Tracking progress and planning

arch53

Ok, first off, is it good to plan your day and/or week's exercise? Because sometimes i find that puts me off, not sure why, but i think the idea of being 'routinely' is boring. But then again it's structure i guess.

Also, i dont care what i weigh, ive now realised this. I care more about what i look like. So if i weighed 45 stone but looked amazing, i wouldnt care (not very likely to be possible) but thats an example. So do i need to lose weight first doing cardio, then strength training? As i believe i wouldnt be able to track/see the progrees of strength training as there is fat in the way.

Basically:

Plan or no plan?
Cardio cardio cardio for weeks, then strength? or another way?

Tahnk you

kikki29

I started out doing both cardio and toning, and having a plan like cardio everyday and abs everyday. Mondays are leggs tuesday chest and tricieps wed back and bicieps thursday shoulders and fridays leggs again I lost about 90 pounds doing this. And it can be changed up as needed

Mira710

I plan out my workouts. I do strength training four days (2 days front of the body, 2 days back of the body) a week and cardio two days a week. If I miss a day, it throws my entire schedule out of whack (so I never miss a workout!). But I do workout videos, so its all pretty much planned for me. You should do a balance of strength and cardio. As long as your heart rate is up, you are burning calories and my heart rate is always up during strength workouts. Basically: plan and rotate between strength and cardio.

_LilPowerHouse

I find that planning my meals early in the morning kinda takes away that routine feeling.. but I do plan my workouts religiously because It wont happen if I don't..
My routine is Weight train for 3 days and on my off days from that I do cardio in the form of HIIT. This works great for me as my body needs a break in between my weight training to re-cooperate, and since I seriously hate regular ole cardio, I find HIIT to be extremely challenging and I just love it..

Nikstergirl

Ok, first off, a plan is the only way to go. It can be changed or tweaked, but having a plan for what you're going to do each day (including food if possible) is so important. You don't want to just show up at the gym and flounder around for an hour, you want to make each minute count!

Second, strength training in combination with cardio and a calorie deficit (and healthy food) will be the quickest and healthiest way to good results. Figure out your calorie goal and stick to it. If you can, get a heart rate monitor and wear that while you workout so you know how many calories you burn and can accurately eat them. I feel that eating your exercise calories, while you are working toward a daily deficit, is the best way to fuel your body and lose weight safely (again, this is my opinion and what has worked for me).

If you make a plan, say strength train on Mon, Weds, Fri for 45 min with 20 minutes of cardio (brisk walk, jog, bike) and then good cardio only on Tues, Thurs, Sat for 60 min (work up to this, you may not start at this level) your body will gain muscle and endurance and you will slim down significantly. Do a different workout every day if you get bored easily, or do the same one for a few weeks and then change, just do something. If this is too much for you, strength train two days (Mon, Thurs) and cardio only 2-3 days. Figure out what works for you, tweak it as you go and you'll start to see changes.

I started with just cardio for several months and I truly wish I'd added strength from the beginning. I'm working on it now, but I could have been farther ahead if I'd have started it right off.

Good luck!