cardio or strength first?

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clairibou1
clairibou1 Posts: 124
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone! I have been on here for about 5 months and have lost around 16lbs, but my weight loss has come to a bit of a standstill. I think that the issue is that I have thrown myself into everything so quickly....in 1 weekend I decided that I was going to run 2 miles AND do strength training 3 days a week for cheerleading. After a week of this, I am feeling frustrated, defeated, and not the least bit healthier. I think the best thing for me right now would be to start from square 1 and ease into this. The only thing is, for cheerleading, I need some SERIOUS strength training (I COULD NOT do a pushup if it would save my life, and everyone else did 30 tonight...while they were doing 2 minute hollows, I couldn't even lift my legs off the ground! 1 of my more embarrassing moments...). So obviously, that is pretty high on my list. However, I also need endurance, and if I am going to make my goal of being a cheerleader next year, I need to lose some weight and build my endurance. And fast. So I am wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to slowly start up again- should I do strength first, or cardio, or a little bit of both? thanks for the help!

Replies

  • smilebhappy
    smilebhappy Posts: 811 Member
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    I am interested in seeing what everyone has to say.....sort of my deal too.
  • JamesonsMommy
    JamesonsMommy Posts: 771 Member
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    me too!!! i've been doing a combo with the classes i take.. best of both worlds i guess...lol wondering for when i start back on the machines
  • leilani♥
    leilani♥ Posts: 579
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    I usually do cardio first then I hit the weights.. that's just me. I could be doing it wrong so don't quote me :P
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    personally i'd recommend a 3x week strength training and cardio on your off days, with abs if you so choose.
  • RJSuperMan
    RJSuperMan Posts: 52 Member
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    Honestly, it sounds like you know exactly what you need to do. Both. You said it yourself, you need to build strength, drop weight and increase your endurance/stamina quickly. How bad do you want it? That's the real question.

    But, uh, you may want to try it for more than a week..... :)
  • Jenna70
    Jenna70 Posts: 130 Member
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    I think you should try using circuit training videos as your cardio portion of your workouts. That is, people seem to get good results from any of the Beachbody workouts - Power 90 (P90), (P90X, updated version), or I've also heard great things about Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred. The videos combine aerobics with power yoga strength moves and kickboxing moves, etc. and always have great moves for strengthening your core - more than just doing situps. Then you could do additional weight lifting targeting areas you think need extra improvement, such as biceps for pushups.
    I am gearing up to do P90 myself (started a few weeks ago but stopped due to injury) and am looking forward to seeing my body change for the better and become stronger.
    Good Luck! :)
  • EPICSRT
    EPICSRT Posts: 222 Member
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    I've been doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred which does strength, cardio and abs. The combo of the three have seemed to work really great. Only 24 minute or so with warm and cool down. Today was day 19 for me and there is deffinately a noticeable difference in strength as well as stamina.

    To sum up, I would say work on both.
  • Missevanston
    Missevanston Posts: 361 Member
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    "they" say you should do strength and cardio second. Give it a try, but do both...
  • wadesha
    wadesha Posts: 360 Member
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    start with just five push ups (or however many you can do at once) this week when you wake up and before you go to bed. In just a week or even a dew days you will see that it gets easier and this is when you should increase it by 3-5. Keep it up and you'll be able to do 100 or more in no time. For the running If your just getting into it I would start with intervals. For example run 10 minutes walk 5 and run another 10. Continue to do that until you can do it without it being to hard. Once your comfortable decrease the walking time by 15 to 30 seconds each day or week until you eliminate the walking all together.
  • eidalac
    eidalac Posts: 11 Member
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    I'd do both. You need the cardio to lose weight and the muscle from strength training to keep it off.

    From your description and weight, I'd think it best to focus a bit more on the strength training ATM, since you don't seem to have a huge amount of weight to lose ATM, but putting all your effort into strength training right now rather than the cardio you have been doing could upset what you've already lost.

    If you can't do pushups, I'd think weights would be the best way to start. Find how much you can lift for 5-6 reps as a starting amount.

    Here is a nice full-body setup that I've been using:

    1 Set Squats
    1 Set Leg Curls
    1 Set Calf Raises
    1 Set Dumbbell Fly
    1 Set Bent Over Row
    1 Set Curls
    1 Set Triceps Extension
    1 Set Front Raises
    1 Set Crunches
    1 Set Back Extension

    Repeat 3 times. Should take 10-15 minutes, and the difficulty of most of these are determined by the weights you use.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
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    I'd do both. You need the cardio to lose weight and the muscle from strength training to keep it off.

    I disagree. I believe you can achieve results with the complete opposite approach and lose weight with only strength training, and you can keep weight off with only cardio.

    You can easily burn more calories weight training than jogging, you just gotta keep the breaks short between sets so that your heart rate is constantly elevated. Performing compound movements with heavy weights such as deadlifts, overhead barbell squats, clean and pull, etc. will easily burn more weight than a zumba class or jogging.
  • BBCTiffyB
    BBCTiffyB Posts: 114 Member
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    I agree with both! I am currently in a P90X / Insanity Program after graduating one round of P90X and they concentrate on strength training 3x per week and cardio 3x per week.

    For example my schedule looks like this:
    Monday - Resistance
    Tuesday - Cardio
    Wednesday - Resistance
    Thursday - Cardio (or Yoga)
    Friday - Resistance
    Saturday - Cardio
    Sunday - Rest / Stretch day

    This schedule has helped my husband lose over 45lbs in 100 days and has helped me tone up muscles and shed a few pounds =)

    I hope this helps

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