Help - Cardio Withdrawal

parfia

Hello All,

So I'm usually a bit of a cardio junkie and tend to spend most of my time on the cardio machines at the gym - mostly the treadmill.

As the running seemed to be doing less and less for my weight loss, I've decided to incorporate some strength training into my workouts. I have starting lifting (using Nia Shanks blogs on bodybuilding.com) and also starting doing some body weight exercises - for example, this morning I did 30 minutes of lifting followed by slam balls, kettle bell swings, burpees, step ups, step jumps, squats, lunges and mountain climbers.

I worked hard but I feel a bit of a cop out, that I'm not doing as much as I do when I run around 5k on the treadmill. I was at the gym for over an hour though.

Please someone talk my mind out of this NEED to be on the treadmill 24/7 - its ridiculous!!

RoxieDawn

Cutting back on running is tough. I promise you will get through it. Once you start seeing the gains doing your strength training you will move toward goals for lifting.

And I promise you can burn a boat load of calories doing all that kettle bell, burpees, steps, etc.. So in a sense you still have a lot of good cardio work going on..

My question is, do you run for calorie burning only or do you love to run... There is a huge difference..

feeleymike1987

I would try more weight lifting. I do 3 to ; sets with no rest. Then rest a minute and do another set. I do 3 sets before switching to 3 different exercises.

parfia

@gia07 - I do love running but I also enjoy lifting. My weight had started to plateau with my running through even though my eating habits haven't changed and I'd previously been losing. I've been trying to run further/faster but I find that I just can't break through the 45 minute barrier Just need to switch things up with the workout I think ...... I hope

Sumiblue

If you do a good progressive lifting program I can guarantee it's not a cop out. It becomes challenging, as it should. I do mostly lifting, 4x week. Cardio is limited to 1 HIIT or KB circuit. Maybe concentrate on tracking your strength to show you what it's doing. Preserving muscle (through lifting) is great for your body. You don't have to give up cardio, either. If fat loss is the goal you can't beat deficit+lifting+hitting protein macro. I went from 137-115 doing this.

Yi5hedr3

Weights are MUCH BETTER than any treadmill. Pumping iron should always take priority over cardio.
You'll burn more fat, and be a lot less likely to suffer a heart attack.