Trying to balance the workout load.

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themusicdude
themusicdude Posts: 35 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Currently I'm doing Stronglifts in the mornings, then come back to the gym after work to do an hour of cardio. On my non-lifting days, I do an hour of cardio and occasionally come back for a second, but it's not regular. One change I've been thinking about is riding my bicycle to the gym instead of coming in and doing the treadmill; it's about 7 miles from my house round trip, and I do 3 to 4 miles on the treadmill most of the time. If on lifting days I rode to and from the gym that would be a great cardio workout, plus the lifting. On the non lifting days I could still ride to the gym and do some other training (I'm currently not doing much isolation, just following the Stronglifts program exactly) rather than just kick it on the treadmill. A couple of issues I see...

1) Should I even do this much cardio in the first place? When I started back in April the idea of doing an hour of cardio was intimidating, much less doing that twice a day!

2) Since losing the weight is my first priority, rather than muscling up, should I ditch Stronglifts for awhile and use isolation workouts instead?

3) I'm training for a Spartan Race and am a bit nervous about climbing portions... other than attempting to do pull-ups (which I haven't done since I was 145 lbs. in high school 11 years ago...) do you have any other recommendations of what to his to I can pull my *kitten* over the wall?

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  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    1) Do however much or little cardio you'd like. I do an hour, maybe 90 minutes, a week.

    2) No. Isolation vs compound has nothing to do with fat loss and all to do with the type of movement/exercise. Compounds use multiple muscles, isolation doesn't. Compounds in my opinion should be the bulk, or even the entirety, of the workout. Isolation is when you have muscles that are imbalanced or that you want to emphasize more (e.g. I am introducing lateral raises for my shoulders). You're also not building muscle right now - other than minor newbie gains.

    3) Do you have a rock climbing gym near you? Maybe go once or twice. it won't be the same experience, but it's still climbing, which might help you get an idea of what your upper body strength is like. Otherwise... mayabe Google to see if there are specific things you can do for this.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    1) Should I even do this much cardio in the first place? When I started back in April the idea of doing an hour of cardio was intimidating, much less doing that twice a day!

    This depends...I ride around 60 - 80 miles per week...some people might find that excessive, but that's just to maintain my cardiovascular fitness. Those miles increase substantially when I'm actually training for an endurance event and while I may not put in tons of mileage during cyclocross season, I'm going harder than my standard endurance rides for shorter periods of time.
    2) Since losing the weight is my first priority, rather than muscling up, should I ditch Stronglifts for awhile and use isolation workouts instead?

    No...you can make substantial strength gains without putting on mass and SL is a good program for that. Regardless, compound lifts should be at the foundation of any lifting program...really, isolation stuff should be kept fairly minimal unless you're actually bodybuilding. Just as a matter of general fitness, compound movements are the best.[/quote]
    3) I'm training for a Spartan Race and am a bit nervous about climbing portions... other than attempting to do pull-ups (which I haven't done since I was 145 lbs. in high school 11 years ago...) do you have any other recommendations of what to his to I can pull my *kitten* over the wall?

    Add in pull-ups for some assistance work with SL. Do assisted pull-ups if you can't do them otherwise. I always knock out how ever many I can without assistance and then do assisted ones to cover the balance. Eventually, the number of unassisted pull-ups begins to outweigh assisted ones. Also, go play on playground...srsly.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    1. That much cardio isn't vital for fat loss. I don't do much cardio. Weight loss comes through calorie deficit, which is mostly achieved through appropriate calorie intake for your activity level. If you enjoy cardio then do it. If it's causing you stress (like it seems to be) cut back a bit.

    2. Strength training is important to help you maintain your lean mass as you lose weight. That means you have less weight to lose in the long run because most of the weight loss comes from fat. Stick with a lifting program.

    3. http://www.builtlean.com/2013/06/19/spartan-race-training-plan/
    Strength training and hill sprints will help you do well on the race.
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/04/25/do-a-pull-up/
  • themusicdude
    themusicdude Posts: 35 Member
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    1. That much cardio isn't vital for fat loss. I don't do much cardio. Weight loss comes through calorie deficit, which is mostly achieved through appropriate calorie intake for your activity level. If you enjoy cardio then do it. If it's causing you stress (like it seems to be) cut back a bit.

    I do enjoy the cardio, but I don't want to overdo it or injure myself. I've also heard that doing cardio after weight lifting isn't a good idea, which is a concern if I'm biking back and forth from the gym.

    My diet has significantly improved (I'm still tempted and have fallen off the wagon a few times) but I've gone from doing no physical activity to at least one hour a day and sometimes two. The cardio may not be vital for weight loss, but it certainly contributes doesn't it?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    1. That much cardio isn't vital for fat loss. I don't do much cardio. Weight loss comes through calorie deficit, which is mostly achieved through appropriate calorie intake for your activity level. If you enjoy cardio then do it. If it's causing you stress (like it seems to be) cut back a bit.

    I do enjoy the cardio, but I don't want to overdo it or injure myself. I've also heard that doing cardio after weight lifting isn't a good idea, which is a concern if I'm biking back and forth from the gym.

    My diet has significantly improved (I'm still tempted and have fallen off the wagon a few times) but I've gone from doing no physical activity to at least one hour a day and sometimes two. The cardio may not be vital for weight loss, but it certainly contributes doesn't it?

    It can help. Too much cardio and not enough calories can backfire as well. Large calorie deficits can impact hormones and also lead to greater lean mass loss.

    They suggest cardio after weights because there were studies done showing lifting depletes glycogen stores and post lifting cardio burns greater fat. In the end it's sort of a personal preference and trial/error type thing. I really just don't have that much time for cardio (I'm a single parent with a full time job, I lift on my lunch hour). Lifting has personally done more to get me to my goals than cardio, so that's what I focus on. I do believe in balance and add in some cardio to keep my heart and lungs in shape.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    1. That much cardio isn't vital for fat loss. I don't do much cardio. Weight loss comes through calorie deficit, which is mostly achieved through appropriate calorie intake for your activity level. If you enjoy cardio then do it. If it's causing you stress (like it seems to be) cut back a bit.

    I do enjoy the cardio, but I don't want to overdo it or injure myself. I've also heard that doing cardio after weight lifting isn't a good idea, which is a concern if I'm biking back and forth from the gym.

    My diet has significantly improved (I'm still tempted and have fallen off the wagon a few times) but I've gone from doing no physical activity to at least one hour a day and sometimes two. The cardio may not be vital for weight loss, but it certainly contributes doesn't it?

    I do cardio after lifting. Really helps with my DOMS. I only do 20 minutes max though, mostly because I sometimes really hate cardio.

    It will help with fat loss since it raises your TDEE, so that means you can eat more while still being at the same deficit %. But it's not necessary, you'd just be eating less food if you do less exercise overall. I look at cardio/exercise as being for fitness, not for fat loss. Lifting is helping me maintain my lean body mass and once I reach my goal body fat % it will help me grow my muscular size and strength as I move onto a caloric surplus. But its' really diet that is playing the key role.
  • shor0814
    shor0814 Posts: 559 Member
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    I do enjoy the cardio, but I don't want to overdo it or injure myself. I've also heard that doing cardio after weight lifting isn't a good idea, which is a concern if I'm biking back and forth from the gym.

    My diet has significantly improved (I'm still tempted and have fallen off the wagon a few times) but I've gone from doing no physical activity to at least one hour a day and sometimes two. The cardio may not be vital for weight loss, but it certainly contributes doesn't it?
    There is lots of debate about cardio before/after lifting. My reason for never doing any hard cardio before lifting is practicality; I don't like missing lifts or potentially compromising form because I am tired from cardio. YMMV.

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