My Workout--Opinions Please

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angieskia
angieskia Posts: 152 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm worried about hitting a plateau soon so I'd realy apreciate some help. I go to the gym for 30min Weeday mornings and only use those minutes for Cardio. My Mine Cardio is Bike. I just started to use Elliptical and if no one is there I'l try the readmill.
Does strength training help you lose weight or only tone you?? Should I do 15min Cardio then 15min Strength or alternate days and do 30 cardio one day, and 30 strength the next?

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  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
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    I would say every other day do some weight/strength training. If you ONLY have 30 minutes then a 20 min warm up with cardio and 10 with weights.
    Strength training (when done correctly) helps build muscle, which burns more calories, which means long term it will raise your BMR. This is why athletes get to eat so much more food than non-active folks without worrying about weight gain.

    I would highly suggest doing more than 30 mins. You'd be far better off getting a full hour in, which means you'd only have to wake up a half an hour earlier.
  • christina1109
    christina1109 Posts: 84
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    Strength training does help you lose weight. By building/toning muscle it helps burn fat. Plus, your body uses both fat and muscle as a fuel source.
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    Putting some strength training is definitely a must, in my opinion. While it doesn't burn as much as cardio initially, a strength training workout burns calories for up to 72 hours afterward. Muscle also burn more calories, so it makes your cardio more affective. Plus, once you lose weight, you want that body underneath to look good, so its good to work on tone. I think alternating days works well, because it gives your muscles time to heal. Also, do not be surprised if, after working out with weights you gain a little weight. Your muscles retain water to help them repair. But this does subside in a day or two.
  • christina1109
    christina1109 Posts: 84
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    I would say every other day do some weight/strength training. If you ONLY have 30 minutes then a 20 min warm up with cardio and 10 with weights.
    Strength training (when done correctly) helps build muscle, which burns more calories, which means long term it will raise your BMR. This is why athletes get to eat so much more food than non-active folks without worrying about weight gain.

    I would highly suggest doing more than 30 mins. You'd be far better off getting a full hour in, which means you'd only have to wake up a half an hour earlier.

    I agree, you definitely need more than a 30 minute workout. If you have other means of doing cardio (walking/jogging) I would use the gym time for strength training.
  • championnfl
    championnfl Posts: 324 Member
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    Taught always do weights and cardio on alternate days. As far as strengh ,suppose your using heavy weights and not light? Both will build muscle which will add weight. Heavy will build muscle,light with repetitions will make you lean. Muscle is heavier than fat,don't get concern if you start off with gaining weight instead of losing it. Will look better though.
  • angieskia
    angieskia Posts: 152 Member
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    Thanx everyone!! I could push for longer but my boys are only in school for 3 hours. I try to get errands done while they are in school so I don't buy way too much when they're with me. I have a workout video that I can use in place of gym it's just that I got comfy with gym and I didn't know how much of a diiference it would make if I started using the wight machines there
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
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    Taught always do weights and cardio on alternate days. As far as strengh ,suppose your using heavy weights and not light? Both will build muscle which will add weight. Heavy will build muscle,light with repetitions will make you lean. Muscle is heavier than fat,don't get concern if you start off with gaining weight instead of losing it. Will look better though.

    Actually that light vs. heavy myth has been debunked. If you use weights that don't make your muscles work you're just wasting your time. You should be using weights that are just heavy enough to never go beyond 10-12 reps and make it so that you're struggling on the last rep but not losing good form.
  • angieskia
    angieskia Posts: 152 Member
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    Thanx Everyone. A friend mentioned on my home page to try circuit training. Not sure if I did it right but it helped me to get cardio and weights in. I started on bike then alternated. 2 min cardio then 3sets of 10 reps. there were 6 arm machines and I started and finished with cardio. Total 15 cardio 30 strength. Now I can't go to the Grocery store alone though. :( Still need a list, wash clothes, and shower. Boys will be home in an hour
  • msemejuru
    msemejuru Posts: 229
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    Circuit training should help. If you can use wrist weights while on the treadmill on alternate days that may help as well.

    When you hit your goal weight, the muscle is what helps you keep the weight off and still eat a normal diet. It also gives your body the shape and definition you're probably looking for.
  • TateFTW
    TateFTW Posts: 658 Member
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    First and foremost, your goal should not be simply losing weight. If your goal is to look emaciated and unhealthy, as if you're about to keel over all the time, then focus on the scale. If your goal is to be healthy and fit, look athletic and feel like you can take on the world, then get those weights moving up and down!

    Resistance exercises (weightlifting) builds muscle. This helps in a number of ways.

    1. muscle uses calories. The more muscle you have, the more calories you use all the time, even when you're sleeping.

    2. Cardio actually takes away muscle mass. Yes, when you run a calorie deficit you're body uses fat for energy, but it doesn't only use fat. It also uses muscle tissue, which leaves you weak, tired, and prone to injury if you don't use resistance training to build or atleast maintain you're current muscle mass. In a state of actuall starvation, the body even metabolizes organ tissue for energy. It is a misconception that the body only uses fat for energy.

    3. Resistance training and cardio can be one in the same if you use very little rest between sets and train different muscles at the same time, going back and forth between exercises. This is called circuit training, and has been shown to burn way more fat then low intensity cardio done over long periods of time.

    4. Resistance training has been shown to increase metabolic rates for up to 48 hours after a single training session.

    5. Resistance training strengthens not only muscles, but tendons and ligaments, which means your joints will be stronger as well, helping you to avoid injury.

    Are you convinced yet?
  • bigred727
    bigred727 Posts: 50
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    i do 1 day cardio and muscle endurence (calisthenics), and the next day muscle power, with a little bit of cardio to warm up... i workout 6 days a week... you have to have at least 1 day off a week minimum... but if you dont have 6 days to workout, then i would do cardio (30 minutes or more) sometimes throw some calesthenics in there to, then strength training (30 minutes or more) 3 days a week...
  • Nina74
    Nina74 Posts: 470 Member
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    If you are limited on time at the gym, you can do things at home (maybe later in the day after the kids have gone to bed or you have a few free minutes). You don't need to invest in lots of weights either, as you can use gallon jugs of water, etc to do bicep curls, lunges, squats, etc. while you watch tv, etc.
  • Debx12345
    Debx12345 Posts: 210
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    Hi, I'm in the same position got busy life and can manage 30 - 40 mins a day at home doing workout, I mainly do tae Bo or similar DVD, is this counted as cardio ? Should a alternate my days with card one day and strength the next ? What strength training could I do at home? Tips would be appreciated.
  • Ally_Clare
    Ally_Clare Posts: 355 Member
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    Hi, I'm in the same position got busy life and can manage 30 - 40 mins a day at home doing workout, I mainly do tae Bo or similar DVD, is this counted as cardio ? Should a alternate my days with card one day and strength the next ? What strength training could I do at home? Tips would be appreciated.

    It's great that you can spend 30-40 min a day exercising at home. Yes tae bo can be considered cardio and instead of alternating days of cardio and strength why dont you do 20 min of each a day? There are multiple strength training ideas to do at home, you can do pushups, situps, squats, lunges, tricep curls with a dumbell, dips and the list goes on. Good Luck :)
  • nick1109
    nick1109 Posts: 174 Member
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    Taught always do weights and cardio on alternate days. As far as strengh ,suppose your using heavy weights and not light? Both will build muscle which will add weight. Heavy will build muscle,light with repetitions will make you lean. Muscle is heavier than fat,don't get concern if you start off with gaining weight instead of losing it. Will look better though.

    Actually that light vs. heavy myth has been debunked. If you use weights that don't make your muscles work you're just wasting your time. You should be using weights that are just heavy enough to never go beyond 10-12 reps and make it so that you're struggling on the last rep but not losing good form.

    This is true. Light vs Heavy arguement is always coming up. It's very simple. A muscle is either growing (anabolic) or shrinking (catabolic). The bodies cells are constantly battling between these two. The best bet is to go anabolic and try and gain muscle for the reasons already spoken of. Using light weights and not using high intensity will only not put the muscles under enough strain to warrent them to grow. This can only be done by higher weights that are only just managable. Ultimately to 'tone' as some have put it (or lose body fat) diet is key here. Adding muscle will raise your metabolic rate and burn more calories at rest

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