Weights over Cardio help

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MickeyBoo
MickeyBoo Posts: 196 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just after some opinions/advice on how I should go about my program.

I have a variety of injuries that rules out a lot of cardio activities, I can use the X-Trainer, the Bike and swimming.

I have been going to the gym 5 days a week, generally as follows:

Monday - Bike 15mins, weights routine (arms, shoulders, back and legs) X-trainer 20mins.
Tuesday - PowerBar (or Body Pump) 1 hr class
Wednesday - 20mins bike - 1hr yoga class
Thursday - PowerBar (or Body Pump) 1 hr class
Friday - Pool walking/swimming - 1.5hrs
Saturday and Sunday I can't get to the gym so have them as rest days.

I am not lifting huge amounts as I'm just starting out, but the weights I am lifting leave me pushing hard through the third rep and I've increased my weights twice already since I started.

I'm mainly wondering if I'm doing too much weights based exercise and not enough cardio. The last time I lost a load of weight I focused mainly on cardio for up to 2hrs a day and did very little to no weights until right towards the end. While my fitness improved and my body fat got down to 18% I had a long way to go with toning.

This time around it seems to be working for me with the level of weights I'm doing, I've lost 7cm off my arms alone which is massive, and can feel more muscles in my legs and feel stronger overall. I am dropping weight as well and feeling fitter.

I'm not worried about bulking up, I know it's a common misconception with women lifting weights, but I do want to make sure that I am doing things the right way, I've seen a few things that say I should do legs one day, arms the next kind of thing, whereas I'm basically doing two full days, one break day, two full days, two break days if that makes sense.

Anyway, any advice or opinions would be great :)

Replies

  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    Just after some opinions/advice on how I should go about my program.

    I have a variety of injuries that rules out a lot of cardio activities, I can use the X-Trainer, the Bike and swimming.

    I have been going to the gym 5 days a week, generally as follows:

    Monday - Bike 15mins, weights routine (arms, shoulders, back and legs) X-trainer 20mins.
    Tuesday - PowerBar (or Body Pump) 1 hr class
    Wednesday - 20mins bike - 1hr yoga class
    Thursday - PowerBar (or Body Pump) 1 hr class
    Friday - Pool walking/swimming - 1.5hrs
    Saturday and Sunday I can't get to the gym so have them as rest days.

    I am not lifting huge amounts as I'm just starting out, but the weights I am lifting leave me pushing hard through the third rep and I've increased my weights twice already since I started.

    I'm mainly wondering if I'm doing too much weights based exercise and not enough cardio. The last time I lost a load of weight I focused mainly on cardio for up to 2hrs a day and did very little to no weights until right towards the end. While my fitness improved and my body fat got down to 18% I had a long way to go with toning.

    This time around it seems to be working for me with the level of weights I'm doing, I've lost 7cm off my arms alone which is massive, and can feel more muscles in my legs and feel stronger overall. I am dropping weight as well and feeling fitter.

    I'm not worried about bulking up, I know it's a common misconception with women lifting weights, but I do want to make sure that I am doing things the right way, I've seen a few things that say I should do legs one day, arms the next kind of thing, whereas I'm basically doing two full days, one break day, two full days, two break days if that makes sense.

    Anyway, any advice or opinions would be great :)

    I think you're fine. My trainer has me doing a 10-15min warm up ( treadmill inclines, elliptical or bike), a 60-90 min weight routine, then a 10 min cool down ( usually bike, or walking laps on the track).

    I think it is personal preference if you do full body or a split. I have done both.
  • navy_taxi
    navy_taxi Posts: 16
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    Hi,

    Congrats on all your achievements so far!

    As for your question, I think it really depends on what your goals are. For overall health as well as fat loss I would always say that a mixture of strength training and cardio (+ flexibility) is the best way to go. (Also, I am assuming that you have your nutrition in order because this by far outweighs exercise when it comes to fat loss).

    By cardio, I mean whatever gets your heart pumping for an extended period of time. By strength training, I mean resistance exercises that are heavy enough for you that you can only complete around 5-8 reps at the weight you are using. (And you're already getting in some flexibility work with the yoga session, which is great).

    I love Body Pump because it really helped my confidence regarding weight lifting, and because it combines lifting with my Jane-Fonda-induced love of "feeling the burn" (which I am weaning myself off of!). However, because of the (relatively) low weight, high rep format, this is more likely to improve your muscular endurance/cardiovascular fitness then it is to improve your strength/maintain your lean body mass. I recall reading that it is possible to build strength with this kind of resistance work, but only in the early stages of a program and for someone who is new to working out. Over time though, you might want to look at taking up a full body lifting programme. Stumptuous is a great starting point for routine ideas, how-to guides and all-round handy lifting advice: http://www.stumptuous.com/workout-1

    Long story short: between the bike/swimming/Pump/cross-trainer you are getting in a decent amount of cardio, but only Monday's weight session (depending on what you are doing) will be really effective as a strength training programme in the long-term (which you need to help you maintain muscle). If you enjoy Pump I would stick with it - but I would view it as more of a cardio class than a strength class, and look to incorporate a full body heavy lifting session or two into your week (in place of some of your other cardio). Most importantly - I see this written everywhere and I honestly think that it is true - the best workout programme is the one that you enjoy and will therefore stick with. If you force yourself to do the most "effective" workouts even though you hate them, chances are you'll quit and they won't be very effective at all!

    Best of luck.

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