Starting out, need advice.

america_c

Hello I decided I should start lifting. I have an idea of what I need to do but I wanted some advice anyway. Right now, I do all cardio. 35 minutes of elliptical 5 days a week. Walk 2 miles the other two if weather and time permits. I want to start doing squats and some upper body strength training, 2-3 times a week. Should I cut down on the cardio or can I just add the lifting to my current regimen? What do you guys think? Thanks.

tartsul

you should check out the book New Rules of Lifting for Women. it was totally eye opening for me, and i am loving the weight lifting program. the book does talk about doing/not doing cardio in addition to the weight training. you should definitely start lifting and ditch the cardio! take a look at the people in the weight area of your gym vs the people who are only on the treadmills and elliptical. weights is the way to go!

if you do use the NROL4W book, this is a really helpful spreadsheet that i ran across online. http://maggiewang.com/2008/05/20/new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-diet-calculator-and-workout-logs - just scroll down to the white box and click the "Download" link. it's an excel sheet that helps you calculate calories/macros along with layouts for each stage of the workouts.

Momto3txgirls

I used to run 6 days a week-- no lifting (other than my 2&4 year olds!) I hit a plateau, and needed to change things up a bit-- so I switched 3 of my days to strength training with dumbbells and cybex machines in the gym-- then my weight loss resumed. Recently, I hit another plateau, so now I am on 4 days of strength training, 2 of cardio-- and I have started losing again. It may be hard at first, but keep with it!