Advice For strength/endurance balance

LuckyMe2017

I am currently approaching a normal BMI- about 26. I have mainly been walking/jogging and just got down to 39 mins on a 3 mile hilly nature trail.

I want to focus more on weight training to build muscle but also want to continue losing about a pound a week and maintain my cardio endurance. Is this reasonable?

How do I maintain/improve my cardio performance and also build strength/tone? I know I generally need to eat at only a slight deficit, but I guess I need help with a weekly plan that will enable me to maintain/improve my cardio.

LuckyMe2017

I should add that I job 3 miles, 3 times per week. Do I have to cut back to gain muscle mass? If so, will I maintain my endurance (jogging the full distance in under 40 minutes)?

rybo

The simplest answer is do a full body strength program 2-3 days a week alternating the days u run.
You probably aren't going to build any appreciable muscle while still losing weight. Unless you have never done any strength training before you could gain some. But that shouldn't stop u from strength training.
Without knowing any more specific details this is all the advice I have.

contingencyplan

Circuit training.

LuckyMe2017

Thanks. I dabble with weights for about 3 times per week, 10 minutes each time.

I am not familiar with circuit training. I did crossfit a few weeks. Is it a kind of circuit training?

SezxyStef

MidwaysT wrote: »

I am currently approaching a normal BMI- about 26. I have mainly been walking/jogging and just got down to 39 mins on a 3 mile hilly nature trail.

I want to focus more on weight training to build muscle but also want to continue losing about a pound a week and maintain my cardio endurance. Is this reasonable?

How do I maintain/improve my cardio performance and also build strength/tone? I know I generally need to eat at only a slight deficit, but I guess I need help with a weekly plan that will enable me to maintain/improve my cardio.

just so you know chances are you won't be building muscle while losing weight...if you do it will be a small amount and it won't last long. To build muscle you need extra calories...not a deficit.

I lift 4x a week, run 3x a week and walk 4x a week...sometimes going for a bike ride instead of a walk.

I Have great cardio endurance and can run a 5k easily at a 9:30 pace...I bench 135 so I have strength too.

I started with a structured strength build program Stronglifts 5x5 did that for a year and moved to 5/3/1 and have been doing that for almost a year...

walked last summer and biked, started running this year.

The only thing I have learned is not to run on a leg day...I pay the next couple of days.

rumijs

Agree with what has been mentioned above. Also, yoga. Some people hear the word and scoff or want to run away. But for ultimate balance, body strength workouts, and flexibility, yoga is great! And just like lifting can be a cardio exercise if performed in that way, yoga can too. As a runner and cross trainer, it's been the best addition to my schedule

lporter229

Do not get hung up on the notion that you can't build muscle in a deficit. While, yes, this is mostly true, this line of thinking usually pertains to body builders and people who are trying to achieve that "muscle" look. For most people (and I suspect you fall into this category, although I could be wrong), the goal is more about gaining strength and achieving a look with more muscle definition. You can definitely do both of these things in a deficit. By strength training in a deficit, you will preserve more of your current muscle mass vs. cardio alone, become stronger, and continue to lose fat, giving your body an overall more defined look.

I agree with the poster above who suggested yoga as a good place to start. Things like yoga, pilates and simple body weight exercises are valuable ways to develop essential core strength, great balance and flexibility that will keep you free of injury as you continue to increase your endurance.

LuckyMe2017

Thanks guys. So I gather that by alternating lifting and cardio days, the cardio won't be counterproductive? If so, great! I had been under the impression that I'd have to put cardio on the back burner...decreasing to maybe 30m per week.

XavierNusum

rumijs wrote: »

Agree with what has been mentioned above. Also, yoga. Some people hear the word and scoff or want to run away. But for ultimate balance, body strength workouts, and flexibility, yoga is great! And just like lifting can be a cardio exercise if performed in that way, yoga can too. As a runner and cross trainer, it's been the best addition to my schedule

lporter229 wrote: »

Do not get hung up on the notion that you can't build muscle in a deficit. While, yes, this is mostly true, this line of thinking usually pertains to body builders and people who are trying to achieve that "muscle" look. For most people (and I suspect you fall into this category, although I could be wrong), the goal is more about gaining strength and achieving a look with more muscle definition. You can definitely do both of these things in a deficit. By strength training in a deficit, you will preserve more of your current muscle mass vs. cardio alone, become stronger, and continue to lose fat, giving your body an overall more defined look.

I agree with the poster above who suggested yoga as a good place to start. Things like yoga, pilates and simple body weight exercises are valuable ways to develop essential core strength, great balance and flexibility that will keep you free of injury as you continue to increase your endurance.

These 2 posts right here say it all very well.

LuckyMe2017

Thanks guys. I know that people say you can't spot train, but I have a Pilates Scs that I used for a while maybe 5 years ago and my midsection definitely shrunk. Since dec 31, I have been walking/jogging 8-10 miles per week and my thighs are shrinking, but not my midsection. Lol. Anyway, I have thought of yoga and Pilates as means for producing flexibility and focus. Thank you for broadening my awareness/perception.

demoiselle2014

You can certainly spot train muscles! People get so hung up on the fact that you can't choose which body part will lose fat that they seem to forget that muscles change the way the body looks and measures, too.

Of course, there's also confirmation bias at work with people who are targeting a certain body part. For example, before I hurt my toe, when I was running regularly, my thighs and butt were definitely getting thinner. Alas, that was because my hips and thighs are apparently the parts of my body that are storing the most fat right now, not because of the running itself.

LuckyMe2017

demoiselle2014 wrote: »

You can certainly spot train muscles! People get so hung up on the fact that you can't choose which body part will lose fat that they seem to forget that muscles change the way the body looks and measures, too.

Of course, there's also confirmation bias at work with people who are targeting a certain body part. For example, before I hurt my toe, when I was running regularly, my thighs and butt were definitely getting thinner. Alas, that was because my hips and thighs are apparently the parts of my body that are storing the most fat right now, not because of the running itself.

Thanks for your perspective.

shrinkingletters

rumijs wrote: »

Agree with what has been mentioned above. Also, yoga. Some people hear the word and scoff or want to run away. But for ultimate balance, body strength workouts, and flexibility, yoga is great! And just like lifting can be a cardio exercise if performed in that way, yoga can too. As a runner and cross trainer, it's been the best addition to my schedule

Yoga is no friggin joke. It may not build up the same kind of sweat that circuit training, heavy lifting, or running can, (okay, in certain instances, it can), but it will certainly test your balance and how well you think you control your body.

pmm3437

3 miles of jogging at a 13m/mile pace isn't taxing enough or long enough to have any short or long term impact on a strength training routine.

You can do both on the same day, if you like, just do the strength training before the cardio.

You can gain muscle strength and mass while in a caloric deficit, under specific circumstances. You need the proper macro nutrition to support it. You also need to have enough stored calories that can be cannibalized to fuel the process. If your already within your ideal BMI range, you likely wont see any measurable results.

BUT ... the benefit of strength training to preserving muscle while in a deficit, makes it worthwhile even if you cant gain mass.

If you have access to free weights, stronglifts or strongcurves are highly recommended here on MFP. If you want to start with body weight exercises, a quick google search will get you hundreds of options to further research. I hear this book ( http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Your-Own-Gym/dp/0345528581 ) comes highly recommended, if you want a starting point.

If your losing it in the legs and thighs 1st, and keeping it in the midsection, sounds like your an Apple. Cant tell, cause there are no pictures. If that is the case, you wont see major changes til you get closer to ideal BMI range.

sijomial

Diet:
Slight deficit (slow weight loss), adequate protein.

Exercise:
Alternate days of lifting (prioritising the big compound lifts) and cardio/running. 3 x a week strength/weights, 3 x a week cardio.
Ideally pick a structured program for both but not essential.

Rest:
Try to get good sleep and have one very easy or rest day a week.
If you start to get fatigued or have recovery/soreness issues then you may need to prioritise one over the other.
You don't have to cut back on cardio while doing weights, your very moderate distance shouldn't be an issue at all.

47Jacqueline

I do 60 minutes of strength training a week using free weights. I started with 5lb/hand and now use between 10lb to 20 depending on what I am doing. I have, in the last two years on maintenance, lost 2 sizes (from a size 8), developed thigh "gap" lol and lost most of my "bat wings".

Of course, some of this is genetic, but 1) everyone can become as fit as they want given the effort they expend, and 2) you do not have to do strong lifts or lift extremely heavy to develop muscle mass.

Balance: http://nihseniorhealth.gov/exerciseandphysicalactivityexercisestotry/balanceexercises/01.html

LuckyMe2017

I think I am a pear shape. My body looks fine but I think I gained a lot of fat around my midsection that is just taking extra time to come off.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments and sharing resources.

I think I will do something like this:
M-weights-yoga
T-jog
W-weights-yoga
Th- jog
F-weights-yoga
S-circuit or interval training
S-rest