardio to about 3-4 hr week. Result? As of today, I have a weight of 126-128 lb with bodyfat of 16 %.

The bottom line is that weight training helps to get a strong lean body much more effectively than mega cardio sessions.
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

i am actually very relieved to hear all of these positive reports on decreasing cardio. i really love cardio but it is starting to cause injuries. i think i will try the 3-4 cardio sessions per week (at about 40 mins per session) and do some lower impact stuff. i should learn to swim to the point where i can get a good workout. i am starting to really like weights....so my question is, can i work out one body part per day and get results? i was thinking i'd do my upper body once per week ( it is slim and toned already) and do legs twice per week (one endurance based, one strength based workout such as CTXLL and pure strength legs and abs--does this sound like a good combo?

thank you all so much for sharing your experiences, it really helps to ease the anxiety.

ange
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

angela
Yes I think you can train the upper body 1 per week and stay toned Cathe does that in the CTX series and slow and heavy so I owuld say sounds good lower body 2 times w/1 strong and 1 endurance sounds good
Lisa
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

I just wanted to jump in here and ask if anyone thinks the answer to this question might depend on body type? I know, I know... women don't "bulk." But I'm sorry, I know for a fact when I focus more on heavy lifting and less on cardio, my body *grows*-- my clothes are noticeably tighter. I am willing to accept that maybe it takes a little patience for this result to reverse itself, i.e. for the bumped-up metabolism to burn off the extra fat covering the muscles? What do y'all think?
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

Hello, ultra marathoner! (Formerly)...

Did your eating change when you changed exercise formats?
 
Wow, I'm so glad to read about all this, I have been considering lowering my cardio intensity as well because my low back hurts all the time anymore and it seems step aerobics really irritates it if I do high impact. I was going to concentrate on my weight training and I prefer muscle endurance versus strength. I was just scared to cut back on cardio because I don't want to gain weight.

Thanks for all the input, this was a really interesting thread!
Debbie in OH
 
I am so happy to see this thread. I have always preferred weight lifting vs. cardio. I have lost inches now that I seriously weight train. I rotate doing strength workouts and endurance workouts. Typicallys 4-5 weeks per rotation.
 
Well there is always a flip side ;-)

I have recently started a circuit rotation to get more cardio in because I wasn't shaking the extra pounds and I was doing a lot of weights. (weights 3 days a week, cardio 2). Problem is that I am very firm underneath a layer of fat. Been doing circuits a week now and starting to see a bit of a loss. I plan on doing a month of circuit workouts (similar to the Sept. rotation) and if I lose the extra 4 pounds, then plan to move on to a maintenance rotation.

- Shopgirl
 
Kimmie,

What do you mean by seriously weight training? Will you share two weeks of your workout program? I'm trying my best to lose inches and it's just not happening!

Thanks much,
Angie
 
Hi Angela:

This certainly hits close to home for me!! I used to be a major cardio junkie.. 1 hour or more /day at high intensity. I did also do weights on top of that, but I never really focused on strength training. It was more an afterthought.

Despite all of the exercise, I couldn't shake those last 5-6 lbs. I spoke to a trainer who suggested that if I wanted to make some significant changes to my physique I should cut the cardio to at least 1/2 the amount I was doing, and really give your 100% focus to the strength training.

I was totally skeptical but decided to give it 4 weeks. For an hour workout, I would do 1/2 hour of weights (doing those first) and a 1/2 hour of cardio. Well after those 4 weeks, I was shocked!! I was able to drop the extra lbs, and I really saw some great changes in my muscular strength.. I didn't have to eat less, nor was I so tired all of the time. It was a huge, huge revelation to me.!!!

I do know where you are coming from about getting in your cardio fix! I was really afraid I'd gain weight too, I didn't..actually lost and gained better definition.

I would suggest trying to divvy up your exercise time into 1/2 weight training and 1/2 cardio per week and see how you do. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised at the changes.

Take care, Lynn M.
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

yes it probably does depend on body type but I htink I saw somewhere that a first you get a little bigger then smaller if you don't see that maybe lift lighter more endurance type like ME or PH and maybe only strenght or heavy once in a while I tend to notice this more in my legs after a heavy lifting video then the next dya or two they will be smaller
Lisa
 
RE: will i gain weight if i decrease my cardio, increas...

Hello

Yes, I could finally change my eating too.
For all those running I simply had to eat a lot of carbs. When I stopped, I could cut out bread, pasta, rice etc., and eat a lot more protein. Probably that would alone made a difference too.
Mari
 
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