Exercise longer vs exercise harder?

Samuraiko

Okay, this one confuses me. Which is better? Exercising over a set period of time, or doing a certain number of reps/sets/circuits, regardless of how long or short it takes?

For example, is doing 3 sets of 15 reps of strength training, at the level of "oh my God this is INTENSE" any better (or worse) than doing as many reps as I can (at a possibly lower level of intensity) in X amount of time?

Thanks in advance.

BlueBombers

Exercise harder

SingingSingleTracker

Okay, this one confuses me. Which is better? Exercising over a set period of time, or doing a certain number of reps/sets/circuits, regardless of how long or short it takes?

For example, is doing 3 sets of 15 reps of strength training, at the level of "oh my God this is INTENSE" any better (or worse) than doing as many reps as I can (at a possibly lower level of intensity) in X amount of time?

Thanks in advance.

Both are important depending on which part of the periodization you are in...

Azdak

All exercise training effects are specific to the type, frequency, intensity, and duration of the exercise that is being performed. You need to match the training to your specific goals.

KANGOOJUMPS

I would do one,,,one day, then the other, the other day,

Samuraiko

Both are important depending on which part of the periodization you are in...

Just starting out, really. Currently 5'8", 286lbs. Decently flexible (as in I can reach my toes, and get up off the floor without needing a crane).

All exercise training effects are specific to the type, frequency, intensity, and duration of the exercise that is being performed. You need to match the training to your specific goals.

Goals:
Arms: Tone them up
Shoulders/chest: Lift the lasses a bit more (ahem), improve posture
Core: Flatten the tummy, strengthen my lower back
Legs/Hips: Tone, improve ankle strength, rehab my knees

Not sure if that helps.

Huffdogg

Firstly, "toning" is a meaningless term. It seems, as with most MFPeeps, that what you are looking to do is reduce bodyfat and retain as much lean muscle as you can, and possibly eventually build more. You'd be better served working with much higher weight and much lower reps.

Learn compound barbell lifts like squats, deadlift, and barbell presses, and use them in the 4-6 rep range, ideally. New Rules of Lifting for Women and Starting Strength are both excellent books that outline programs of this sort, though I find SS to be the simpler, better program overall.

Eat at a moderate deficit to burn fat.
Train heavy as you can with proper form to retain muscle during the fat burning.
Repeat until fabulous.

Samuraiko

Firstly, "toning" is a meaningless term. It seems, as with most MFPeeps, that what you are looking to do is reduce bodyfat and retain as much lean muscle as you can, and possibly eventually build more. You'd be better served working with much higher weight and much lower reps.

Learn compound barbell lifts like squats, deadlift, and barbell presses, and use them in the 4-6 rep range, ideally. New Rules of Lifting for Women and Starting Strength are both excellent books that outline programs of this sort, though I find SS to be the simpler, better program overall.

Eat at a moderate deficit to burn fat.
Train heavy as you can with proper form to retain muscle during the fat burning.
Repeat until fabulous.

Coolness, I appreciate the clarification, and will definitely look into Starting Strength. I think I get a gym discount through work, might have to look into that, since I don't have the space at home for barbells. Not an insurmountable problem, though.

Azdak

In looking at your profile, starting off with more of an endurance profile is likely the best fit.

That means:

Cardio: higher volume, lower intensity e.g. 4-6 days per week, 30-60 min per session, intensity 50%-65%

Strength: 2 times per week, 8-10 exercises, focusing on larger muscle groups, 2-3 sets, 12-20 reps per set. Machines or cable exercises are the best choices for now.

Goals: This is the "adaptation" phase. Establish a consistent routine, allow your body to get used to the stresses of a new activity routine, learn proper form, get in touch with your body and your muscles, build on successes, maximize calorie burn.

This phase might last only a couple of weeks.

Once you feel comfortable and you are moving with a purpose, then you can start adding in some more challenging work ("challenge" being a relative term). This means shortening up 2 of your cardio sessions and adding in some interval work. Interval work here means "working harder". Sometimes that means just throwing in a 1 min interval at 10% harder effort for 1 minute out of every five. But that's where you start. As it becomes more comfortable, increase the length of the work intervals and decrease the recovery ones. The next step is to try some shorter, even more intense intervals, up to an 80% effort level. For these, the recovery time should be higher than the work time, say a 1:3 to 1:4 ratio. These shorter workouts might only last 25 - 30 minutes.

For strength, you want to move in a similar direction. First make sure you are working almost to failure each set; then start increasing the weights so that when 10-12 reps starts to feel easier, increase the weights. At this time, you can start to include some squats, step ups, split squats, and other free weight exercises.

The goals are to increase strength and aerobic fitness, maintain a consistent routine, work on increased body mastery, conserve lean mass and maximize calorie burn.

After 3-6 mos of that, it will be time to take stock, assess progress, and decide where to go from there.

FrnkLft

Ok, exercise is about working smart, not JUST hard. So these two variables don't make sense on their own. Neither is better or worse, it depends on your goals.

Also, the work you do in the gym is cumulative in the short term, so if you workout for 30 min in the morning and then 30 minutes in the evening, or if you spread a 2 hour workout over the course of a few days instead of cramming it all in at once, you will still reap the same benefits.

As always, what are your goals?

joanthemom8

My goal is to exercise harder - I think I can get more out of my 20 minute stairmaster workout if I do "intervals" and more out of my 40 minute treadmill jogging if I do "sprints" than if I just add on more minutes at the same pace. My time at the gym is limited, so I want to get more out of each minute I have there.

ksmithnh

Great topic - thanks for posting! I have only been doing cardio and want to start building and defining muscle so this is really helpful.

ninerbuff

You do the one that fits YOUR goal better.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Cre8veLifeR

Here's my .02$ and you have gotten some good advice!

lower - moderate intensity workouts burn fat. You need to know what your max heart rate is, and work to 60% of that and keep it there if you are doing shorter workouts (30-40 mins) - when you stay in this range your body burns fat rather than glucose and fat, as it does in higher intensity (cardio) workouts. Here is the formula from LIvestrong:

our target heart rate for fat burning is approximately 55 percent to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Multiply your MHR by 0.55 to get your lower level threshold, and multiply your MHR by 0.70 to get your upper level threshold. So, if you are 40 years old, your lower level threshold would be 180 x 0.55 = 99 beats per minute, and your upper level threshold would be 180 x 0.70 = 126 beats per minute. This would make your fat burning zone 99 to 126 beats per minute.

As far as strength training - DO IT! For toning you want lighter weights (not girlie weights but you don't want to only be able to do one rep either of a heavy weight - choose so by 12 your muscles are fatigued!) + reps. Don't hurt yourself. I do 3 sets of 12-15 reps depending on the exercise, with 1 minute rest between sets unless I am doing supersets.

What I personally do is do higher cardio for, well, cardio (heart rate) to burn more calories, so I know I am burning glucose + fat but I am still burning more overall calories. When I do strength training my target HR is in the low fat burning range so I am burning only fat while I lift (usually 45 mins) and PLUS, the more lean muscle you have the more fat you burn while your body is not exercising - you increase your metabolism. Hope this made sense!

cwolfman13

It depends...doing sets of 15 reps strength training isn't really strength training...strength training is in the 1-5 rep range...15 reps is in the muscular endurance range. So see...it depends on your goals.

If I want to ride a Century then I need to put in some miles in the saddle which means I would be logging quite a few hours...but for cyclocross I need to sprint as the races are only 30 - 45 minutes...so depending on the season, I'm doing longer workouts for the century and shorter, more intense workouts for cyclocross in the fall.

Also, my workouts tend to vary throughout the week...it's not balls to the wall every single day...for example, Sunday's are my long ride days so Monday is kind of an all purpose recover day and I just go out and ride around for about 20 minutes just to move a little...Tuesday is some walking and lifting...Wednesday is a decent ride of about 45 minutes...Thurs is a good 60 minute ride in the AM or lunch and then lifting in the PM. Friday is a full rest day generally unless I've had to switch things around during the week. Saturday is a go hard day with a two hour workout that consists of lifting first and then cross-training cardiovascular endurance work. Then Sunday I"m back in the saddle for a 2-3 hour ride.

It just depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Having independent fitness goals is going to dictate your training.

Huffdogg

lower - moderate intensity workouts burn fat.

Myth. Calorie deficit burns fat.

Chieflrg

All exercise training effects are specific to the type, frequency, intensity, and duration of the exercise that is being performed. You need to match the training to your specific goals.

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