Looking for advice

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chasetwins
chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone,
So here is a short explanation of me...41 yr old female - 5'4 and some change ( I am shrinking ugh! lol) I work from home FT running an in home daycare and a custom cake decorator on the side of that. I work out at nap time at home no time in personal life nor do I have the desire for a gym. ( I have semi young twins at home)..I want / need to lose the weight I have sadly gained back over the last 2 years ( about 20ish lbs give or take ). When tracking / working out I eat pretty balanced and fluctuate my cals but keep a strict weekly goal vs daily. My high cal day is when I have a decent cardio burn. I just recently started paying closer attention to macros and try to aim for my protein goal...not easy for me as carbs fill me and I like them better lol..My goal is to lose weight of course however...I want to gain some muscle - preserve what I have in addition to losing the weight.....
Let me put this out there before asking my questions...I loathe ( no exaggeration ) strength training of ANY kind!!! It bores me to death. Cardio is my love...I stick to Zumba ( have every set available) , fitness dancing via Youtube, A few from Shawn T ( like and Have T25 just not enough burn for me so I do not use it often), Ruthless ( all though as quick as it is...kills me!),..tread mills and stationary bikes bore me! I could do an intense Zumba session for an hour or more with a smile...tell me to do lunges, military presses or push ups and I want to punch you in the face :P I am trying though! And starting slow!!! I have no desire for heavy lifting and know I won't stick to it..so in theory toning may be a better description!?! Body weight & dumbbells I can do. Just not for an hour like cardio lol Dumbbells going up as my strength increases of course. Bores me to death...but doable in short bursts. I aim for 20 - 30 min right now.

Sooo I googled and found so many mixed opinions on this question - Should I do cardio & strength on different days? Or can I do strength then cardio same day ( back to back in that order) for all 5 days? What is more effective? Mind you I want to lose weight & fat! I have about 45-60 minutes per day - 5 days per week to accomplish.
Also if alternating days - should I eat more on strength days or high burn cardio days? My mind says cardio days because it makes more sense since strength training doesn't burn as much but for some reason I think i have it backwards.

Thank you in advance for any insight...

Need a plan and Feeling lost ;)

Replies

  • alondrakayy
    alondrakayy Posts: 304 Member
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    This is coming from not an expert, only based on my own personal experiences and what I have learned so far.

    In order to gain muscle you will have to be in a calorie surplus and you will have to do some form of strength training.

    In order to lose fat you will have to be in a calorie deficit and yes, cardio can work very well during this time.

    To do both at the same time is called recomp - I think. Look it up. It takes a longer and you still have to be doing a little of both cardio and strength training.

    At the end of the day you'll have to figure out how important your goals are. Right now I'm cutting fat. In order to do that I am lifting heavy (which I love) and incorporating cardio (which I hate soo much). I'm sure others will add to what I have to say or will correct me if I'm wrong.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    alondrakayy Thank you ~ so basically I should stick to my cardio fitness routine until I am closer to goal then begin to focus on strength? ( < with minimal cardio just to keep up my fitness health ) Being that I want to lose weight...I clearly need to be in a deficit and do not want it to take 5 yrs or I would give up lol ;) I know the strength part is already a slow process and the fact I despise it..will make it take even longer but I am ok with that..just not ok being over weight again
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    TLDR
    I encourage to read other threads in this forum. There are several similar questions being discussed every day and you'll get lots of good info
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Do whatever you love and will keep doing. Eat in a deficit (using a food scale to insure there really is a deficit) to lose weight.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    Try some Jillian Michaels videos and anything by The Firm. They incorporate strength with cardio and keep it interesting and fun IMO.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    chasetwins wrote: »
    Sooo I googled and found so many mixed opinions on this question - Should I do cardio & strength on different days? Or can I do strength then cardio same day ( back to back in that order) for all 5 days? What is more effective? Mind you I want to lose weight & fat! I have about 45-60 minutes per day - 5 days per week to accomplish.

    There is no ONE TRUE WAY(TM), despite what you'll read from some people.

    The main thing is to take an approach that you can be confident you'll be consistent with.

    Losing weight is about being in calorie deficit. Whilst training can help to maintain that deficit, the main benefits are to your health. In that sense a combination of CV and strength is useful.

    If you're inspired by video workouts, select programmes that have a combination of CV and bodyweight strength. They'll programme the balance between those.

    I share your feelings about weights, personally I prefer bodyweight and plyometric work, with the majority of my training being running.

  • pamfgil
    pamfgil Posts: 449 Member
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    If you're not fond of strength training you could try strong lifts 5x5, when you start it only takes about 20 min only three types of lifts per session and you can do it at home, just use dumbbells instead of weight bar, and you can still do cardio on same day if you want
  • darbunk
    darbunk Posts: 26 Member
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    I'm 42 and also have limited time to devote to exercise. I can only speak from my own experience. Let me start by saying that working out at 42 is different than working out at 22. By our age, we have already begun to lose muscle mass. Our metabolism has begun to slow down and of course we experience different hormonal fluctuations that affect our moods, motivations and abilities. With that said, I feel more satisfied with my workout results now than I did at 22. I have learned how to workout more efficiently.

    I personally feel that doing intense cardio and strength training are important. You don't need to do them on the same day. And the key here is INTENSE. I spend a max of 30 min on my cardio sessions and am drenched in sweat. By doing just cardio you will lose some muscle too. That needs to be countered with strength training. I do bodyweight exercises as well as use weights. You may try bootcamp-type strength training programs. They aren't as boring and they tend to incorporate some cardio.

    As for nutrition, I don't alternate high/low calorie days or carbs. I just try to stay within a calorie limit. I have greatly reduced sugar consumption and I eat less processed carbs overall and we have switched to whole grain versions of bread and pasta. I find that proteins help with hunger. It's been a process and not something I did all of sudden. I try to eat a variety of things and don't believe in cutting out a foid group completely. I find it harder to maintain if I make too many changes at once.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited March 2017
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    for disclosure my preferences are as strong as yours, but we're mirror images. love compound lifting, would literally be more cheerful about getting a two-hour root canal than half an hour of zumba.

    allowing for our differences, i'll try to skip the reciprocal dissing of each other's great loves :tongue: and just answer your central concerns from my layman's experience. ime, the answer depends mostly on whether you're doing either or both of them progressively (increasing the level of challenge as you improve) or more in maintenance mode. if you're doing the first thing then rest time is more important than if you're taking the second approach. you present your body with a challenge, and then you have to give it 24 hours or so to respond to the challenge before you give it another challenge.

    so in my own case: i rest between lifting workouts because that's where i'm driving myself. i bike commute 'every' day because when i'm biking to work i'm just doing what my body can already do. hope that's helpful in some way.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    Thank you all tons!!!!! and canadianlbs...thank you for the giggle lol
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 347 Member
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    It's important to keep strength training. Strength training will help you maintain the muscle you already have and, if you are relatively new, you will make some novice gains in strength.

    I would alternate between the two just to allow your muscles time to recover. One of the other members mentioned The Firm. I will second that recommendation. I will link some other YouTube videos that you may like for Strength:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XInrKVSShdE

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CekGhfiEs8s
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    Jtalaskamom wrote: »
    It's important to keep strength training. Strength training will help you maintain the muscle you already have and, if you are relatively new, you will make some novice gains in strength.

    I would alternate between the two just to allow your muscles time to recover. One of the other members mentioned The Firm. I will second that recommendation. I will link some other YouTube videos that you may like for Strength:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XInrKVSShdE

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CekGhfiEs8s

    Thank you :)
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
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    Lower your carbs / sugar and try going paleo to make some significant progress toward your weight loss goals. You won't crave food as badly if you are eating more protein / fiber. Also, since you said that you are peri-menopause, as soon as you wake up every day, take your temperature. If it is lower than 98.6 to 97 F, you may also be dealing with some hypothyroid / adrenal issues. See: https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/; https://www.yourhormones.com/adrenal-health-1/ ; http://www.litalee.com/shopcontent.asp?type=Home2 for insight into hormones and what you can do yourself to manage your symptoms. Also, if you are having hormonal issues, overdoing the cardio can actually make you hold onto weight rather than lose it. Weight loss happens when you restrict calories or use more than you eat -- except if your body perceives that it's stressed. Then it holds onto them. See this website: http://www.maxworkouts.com/articles/entry/why-over-exercising-keeps-you-fat .

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