When to transition? Cardio to Strength

rontuu

I know a lot of people would have advised me to do Strength training from the get go. As I had quite a large distance to go with my weight, however, I went the pure cardio route. I'm down from 257 to 200. Goal weight is 170-175. I'm just curious on opinions of when to transition from Cardio to Strength Training.

I've found a new love for running so I don't plan to give it up. I haven't done anything too drastic. I've just really cleaned up my diet. My workout week is as follows:

Every day Monday - Friday I walk 2.4 miles or so on my lunch break and eat during my work shift instead.
Sunday: Off
Monday: Elliptical (30 Minutes High Intensity)
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Elliptical (30 Minutes High Intensity)
Thursday: Run with the local running shop. 5-7 Miles
Friday: Off
Saturday: Run 6.5+ miles.

The only form of strength training I do is pushups Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. (A few sets that add up to about 150 pushups a day.)

I had originally thought to wait until I perhaps got to around 180 or 185 before changing things up. Opinions? My hope was to get all the damn fat off, then work on that six pack I dreamed about since about age five. Lol.

Maybe at that point replace my elliptical days with high intensity strength training? I have no clue and am just trying to plan the future here. I don't plan to give up my two running days though. (Half Marathon here I come!)

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks guys!

Cherimoose

I know a lot of people would have advised me to do Strength training from the get go.

I agree with those people. Everyone should be doing strength training, regardless of their goal, due to its multiple benefits. So now is the time to start.

MeanderingMammal

Personally I run 5 times per week, cycle or row at least once and do two bodyweight resistance sessions. That gives me enough to optimise my running and cycling performance without detracting from my training.

Actually I should add, if you're looking at HM then you probably need to add at least one, if not two runs to your week. Chop the Eliptihell sessions and replace them with the additional runs and/ or a resistance session.

elliej

Ditch the elliptical days and lift free weights instead.

Get a book/trainer/advisor of some kind, which ever one you like/are recommended, and follow the plan. New Rules of Lifting is my recommendation, worth a read even if you don't stick to it because at least it gives you a different perspective.

rontuu

Out of curiosity, do you guys recommend Insanity, P90X, or anything like that? Or would I be better off with free lifting, etc.?

Just curious.

tigersword

Stronglifts 5x5

corgarian

Any time is the right time.

In all honesty do what is best for you, but lifting is super benificial.

Think of it this way; the more muscle you have the faster your body is able to burn fat on its own. So doing things to build your muscles will aid in fat loss.
Dont get me wrong, cardio is great for burning calories, but you're not building muscle.
Give lifting a try, but I'd say get a session or two with a trainer first so that you dont hurt yourself.

vorgas

Out of curiosity, do you guys recommend Insanity, P90X, or anything like that? Or would I be better off with free lifting, etc.?

Just curious.

Those workouts you listed are just higher intensity calisthenics. None of them involve lifting a weight that is a significant portion of your body mass. They involve high impact aerobics which are bad for your joints, particularly if you are overweight, and P90X involves a fairly significant investment in equipment (dumbbells, pull-up bars, strength bands, mats, etc).

Benefits of lifting heavy, not provided by calisthenics:
1: A given caloric intake can only support so much mass. The more of that mass that is muscle, the leaner you look.
2: Your bone density increases, making them much stronger.
3: Greater awareness of body position and leverage when moving heavy things in life.
4: The ability to see very objective measurable results on a weekly basis.

Of course, there are more benefits to lifting heavy, but they are also shared by cardio/aerobics/calisthenics, such as a stronger heart, lower cholesterol, improved flexibility, etc, etc.

tziol

Combine both, cardio and strength.... push ups are good, use some weights too for shoulders and include it to your strength workout with push ups etc...

MeanderingMammal

Out of curiosity, do you guys recommend Insanity, P90X, or anything like that? Or would I be better off with free lifting, etc.?

Those DVDs are broadly CV circuits, so a limited resistance effect, personally speaking the idea of using any of them doesn't appeal to me.

Subject to your goals, and as you mention HM, you'd probably gain most from a whole body compound lifting plan. As long as you're in deficit the effect is retention of muscle mass, and improved core strength, as you move into maintenance you may gain at which point you may want to look at your programme in more detail. From a running/ cycling perspective you don't want to be carrying significant amounts of spare mass around, it slows you down.