Should I do more than weight lift on strength training days?

tamiesue2
tamiesue2 Posts: 149 Member
edited November 7 in Fitness and Exercise
I know we need recovery time, but my question is....Three days a week my schedule includes 1 hour of heavy weight lifting. Should I just do that on those days and let my body recover, or should I add 20-30 minutes of circuit training/cardio to burn more. I have one day a week I absolutely let my body rest with no workouts.

Replies

  • Meggles63
    Meggles63 Posts: 916 Member
    Bump
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you are already doing cardio the other 4 days or even 3 days, no need to add more, but it shouldn't hurt if you choose to, just make sure you are fueling your body to handle the extra work.
  • davepavone
    davepavone Posts: 42
    Cardio will burn fat no need to take a day from cardio.
    I do cardio before lifting everyday 5 days a week have for many years.

    The fact is it depends on your goal. Want to slim down and tone then yes.
    Want to build massive muscles then no! You will be getting cardio from super sets.

    My knowledge is old so I hope you get more responses
  • George1567
    George1567 Posts: 107
    In the end it is what works for you. My views would be for someone new to lifting, a few days off would be a good thing. But an every other day rotation might not be the best, i find most to have the highest level of soreness on the second day after lifting. So lifting two days in a row with the third off might be something to consider. Once a person has several months of lifting I think the body is the best judge. A day off might be just the thing if feeling run down or mentaly not ready to go in and kill a workout. If the program is mentaly stimulating and the body feels good then I am ok with working. Nutrition, a good program, and quality sleep are the big picture for me.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    the program i just started has 20 minutes of cardio after lifting on lower and upper body days (non on full body day) and then 40 minute cardio-only days twice a week.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Cardio will burn fat no need to take a day from cardio.
    I do cardio before lifting everyday 5 days a week have for many years.

    The fact is it depends on your goal. Want to slim down and tone then yes.
    Want to build massive muscles then no! You will be getting cardio from super sets.

    My knowledge is old so I hope you get more responses

    cardio is not needed to slim down, that can be done with diet alone, cardio just allows you to eat more and gets you in better heart health. Weight loss is caused from diet, exercise or a combo of both. The way MFP is set up it does 100% based on diet, which is why when you exercise you should eat those calories back.
  • slowcheetah16
    slowcheetah16 Posts: 21 Member
    Just do your 3 days a week and let your body recover. Cardio on rest days will effect your recovery, which will hinder your strength progress. Although, if you want to burn more calories do a brisk walk for an hour on rest days. Nothing intense and you should be good.
  • tamiesue2
    tamiesue2 Posts: 149 Member
    Thanks for all of your replies!! I didnt want to overdo it, but I dont want to under do it either!! It is always hard finding the right balance.
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
    I was told by the personal trainer I hired years ago, who competed in female fitness competitions, that it was better to do some light cardio after lifting due to the fact your body has burned the food you ate during the weight training and fat was the only thing left to burn afterwards. It makes sense and I've always tried to do it when I've been serious about being healthy.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    3 days a week lifting and 3 days of cardio sounds like plenty
This discussion has been closed.

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