HELP! I hate cardio

13

Replies

  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member

    Man oh man, have I been asleep at the switch because usually posts like this draw me like bees to honey.

    First off, after reading thru a lot of good responses, I was surprised that no one questioned the workout length. Over 2 hour workouts? That's just not sustainable. Or necessary. Chop that down to 45 mins, 3 days per week. If with a partner or two, then an hour is okay, MAX. If you post or send your routine, I'd love to help you whittle it down.

    Second, if you don't like cardio, then don't do it. It's got great benefits for your heart/lungs/endurance so it's probably a good idea for you right now. But you don't have to do it to lose weight. We've just cut 90 mins from your lifting, so maybe use 30 of that for cardio. Or not. I've cut most of mine (to great success) so I'm not going to get on you about yours.

    Third, it actually sounds like you DO like cardio. Maybe not boring azz treadmill/elliptical work but it sounds like you have an appetite for some more exotic stuff. Heck yes, ball slams and battle ropes can be your cardio. Even better, they can be more effective in less time that the boring stare-at-the-tv-and-the-clock cardio you and I both loathe.

    Try this cardio cocktail:

    45 secs ball slams
    15 secs rest
    45 secs burpees
    15 secs rest
    45 secs battle ropes
    15 secs rest
    45 secs russian twists holding your medicine ball
    15 secs rest
    45 secs mountain climbers
    15 secs rest
    45 secs alternating medicine ball pushups (modify if needed)
    15 secs rest
    Repeat 1-6

    Rest 2 mins

    Then do the whole routine again. Should be 12 mins of work, 2 mins rest, then 12 mins of work. 24 mins and wrap it up. Do that 3x a week. And feel free to sub in any high effort exercise you want to keep it fresh.

    I currently upped my workout a little bit because we just joined a Takedown side of our gym which offers whole new goodies to play with (ie battle ropes, wall balls, kettlebells, boxing things, rogue racks, rings etc etc etc). I thought perhaps the workout was taking a bit longer because some of the moves are new to me and I'm still trying to get them down.

    Current workout is with a partner (hubby) and looks like this: (3 sets of 8 reps, pushing myself to see how high I can go)

    Lat pulldowns- 80/85/85 (lbs)
    Bench- 80/80/75 (inc. bar weight and sometimes I have to pop back down to 75. 80lbs is still new and I reach failure now and then)
    Ball Slam- 14 lb ball
    Deadlift- 95lbs (bar + 25lb plates)
    Zottman Curls- 12.5 lbs
    Hammer Curls- 15 lbs sometimes 20(reaching failure on 20's)
    Incline Press- 55 lbs
    Tricep ball toss
    Shoulder press- 50-55lbs
    KB shoulder press- 18 lb bells
    Sumo Pull- 25lbs
    Short bar row for traps- 30 lbs

    Sometimes I throw in the Leg press @ 320 lbs

    I don't honestly mind the length of the workout. Before we joined Takedown side of the gym our workouts were 1.5 hrs to 1.75. We take turns after every set in order to rest. Typically need longer rests with Deadlifts and ballslams.

    Your cardio cocktail looks like fun! Can you explain what a mountain climber is? I know the rest of them.

    Again thanks everyone for your help!

    Edit to add: Usually work the same body parts together in a row but found I couldn't do the bench to my full potential after deadlifts and ball slams. So moved the bench up a few slots.
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member
    Cardio is not a must, wtf people? Do you actually read about the things you say? Cardio burns calories. You could achieve the same result by not eating those calories in the first place.

    Cardio is healthy and good for you but for weight loss purposes (especially when she already lifts to create/preserve muscle mass) it is redundant. If you hate it don't do it.

    However, how the hell does your weight lifting take 2 hours?? You are probably being excessive. I know everyone lifts differently but I just don't think any pure-lifting routine would take that long.

    I don't mind the time... I enjoy every minute when I am there (as long as I'm not on the treadmill lol)
  • You sound like a girl who would love her some cardio boxing. Put on a pair of gloves and pound the hell out of a bag until the instructor says stop. It'll get your heart pumping, and it certainly isn't boring.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Current workout is with a partner (hubby) and looks like this: (3 sets of 8 reps, pushing myself to see how high I can go)

    Lat pulldowns- 80/85/85 (lbs)
    Bench- 80/80/75 (inc. bar weight and sometimes I have to pop back down to 75. 80lbs is still new and I reach failure now and then)
    Ball Slam- 14 lb ball
    Deadlift- 95lbs (bar + 25lb plates)
    Zottman Curls- 12.5 lbs
    Hammer Curls- 15 lbs sometimes 20(reaching failure on 20's)
    Incline Press- 55 lbs
    Tricep ball toss
    Shoulder press- 50-55lbs
    KB shoulder press- 18 lb bells
    Sumo Pull- 25lbs
    Short bar row for traps- 30 lbs

    Sometimes I throw in the Leg press @ 320 lbs

    Overtraining is worse than undertraining...honestly.

    Lori, who I mentioned above and who has posted in this thread...has gone from a tight size 12, to a size 6, at 5'3" tall...in a month, doing less about 1/3 that workout, 3x a week. Her weight stalled (I told her to expect this) during that month, but she's now losing again as well.

    Her workout is a 5x5 format...and includes squats, bench press (or barbells), rows, and dips for workout A, then deadlifts, shoulder press, and chin ups for workout B. She alternates them 3x a week...and is out of the gym in less than an hour.

    I had to MAKE her rest at least two full days a week. THAT is the key to this stuff being effective. Exercise doesn't burn fat. Resting burns fat.
  • Kalliejc
    Kalliejc Posts: 36
    I listen to audiobooks during long runs- it's great for "boring" cardio- I just recently started a thread looking for suggestions if you're interested:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686200-looking-for-a-new-audiobook-for-long-runs

    It really helps pass the time, and if you ONLY listen to your story during cardio- you'll look forward to tghe boring cardio to hear the story!

    This is a great idea. I might have to try this.
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
    I greatly dislike cardio machines, treadmill, elliptical, ect. I, however, have found a love of cardio classes, I love kickboxing, I do tae bo, I love the Insanity dvds, and Zumba...if you told me to do an hr on the treadmill I would push it off and find an excused, but pop in a tae bo dvd or something, I seriously could do hours!

    This!

    Used to do 40 min on the elliptical. Now I can't even look at one!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    So there it is. I hate cardio! I'm great on my lifting days.. I feel motivated to push myself and really REALLY enjoy weight training.

    I do a full body weight lifting day followed by a day of rest from weights. On days of rest I'm supposed to do cardio but I find myself dreading the machines.

    So a couple of questions...

    Being as overweight as I am (300 lbs, 5'8) is cardio a must?

    Is cardio considered anything that gets your HR up? Lets say I do ball slams with a 14 lb ball, can this be cardio? This exercise gets my HR up. Same with battle ropes, they really get my blood pumping but I don't feel bored.

    How often do I need to take breaks between weight lifting? My weight training sessions go between 2-2.5 hrs each. During these I'm lifting as heavy as I can without failure (most of the time, sometimes we get to failure) for 3 sets of 8 reps.


    Thanks for all thoughts and opinions!

    Man oh man, have I been asleep at the switch because usually posts like this draw me like bees to honey.

    First off, after reading thru a lot of good responses, I was surprised that no one questioned the workout length. Over 2 hour workouts? That's just not sustainable. Or necessary. Chop that down to 45 mins, 3 days per week. If with a partner or two, then an hour is okay, MAX. If you post or send your routine, I'd love to help you whittle it down.

    Second, if you don't like cardio, then don't do it. It's got great benefits for your heart/lungs/endurance so it's probably a good idea for you right now. But you don't have to do it to lose weight. We've just cut 90 mins from your lifting, so maybe use 30 of that for cardio. Or not. I've cut most of mine (to great success) so I'm not going to get on you about yours.

    Third, it actually sounds like you DO like cardio. Maybe not boring azz treadmill/elliptical work but it sounds like you have an appetite for some more exotic stuff. Heck yes, ball slams and battle ropes can be your cardio. Even better, they can be more effective in less time that the boring stare-at-the-tv-and-the-clock cardio you and I both loathe.

    Try this cardio cocktail:

    45 secs ball slams
    15 secs rest
    45 secs burpees
    15 secs rest
    45 secs battle ropes
    15 secs rest
    45 secs russian twists holding your medicine ball
    15 secs rest
    45 secs mountain climbers
    15 secs rest
    45 secs alternating medicine ball pushups (modify if needed)
    15 secs rest
    Repeat 1-6

    Rest 2 mins

    Then do the whole routine again. Should be 12 mins of work, 2 mins rest, then 12 mins of work. 24 mins and wrap it up. Do that 3x a week. And feel free to sub in any high effort exercise you want to keep it fresh.

    Awesome reply my friend...seriously...and as usual :)

    And no, I didn't see the 2hr workout thing lol. I did mention an hour 3x a week in my reply though =p.

    Hmmmm....you did specify a workout length.....but nope, didn't call out the 2 hour workouts. So doesn't count! I claim FIRST! I'm just happy you and Bean left something for me to do here. You two have been beating to all the good answers for days. FIRST!
  • klewlis
    klewlis Posts: 79 Member
    Cardio is not a must, wtf people? Do you actually read about the things you say? Cardio burns calories. You could achieve the same result by not eating those calories in the first place.

    Cardio is healthy and good for you but for weight loss purposes (especially when she already lifts to create/preserve muscle mass) it is redundant. If you hate it don't do it.

    It's not redundant because she is not getting cardio benefits elsewhere. Muscle mass is not cardiovascular health. And given that she mentioned she is already on medications that are modifying her heartrate, I think it's safe to assume that she needs to work on her cardiovascular health. Find the right cardio and you don't need heart meds because your heart will become stronger and healthier. I'm a long distance runner and I have such a low resting heartrate and great blood pressure that I get comments and questions from the nurses every time I donate blood. THAT is why we need cardio. Can she lose weight without it? Sure, but pounds are not the indicator of fitness or health.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    So there it is. I hate cardio! I'm great on my lifting days.. I feel motivated to push myself and really REALLY enjoy weight training.

    I do a full body weight lifting day followed by a day of rest from weights. On days of rest I'm supposed to do cardio but I find myself dreading the machines.

    So a couple of questions...

    Being as overweight as I am (300 lbs, 5'8) is cardio a must?

    Is cardio considered anything that gets your HR up? Lets say I do ball slams with a 14 lb ball, can this be cardio? This exercise gets my HR up. Same with battle ropes, they really get my blood pumping but I don't feel bored.

    How often do I need to take breaks between weight lifting? My weight training sessions go between 2-2.5 hrs each. During these I'm lifting as heavy as I can without failure (most of the time, sometimes we get to failure) for 3 sets of 8 reps.


    Thanks for all thoughts and opinions!

    Cardio isnt necessary to lose weight.
    Just walk 10k steps a day and enjoy picking heavy **** up!

    Fact is, cardio is more destructive the heavier you are.
    Every pound in your gut is 8 on the knees and 10 on the back.
    So just walk.
  • klewlis
    klewlis Posts: 79 Member
    Cardio isnt necessary to lose weight.
    Just walk 10k steps a day and enjoy picking heavy **** up!

    Fact is, cardio is more destructive the heavier you are.
    Every pound in your gut is 8 on the knees and 10 on the back.
    So just walk.

    walking = cardio ;)
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    I currently upped my workout a little bit because we just joined a Takedown side of our gym which offers whole new goodies to play with (ie battle ropes, wall balls, kettlebells, boxing things, rogue racks, rings etc etc etc). I thought perhaps the workout was taking a bit longer because some of the moves are new to me and I'm still trying to get them down.

    Current workout is with a partner (hubby) and looks like this: (3 sets of 8 reps, pushing myself to see how high I can go)

    Lat pulldowns- 80/85/85 (lbs)
    Bench- 80/80/75 (inc. bar weight and sometimes I have to pop back down to 75. 80lbs is still new and I reach failure now and then)
    Ball Slam- 14 lb ball
    Deadlift- 95lbs (bar + 25lb plates)
    Zottman Curls- 12.5 lbs
    Hammer Curls- 15 lbs sometimes 20(reaching failure on 20's)
    Incline Press- 55 lbs
    Tricep ball toss
    Shoulder press- 50-55lbs
    KB shoulder press- 18 lb bells
    Sumo Pull- 25lbs
    Short bar row for traps- 30 lbs

    Sometimes I throw in the Leg press @ 320 lbs

    I don't honestly mind the length of the workout. Before we joined Takedown side of the gym our workouts were 1.5 hrs to 1.75. We take turns after every set in order to rest. Typically need longer rests with Deadlifts and ballslams.

    Your cardio cocktail looks like fun! Can you explain what a mountain climber is? I know the rest of them.

    Again thanks everyone for your help!

    Edit to add: Usually work the same body parts together in a row but found I couldn't do the bench to my full potential after deadlifts and ball slams. So moved the bench up a few slots.

    Oooooooooooo, me like the sound of your gym. Not one reason to get bored there. Me like a lot.

    What I don't like that workout length. Even the 1.5 hours before was too much. Like Spectreman (yes, I'm old AND I'm a nerd) your body starts to power down from the start of your first set. You just don't have much left for the stuff coming later in the workout. What I find is people start "saving themselves" for the later stuff, and well, you can see why that would be detrimental.

    Back to what I do like! You and the hubby actually have some nice exercises on there. You just have too many. And you're on the right track with your full body 3x per week idea. But with the compound work you've got on here, your "full body" doesn't need as much isolation work. We need to get your 12 exercises down to 6-8. Let's take a look:

    **********************
    Current workout is with a partner (hubby) and looks like this: (3 sets of 8 reps, pushing myself to see how high I can go)

    Lat pulldowns- 80/85/85 (lbs)
    Bench- 80/80/75 (inc. bar weight and sometimes I have to pop back down to 75. 80lbs is still new and I reach failure now and then)
    XXXXXXXXXX Ball Slam- 14 lb ball (cut this and make it part of cardio or not at all)
    Deadlift- 95lbs (bar + 25lb plates) (I'd move deadlifts to the first position in this routine)
    XXXXXXXX Zottman Curls- 12.5 lbs (Nope!)
    XXXXXXXX Hammer Curls- 15 lbs sometimes 20(reaching failure on 20's) (Hell to the naw)
    Incline Press- 55 lbs
    XXXXXXXXX Tricep ball toss (I admit I had to youtube this one. Cut it. But it you want to put it in the cardio routine, cool!)
    Shoulder press- 50-55lbs
    XXXXXXX KB shoulder press- 18 lb bells (note: I'm not actually cutting this one, I would suggest alternating it with the shoulder press.
    XXXXXXX Sumo Pull- 25lbs (same as above. Alt these with the deadlifts if you like doing them)
    XXXXXXXXXX Short bar row for traps- 30 lbs (No. The deads and shoulder work are doing plenty for your traps. You want huge traps?)

    Sometimes I throw in the Leg press @ 320 lbs (Sometimes???? Without this, there's no quad work in here. Legs/glutes are your biggest muscle group, and getting them going will get your whole body going. So sometimes, let's throw some SQUATS in there.)

    There we go. So our routine is:
    1. Squats alt with Leg Press
    2. Deadlifts alt with Sumo
    3. Bench Presses
    4. Incline Press
    5. Shoulder Press alt with KB press
    6. Lat Pulldowns
    7. Barbell Curls. If only because I'm guessing hubby isn't going completely give up his bicep work. Only 1 min rest between sets allowed for this puny bodypart

    With both of you resting about 2 mins per set (while the other is doing their set, of course) this should be a 1 hour workout, right on the head and you would have hit every major muscle from your toes to your neck.

    When you're done, you can do the cardio cocktail and add the ball slams and tricep thingys and a whole bunch of other fun stuff your gym has.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Cardio isnt necessary to lose weight.
    Just walk 10k steps a day and enjoy picking heavy **** up!

    Fact is, cardio is more destructive the heavier you are.
    Every pound in your gut is 8 on the knees and 10 on the back.
    So just walk.

    walking = cardio ;)

    My view of cardio is a hamster in a wheel!
    hamsterwheel.gif
  • klynn81
    klynn81 Posts: 178 Member
    A lot of the times I hate cardio too. What I hate even more than cardio though...is being fat and unhealthy. yup.

    Sure I could lose weight without cardio...but I'm not looking to "just" lose weight. I highly encourage you to do some cardio. You don't have to be a slave to it. Heck I'd be bored to tears if I sat and walked for an hour on a treadmill too.

    If you do enjoy the treadmill/elliptical/bike then switch it up and do intervals rotating btw. them. Go hard, for a shorter amount of time. Or how about a class or a dvd? I love me some turbo jam, have done it with dvd and taken classes and it was tons of fun and a great workout. a lot of people love zumba, it was fun but I couldn't get past the annoying instructor. I love the water so I used to do water aerobics. You can slack like the majority of the chatty kathy's that are there, or you can push yourself and get a good workout, and it's fun. AND easy on the joints. How about swimming laps?

    Find what you love, and then do it. Mix it up. Keep it interesting. Try something you've never tried before.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Mountain climbers, also called floor sprints

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyeZM-_VnRc
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    Overtraining is worse than undertraining...honestly.

    TRUTH
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Mountain climbers, also called floor sprints

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyeZM-_VnRc

    I like these BTW.

    Lower abs really feel it!
  • questiontheanswers
    questiontheanswers Posts: 170 Member
    Cardio at the gym (treadmill, elliptical) bores me to tears. I have fallen in love with cardio kickboxing, though (in a class setting), and I also LOVE walking and hiking outside. Fresh air, change of scenery, I'm not sure what it is, but something about being outside, with or without my iPod, keeps me much happier than being wedged on a treadmill between two other panting people.
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member
    Cardio is not a must, wtf people? Do you actually read about the things you say? Cardio burns calories. You could achieve the same result by not eating those calories in the first place.

    Cardio is healthy and good for you but for weight loss purposes (especially when she already lifts to create/preserve muscle mass) it is redundant. If you hate it don't do it.

    It's not redundant because she is not getting cardio benefits elsewhere. Muscle mass is not cardiovascular health. And given that she mentioned she is already on medications that are modifying her heartrate, I think it's safe to assume that she needs to work on her cardiovascular health. Find the right cardio and you don't need heart meds because your heart will become stronger and healthier. I'm a long distance runner and I have such a low resting heartrate and great blood pressure that I get comments and questions from the nurses every time I donate blood. THAT is why we need cardio. Can she lose weight without it? Sure, but pounds are not the indicator of fitness or health.

    Also this is my main goal. To be OFF my meds (other than Thyroid ones I have to take those forever), and be Healthy and FIT. I'm not looking to be skinny but looking to be physically fit.
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member

    I currently upped my workout a little bit because we just joined a Takedown side of our gym which offers whole new goodies to play with (ie battle ropes, wall balls, kettlebells, boxing things, rogue racks, rings etc etc etc). I thought perhaps the workout was taking a bit longer because some of the moves are new to me and I'm still trying to get them down.

    Current workout is with a partner (hubby) and looks like this: (3 sets of 8 reps, pushing myself to see how high I can go)

    Lat pulldowns- 80/85/85 (lbs)
    Bench- 80/80/75 (inc. bar weight and sometimes I have to pop back down to 75. 80lbs is still new and I reach failure now and then)
    Ball Slam- 14 lb ball
    Deadlift- 95lbs (bar + 25lb plates)
    Zottman Curls- 12.5 lbs
    Hammer Curls- 15 lbs sometimes 20(reaching failure on 20's)
    Incline Press- 55 lbs
    Tricep ball toss
    Shoulder press- 50-55lbs
    KB shoulder press- 18 lb bells
    Sumo Pull- 25lbs
    Short bar row for traps- 30 lbs

    Sometimes I throw in the Leg press @ 320 lbs

    I don't honestly mind the length of the workout. Before we joined Takedown side of the gym our workouts were 1.5 hrs to 1.75. We take turns after every set in order to rest. Typically need longer rests with Deadlifts and ballslams.

    Your cardio cocktail looks like fun! Can you explain what a mountain climber is? I know the rest of them.

    Again thanks everyone for your help!

    Edit to add: Usually work the same body parts together in a row but found I couldn't do the bench to my full potential after deadlifts and ball slams. So moved the bench up a few slots.

    Oooooooooooo, me like the sound of your gym. Not one reason to get bored there. Me like a lot.

    What I don't like that workout length. Even the 1.5 hours before was too much. Like Spectreman (yes, I'm old AND I'm a nerd) your body starts to power down from the start of your first set. You just don't have much left for the stuff coming later in the workout. What I find is people start "saving themselves" for the later stuff, and well, you can see why that would be detrimental.

    Back to what I do like! You and the hubby actually have some nice exercises on there. You just have too many. And you're on the right track with your full body 3x per week idea. But with the compound work you've got on here, your "full body" doesn't need as much isolation work. We need to get your 12 exercises down to 6-8. Let's take a look:

    **********************
    Current workout is with a partner (hubby) and looks like this: (3 sets of 8 reps, pushing myself to see how high I can go)

    Lat pulldowns- 80/85/85 (lbs)
    Bench- 80/80/75 (inc. bar weight and sometimes I have to pop back down to 75. 80lbs is still new and I reach failure now and then)
    XXXXXXXXXX Ball Slam- 14 lb ball (cut this and make it part of cardio or not at all)
    Deadlift- 95lbs (bar + 25lb plates) (I'd move deadlifts to the first position in this routine)
    XXXXXXXX Zottman Curls- 12.5 lbs (Nope!)
    XXXXXXXX Hammer Curls- 15 lbs sometimes 20(reaching failure on 20's) (Hell to the naw)
    Incline Press- 55 lbs
    XXXXXXXXX Tricep ball toss (I admit I had to youtube this one. Cut it. But it you want to put it in the cardio routine, cool!)
    Shoulder press- 50-55lbs
    XXXXXXX KB shoulder press- 18 lb bells (note: I'm not actually cutting this one, I would suggest alternating it with the shoulder press.
    XXXXXXX Sumo Pull- 25lbs (same as above. Alt these with the deadlifts if you like doing them)
    XXXXXXXXXX Short bar row for traps- 30 lbs (No. The deads and shoulder work are doing plenty for your traps. You want huge traps?)

    Sometimes I throw in the Leg press @ 320 lbs (Sometimes???? Without this, there's no quad work in here. Legs/glutes are your biggest muscle group, and getting them going will get your whole body going. So sometimes, let's throw some SQUATS in there.)

    There we go. So our routine is:
    1. Squats alt with Leg Press
    2. Deadlifts alt with Sumo
    3. Bench Presses
    4. Incline Press
    5. Shoulder Press alt with KB press
    6. Lat Pulldowns
    7. Barbell Curls. If only because I'm guessing hubby isn't going completely give up his bicep work. Only 1 min rest between sets allowed for this puny bodypart

    With both of you resting about 2 mins per set (while the other is doing their set, of course) this should be a 1 hour workout, right on the head and you would have hit every major muscle from your toes to your neck.

    When you're done, you can do the cardio cocktail and add the ball slams and tricep thingys and a whole bunch of other fun stuff your gym has.

    This doesn't actually sound too bad except you moved all my fun stuff to cardio! Haha, I will see what hubby thinks ;)
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member
    There's been a lot of very helpful answers here and I want to thank you all for taking the time to help me out! I see now cardio doesn't have to be treadmill and ellip machines I can have FUN and do the things I enjoy for cardio!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    There we go. So our routine is:
    1. Squats alt with Leg Press
    2. Deadlifts alt with Sumo
    3. Bench Presses
    4. Incline Press
    5. Shoulder Press alt with KB press
    6. Lat Pulldowns
    7. Barbell Curls. If only because I'm guessing hubby isn't going completely give up his bicep work. Only 1 min rest between sets allowed for this puny bodypart

    With both of you resting about 2 mins per set (while the other is doing their set, of course) this should be a 1 hour workout, right on the head and you would have hit every major muscle from your toes to your neck.

    When you're done, you can do the cardio cocktail and add the ball slams and tricep thingys and a whole bunch of other fun stuff your gym has.

    This doesn't actually sound too bad except you moved all my fun stuff to cardio! Haha, I will see what hubby thinks ;)

    Ha! I know how you feel! Whenever I change my routine up I miss some of my old exercises and I'm tempted to leave them in and have a longer workout. Actually, I'm the nice one. Chris is going to come in and cut this down to 3-4 exercises per day!
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member

    There we go. So our routine is:
    1. Squats alt with Leg Press
    2. Deadlifts alt with Sumo
    3. Bench Presses
    4. Incline Press
    5. Shoulder Press alt with KB press
    6. Lat Pulldowns
    7. Barbell Curls. If only because I'm guessing hubby isn't going completely give up his bicep work. Only 1 min rest between sets allowed for this puny bodypart

    With both of you resting about 2 mins per set (while the other is doing their set, of course) this should be a 1 hour workout, right on the head and you would have hit every major muscle from your toes to your neck.

    When you're done, you can do the cardio cocktail and add the ball slams and tricep thingys and a whole bunch of other fun stuff your gym has.

    This doesn't actually sound too bad except you moved all my fun stuff to cardio! Haha, I will see what hubby thinks ;)

    Ha! I know how you feel! Whenever I change my routine up I miss some of my old exercises and I'm tempted to leave them in and have a longer workout. Actually, I'm the nice one. Chris is going to come in and cut this down to 3-4 exercises per day!

    I think i might cry if that happens :sad:

    I forgot to mention I've recently been doing squats too. It's just not a freq thing. Will def add more of those in! I love the leg press but I got out of doing it because hubby got injured and doesn't do legs. I thought deadlift worked the legs as well?
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    Ha! I know how you feel! Whenever I change my routine up I miss some of my old exercises and I'm tempted to leave them in and have a longer workout. Actually, I'm the nice one. Chris is going to come in and cut this down to 3-4 exercises per day!

    I think i might cry if that happens :sad:

    I forgot to mention I've recently been doing squats too. It's just not a freq thing. Will def add more of those in! I love the leg press but I got out of doing it because hubby got injured and doesn't do legs. I thought deadlift worked the legs as well?

    Deadlifts are more hams, glutes, back. The front of your legs (quads) act more as a stabilizer than doing actual hard work. Get your squats in. They may be labeled as a leg exercise, but they will have a massive effect on your whole body and overall metabolism. Foundation exercise.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member

    Ha! I know how you feel! Whenever I change my routine up I miss some of my old exercises and I'm tempted to leave them in and have a longer workout. Actually, I'm the nice one. Chris is going to come in and cut this down to 3-4 exercises per day!

    I think i might cry if that happens :sad:

    I forgot to mention I've recently been doing squats too. It's just not a freq thing. Will def add more of those in! I love the leg press but I got out of doing it because hubby got injured and doesn't do legs. I thought deadlift worked the legs as well?

    Deadlifts are more hams, glutes, back. The front of your legs (quads) act more as a stabilizer than doing actual hard work. Get your squats in. They may be labeled as a leg exercise, but they will have a massive effect on your whole body and overall metabolism. Foundation exercise.

    ^^^^^^ definitely!! A balanced workout requires both.

    And actually Dav's workout is awesome. I still would prefer to divide it up into two alternating workouts, and see you push each specific lift with more intensity rather than the more exercises each day...but there is NO harm in doing it his specified way at all. It's just a personal preference thing :). With his, 3x8 is probably the most you'll be doing. If you divide it up, you can do 5x5 in the same time frame. Alternating (first 3x8, then 5x5) every 3-4 months, or when your strength gains stall...is highly recommended as well.

    One thing I would suggest, is to work very hard towards getting rid of the lat pulldowns and curl work, and doing chin/pull ups instead...with weighted chin/pull ups being the eventual goal. The differences in functional strength engendered by the chin/pull ups are incredible. Chin ups focus on the biceps, with lats fully engaging slightly later...pull ups focus on the lats, with biceps fully engaging slightly later.

    The other thing I want to state very clearly (I haven't seen it said yet, but may have missed it)...is to make sure you're increasing your weight lifted at every opportunity. When you can do more than 8 reps with a given weight...increase it until you can only complete 6-7 reps or so...and work for 8 reps again. THIS is what makes you stronger, by challenging your central nervous system and stimulating neuromuscular adaptation.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member

    Ha! I know how you feel! Whenever I change my routine up I miss some of my old exercises and I'm tempted to leave them in and have a longer workout. Actually, I'm the nice one. Chris is going to come in and cut this down to 3-4 exercises per day!

    I think i might cry if that happens :sad:

    I forgot to mention I've recently been doing squats too. It's just not a freq thing. Will def add more of those in! I love the leg press but I got out of doing it because hubby got injured and doesn't do legs. I thought deadlift worked the legs as well?

    Deadlifts are more hams, glutes, back. The front of your legs (quads) act more as a stabilizer than doing actual hard work. Get your squats in. They may be labeled as a leg exercise, but they will have a massive effect on your whole body and overall metabolism. Foundation exercise.

    ^^^^^^ definitely!! A balanced workout requires both.

    And actually Dav's workout is awesome. I still would prefer to divide it up into two alternating workouts, and see you push each specific lift with more intensity rather than the more exercises each day...but there is NO harm in doing it his specified way at all. It's just a personal preference thing :). With his, 3x8 is probably the most you'll be doing. If you divide it up, you can do 5x5 in the same time frame. Alternating (first 3x8, then 5x5) every 3-4 months, or when your strength gains stall...is highly recommended as well.

    One thing I would suggest, is to work very hard towards getting rid of the lat pulldowns and curl work, and doing chin/pull ups instead...with weighted chin/pull ups being the eventual goal. The differences in functional strength engendered by the chin/pull ups are incredible. Chin ups focus on the biceps, with lats fully engaging slightly later...pull ups focus on the lats, with biceps fully engaging slightly later.

    The other thing I want to state very clearly (I haven't seen it said yet, but may have missed it)...is to make sure you're increasing your weight lifted at every opportunity. When you can do more than 8 reps with a given weight...increase it until you can only complete 6-7 reps or so...and work for 8 reps again. THIS is what makes you stronger, by challenging your central nervous system and stimulating neuromuscular adaptation.
    Cris, ILY, but I don't think you realize how hard chin-ups/pull-ups are for women. They're really, really f*cking hard. I agree weighted chin ups can be something to work towards- but honestly- being able to do unassisted ones AT ALL is a major, major milestone. Normally I don't believe in differentiating excercises between women and men, but in the case of chin ups, weighted pull ups are as distant for most of us as a 400-lb squat. Don't get me wrong- Imma gonna get there, but I think just doing assisted ones and gradually reducing the assistance the same way you would add weight on any other lift is more realistic.
  • beckyinma
    beckyinma Posts: 1,433 Member


    Cardio isn't required for weight loss, but it is good for your general health.

    This.

    If you hate treadmill and elliptical etc, find something you ENJOY that is also cardio, walking outside, hiking, swimming, body pump, spin, kickboxing, zumba. I hate cardio, often will put off a run because I'll find an excuse even though I know I have to do it.. Then, I discovered swimming laps around my local pond's deep end.. It's low impact, but it delivers results for calorie burn if you put the work in, and I can tread water while my kids jump off the float and call it a workout.. It's awesome. It's like cardio without the sweat.. Now I have to find an indoor pool for Sept-May or this winter is gonna suck...
  • irisheyez718
    irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
    Do you like to dance at all? I do Zumba 3 times a week, and its so much fun, the time passes quickly. I also take BP meds, but my heart rate is still up there at a little over 160 for a good bit of the time. Also, if your gym has Body Pump classes, they are good for cardio, but you're also incorporating the weights. I asked 2 trainers at the gym if it was okay to do those after my normal lifting days and they said it was.
  • NNAhuja
    NNAhuja Posts: 669 Member
    Cardio is NOT a must. The only cardio I do is 5 minutes of raquetball before I lift 3 days a week. I eat at a moderate calorie deficit. My clothing sizes have decreased dramatically since doing this.

    What Lori here said.

    Although she didn't mention that she hikes 1-2 days a week for peace of mind...and this does help her get in basic health type cardio (which we really shouldn't neglect). As her trainer...I can most certainly attribute the fact that she's gone from a very tight size 12, to a size 6...in less than a month, to the strength training/relaxed diet program I have her on.

    She was hiking, and actually substantially more active, prior to us working together...yet the changes were nowhere near as dramatic.

    I do a ton of hiking in the fall which will probably make up my cardio during those times. Right now it's just SOOOO hot here in Arizona to go hiking. I miss it like crazy though.

    Nobody has answered my question on how long should I rest between lifting days? Is rest needed after every lifting day?
    My trainer has me lifting 6 days a week alternating between upper and lower with abs every day. I do run 3 days and week and on off days I do something else like Zumba/kickboxing or an elliptical. Treadmills and ellipticals CAN be fine. Time flies if I'm doing either with a friend or I have my mp3 player
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member

    Ha! I know how you feel! Whenever I change my routine up I miss some of my old exercises and I'm tempted to leave them in and have a longer workout. Actually, I'm the nice one. Chris is going to come in and cut this down to 3-4 exercises per day!

    I think i might cry if that happens :sad:

    I forgot to mention I've recently been doing squats too. It's just not a freq thing. Will def add more of those in! I love the leg press but I got out of doing it because hubby got injured and doesn't do legs. I thought deadlift worked the legs as well?

    Deadlifts are more hams, glutes, back. The front of your legs (quads) act more as a stabilizer than doing actual hard work. Get your squats in. They may be labeled as a leg exercise, but they will have a massive effect on your whole body and overall metabolism. Foundation exercise.

    ^^^^^^ definitely!! A balanced workout requires both.

    And actually Dav's workout is awesome. I still would prefer to divide it up into two alternating workouts, and see you push each specific lift with more intensity rather than the more exercises each day...but there is NO harm in doing it his specified way at all. It's just a personal preference thing :). With his, 3x8 is probably the most you'll be doing. If you divide it up, you can do 5x5 in the same time frame. Alternating (first 3x8, then 5x5) every 3-4 months, or when your strength gains stall...is highly recommended as well.

    One thing I would suggest, is to work very hard towards getting rid of the lat pulldowns and curl work, and doing chin/pull ups instead...with weighted chin/pull ups being the eventual goal. The differences in functional strength engendered by the chin/pull ups are incredible. Chin ups focus on the biceps, with lats fully engaging slightly later...pull ups focus on the lats, with biceps fully engaging slightly later.

    The other thing I want to state very clearly (I haven't seen it said yet, but may have missed it)...is to make sure you're increasing your weight lifted at every opportunity. When you can do more than 8 reps with a given weight...increase it until you can only complete 6-7 reps or so...and work for 8 reps again. THIS is what makes you stronger, by challenging your central nervous system and stimulating neuromuscular adaptation.

    i do move up quite often. once something becomes too easy or I feel I'm ready. I fully plan to keep raising up the weights... I want to see how far I can go!

    As for pull ups those are kinda out of the question now. I don't have enough strength to lift this body weight but when I do I'll be sure to try them! I want to do it all.
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member

    Ha! I know how you feel! Whenever I change my routine up I miss some of my old exercises and I'm tempted to leave them in and have a longer workout. Actually, I'm the nice one. Chris is going to come in and cut this down to 3-4 exercises per day!

    I think i might cry if that happens :sad:

    I forgot to mention I've recently been doing squats too. It's just not a freq thing. Will def add more of those in! I love the leg press but I got out of doing it because hubby got injured and doesn't do legs. I thought deadlift worked the legs as well?

    Deadlifts are more hams, glutes, back. The front of your legs (quads) act more as a stabilizer than doing actual hard work. Get your squats in. They may be labeled as a leg exercise, but they will have a massive effect on your whole body and overall metabolism. Foundation exercise.

    ^^^^^^ definitely!! A balanced workout requires both.

    And actually Dav's workout is awesome. I still would prefer to divide it up into two alternating workouts, and see you push each specific lift with more intensity rather than the more exercises each day...but there is NO harm in doing it his specified way at all. It's just a personal preference thing :). With his, 3x8 is probably the most you'll be doing. If you divide it up, you can do 5x5 in the same time frame. Alternating (first 3x8, then 5x5) every 3-4 months, or when your strength gains stall...is highly recommended as well.

    One thing I would suggest, is to work very hard towards getting rid of the lat pulldowns and curl work, and doing chin/pull ups instead...with weighted chin/pull ups being the eventual goal. The differences in functional strength engendered by the chin/pull ups are incredible. Chin ups focus on the biceps, with lats fully engaging slightly later...pull ups focus on the lats, with biceps fully engaging slightly later.

    The other thing I want to state very clearly (I haven't seen it said yet, but may have missed it)...is to make sure you're increasing your weight lifted at every opportunity. When you can do more than 8 reps with a given weight...increase it until you can only complete 6-7 reps or so...and work for 8 reps again. THIS is what makes you stronger, by challenging your central nervous system and stimulating neuromuscular adaptation.

    i do move up quite often. once something becomes too easy or I feel I'm ready. I fully plan to keep raising up the weights... I want to see how far I can go!

    As for pull ups those are kinda out of the question now. I don't have enough strength to lift this body weight but when I do I'll be sure to try them! I want to do it all.

    Nothing is impossible. You can put the assistance pretty high and see what happens then lower it until it is difficult but you can still complete 5x5. I have noticed much better results since ditching the lat pull down for chin ups.