Big Girl here. Not waiting to start. Cardio?
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MissyAZjourney
Posts: 96 Member
Is Cardio suggested in conjunction with this program? I tried looking on the main site and just couldnt find anything. I do have about 100 pounds to lose, but I'm very familiar w/ lifting from the past and know proper form etc. I hate Cardio...but If I need to do it I will.
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You don't have to do it. A deficit is all you need for weight loss. Cardio has good benefits though.0
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Some do, some don't. I do HIIT sprints for 30 minutes once per week. Other than that, I walk my dog a lot, but lifting if my main concern. Hopefully others will chime in to give you an idea of the different routines everyone has.
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I don't do much cardio. I lift 3x/week, walk the dogs most nights after work but usually don't log that as exercise.
Props for starting SL!! Let us know how you're doing! 0 -
thanks! I have been going to the gym for a couple weeks now and using machines for weight training and doing cardio. I love lifting but hate cardio.
I'll be doing workout A tonight.0 -
I hate cardio as well, but I lose so much faster when I incorporate it. I added some walks at lunchtime during the week, and I also do barbell complexes. Essentially, it's fast circuit training with a barbell. I do 6 exercises in a row as quickly as I can, rest for a minute, repeat, rest, repeat. It's very short, which I love, and I'm exhausted and dripping. Some people can do it at the end of their lifting session, but I'm too wiped. I go to the gym specifically for "cardio" days, and I do 10 minutes of warmup on the elliptical and then the complexes. I'm out of the gym in less than half an hour. It's some of the only cardio I can stand.0
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Is Cardio suggested in conjunction with this program? I tried looking on the main site and just couldnt find anything. I do have about 100 pounds to lose, but I'm very familiar w/ lifting from the past and know proper form etc. I hate Cardio...but If I need to do it I will.
it seems like for me i've lost weight more consistently in the weeks where i'm alternating both things. i ride on my 'rest' days from lifting, basically. i haven't put in a stretch of straight cardio for a few months so i don't know what the effect would be now. but i do know that i started looking into lifting out of sheer irritation that i was riding 100km a week every week, and still couldn't get any more weight to come off. whether it was the lifting that kicked my metabolism back into gear, or just a coincidence . . . i don't know.
i am finding that even when i do ride, it isn't the all-out that i used to do when biking was the only thing that i did. it's more like the 'active recovery' idea that they talk about. i sweat a hell of a lot more in the gym, nowadays.0 -
Hey MissyAZ--awesome that you are starting! I'm only 3 weeks into SLs and I LOVE it! I feel that the cardio helps me. I'm not doing anything crazy. I enjoy riding my bike outside so I do that or I will use my treadmill and watch trashy reality tv while I'm walking or go for a walk outside. I just started doing some jogging alternated with walking on the mill too. I have also incorporated a flexibility component on non-lifting days in the firm of PiYo DVDs.
I have a very sedentary job, a long commute, and am generally lazy. Having something to do everyday has been working well for me. It keeps me in the mindset of getting healthy and I usually make better food choices.
There is no right or wrong regarding cardio. Only a caloric deficit is needed for weight loss.0 -
I run at lunch, not so much for exercise but to get out of the office, move around and reset my mind. I don't run very far, very fast or very long, just enough to get me through the rest of the day. I have some running goals but they are just more ideas than actual hard plans.
I have a fitbit so the more I move the more I can eat and lose weight (I
food ) , I also have a pedometer through work that lets me earn points from step based activities that eventually turn into gift cards. It helps keep me motivated to move my behind. 0 -
Thanks everyone. Seems most are incorporating some type of cardio. I did 10 minutes after my workout was complete tonight. Appreciate all the input.0
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The way I look at it is this, do the 5x5 with a deficit until you are struggling to still lose weight, then add in cardio.
If you throw everything in now what are you going to add to the mix when weightless stops?0 -
The first week, I only did the lifting. Second week, I did 20 minutes of high/low intensity interval cardio on the elliptical, only on lifting days (basically rounding out my hour). Third, fourth, and two days into my fifth, I have been consistent with doing the 20-25 on lifting days and 30-35 on my off days (off from lifting that is. I don't do jack on my days off of work/working out [Sat/Sun]. No exercise unless it's pleasurable and Saturday is my grub out day - makes life bearable). It's working wonders (really need to post a tidbit in the progress gig). I absolutely love the interval style of cardio now and could never go back to "marathon style" (plodding along for an hour+) unless it was for pleasure first, exercise second (hikes, sports, etc). Even 10-15 minutes of the intervals makes a difference. I too am a big girl and had a little over 100lbs to lose to start. I know just a caloric deficit is all it takes to lose. Throw the weights in the mix and you strengthen muscles and bones and change your shape. Cardio completes it all by strengthening your heart, lungs, and even your mind in a way. At first my intervals were one minute high intensity, one low, etc. Now I aim for 60-90 seconds high and 30-45 medium.
Anyhow, yeah. There it be.0
