Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

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SL and Zumba?

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hilaryhill
hilaryhill Posts: 156 Member
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Hey everyone. Im pretty new to this SL thing, I just did my second workout today (even though I think I did some of it wrong, lol, oh well better next time). I read on here that its not a good idea to do SL 3x a week and also intense cardio, like Zumba, another 3x a week. The thing is I loooove my Zumba class and I burn like 700+ cals during it (HRM) and I would hate to give that up. I also do spin classes a couple times a week. But Im afraid that if I lift heavy and do Zumba (and chase my 3 children 4 yrs and under!) I might get really tired and fatigued really fast. My net cal goal is 2200 (Im breastfeeding my 6 mo old, also) and I eat back most of my exercise calories.

I just dont want to overdo it and waste my time by not losing any weight. I gained a LOT of weight with this pregnancy and Im just so ready for it to come off.

What should I do? Lift 3x and Zumba 3x? Or maybe cut lifting to only 2x a week and go very slowly on increasing the weight? My goal is to lose about 50 lbs and also get toned (I dont wanna be skinny fat lol). Any advice? Im so confused by all the info I read on MFP. :/

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  • kirabob
    kirabob Posts: 481 Member
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    Hopefully zumbajheri will pop in - she is a Zumba instructor who does SL.

    In general, intense cardio alongside lifting 3x a week will, quite simply, wear you out. Especially if you are eating at a deficit. You will need to listen to your body and decide what the right balance is - if you eat more, you can do more, but when the weights start getting heavy, you might find that 3 hours of high intensity cardio takes away from your lifting sessions. There is no hard and fast rule saying you can't just lift 2x a week if you want to, and it allows you to still do your Zumba classes. You will progress slower, but that's no biggie. Basically, you will have to see what you can handle at your current caloric levels, and adjust the SL, the Zumba, and/or your calories accordingly.
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    I would keep doing both as long as I progress, when you stop progressing you will have to decide which is more important. You can do SL 2 times a week and zumba 2 times, or SL 3 times and zumba 1 time. Or just give up zumba, as for that extra calories: 3*700 is 2100, it's not that much really, SL will burn around 300-400 per session, so if you do it 3 times per week you will be burning 900-1200 kcal. The remaining 900-1200 you can burn if you incorporate walking for 20-30 minutes every day.
  • ImperfektAngel
    ImperfektAngel Posts: 811 Member
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    I say do SL's 3x a week and zumba 2x a week, which leaves you with 2 days of rest. This is my plan at the moment, I love zumba as well but started to see no weight loss after a year and a half of just doing that.
  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
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    I think you should do whatever isn't going to burn you out and make you quit.

    Stronglifts may be too aggressive for you; it may not. You won't know until you try it. If you love Zumba, stick with it, but you should definitely do some sort of heavy lifting/resistance program to gain strength and prevent injury and health problems down the road. However, understand that lifting requires fuel, and so you can't be afraid to eat enough to fuel your workouts. Protein is going to be your best friend.

    I say give it a whirl, then reevaluate, and adapt. The key to persistent fitness is to just go for it, do something, adapt along the way, and stick to some combination of cardiovascular, endurance, flexibility, and strength training. The best program is the one you stick with. Everything else is totally secondary. But, Stronglifts will give you an amazing strength foundation that will enable you to keep up with those kiddies without breaking a sweat or getting worn out. Barbell training has so many benefits, you should definitely go for it. :smile:

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