Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

TheOriginalPancake
TheOriginalPancake Posts: 34 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
So I've been to the gym 8 days straight now. Doin 40-60 minutes of cardio a day. Every other day a full body workout.

I thought by now I'd be exhausted, sore, tired, depressed, unmotivated. But in reality I feel quite the opposite.

The last couple of nights at the gym EVERYTHING seemed so much easier. My body wasn't sore despite increasing some of the weights in my workout and I was able to push myself harder than normal when doing cardio.

I want the pain to come back. I want to feel like ok exhausting my body to it's limits. I assume with strength training I would just need to increase the weights ( currently doing a circuit of three sets of 20 ) but with cardio do i increase the resistance or increase he duration. Which is better?

Replies

  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    "with cardio do i increase the resistance or increase he duration." depends on your goals, would you rather win a 400 metres race, or a marathon? If it's just fat loss you're looking for then save yourself some time and do high intensity interval training, half an hour max.

    I can only see two reasons for doing 1 hour + cardio:

    1. Training for an endurance event
    2. Enjoyment - some people can't get enough of that runners high.
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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    You shouldn't expect to be sore after exercise when you are doing it regularly, even if you increase intensity.

    Check out this: http://www.mensfitness.com/training/pro-tips/trainer-qa-should-i-be-sore-after-every-workout

    With cardio, if you have a sensible progression, you likely won't be sore after a training run (or bike or swim or whatever). As for what to focus on, depends on your goals. I am usually training for something when it comes to cardio.
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  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited October 2015
    First, there is a difference between pain and soreness. Soreness is not indicative of how hard you worked. Your muscles should be exhausted, and may become sore over the following day or two. Real pain usually means injury.

    I'm no expert, but proper form is essential for lifting. If you are rushing through reps with bad form in an effort to hit some kind of wall, you are risking injury and probably not getting all the benefits out of the moves.

    It's not a race, and doesn't need to leave you in a puddle on the floor to work!

    And honestly, if your goal is weight loss, getting your eating in line is way more important than your workouts. Exercise can buy you extra calories to eat, but generally: Eat to lose or gain weight, exercise for fitness & health.

    Take care of yourself, and good luck :drinker:
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    TheOriginalPancake wrote: »
    I assume with strength training I would just need to increase the weights ( currently doing a circuit of three sets of 20 )

    Strength training is usually done around 5-12 reps. Doing more reps isn't more conducive to fat loss. Follow a pro-designed program for best results, like NROL, Stronglifts 5x5, or a personal trainer's plan. :+1:
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited October 2015
    TheOriginalPancake wrote: »
    Yeah I've been doing 3 20 minute sessions of high intensity interval training, once in the morning. After lunch and at night. I would also like to eventually run a marathon but the current goal is to lose weight. So I should increase the intensity?
    If you're really going hard doing your HIIT training (as HIIT is supposed to be done), 3 times a day is total overkill. HIIT is very taxing on the CNS and you're not allowing any recovery time. Pushing hard is one thing, but pushing yourself over the edge into exhaustion, overtraining and/or injury is counterproductive to your goals.

    Lyle McDonald wrote a great series of articles about Steady State vs. Interval training, the pros and cons, and how/how often to do it. You can find part I of the articles here, if you're interested (pay particular attention to the sections near the bottom of the page about the pros and cons of interval training).
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    TheOriginalPancake wrote: »
    I read something in there about tempo. Does this have to do with how fast you perform a rep? I have a buddy who encouraged me to take my time and make sure I'm doing the proper body movements between reps. I find it a lot harder to reach 20 by performing like this. He said if you perform your reps too fast you're basically lifting with momentum and that's not the best thing to do.

    Yeah: here's more about tempo--http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/898/Ten_Things_You_Should_Know_About_Tempo_Training.aspx

    That's more complicated than I go, though. I just try to be reasonably slow and methodical and keep the form right. It is true that if you go too fast you are likely using momentum, so that means you aren't going to be gaining strength so well.
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