Pilates + Weight Training--together or seperate?

I agree with the previous poster! You can do it, Heidi! Also... I can't remember who on Facebook posted it... but she said she started eating about 2500 calories per day (total), kept cardio at 2x per week and lifted 3x per week (I'm sure there's a rest day in there somewhere) and just lifted really heavy, just to gain muscle. You can tell in her before and after she's much thinner. Something to think about for sure ... as far as calories go, depending on what your maintenance is currently. I'll try to find the picture and you could possibly ask her for more info!

I would suggest doing pilates on days you don't lift. But that's me. I love lifting and pilates, but on days I lift, I tend to do cardio....so cardio plus lifting plus pilates would be a lot for me.

Bump! I am trying to figure out what to do next (will be completing Ripped in 30 in 2 weeks) and I'm intrigued by Pilates but know I need to do some strength training.

You can definately benefit from having both in your regimen. While weight training affects your metabolism to a greater degree than cardio alone does, you still need both.

From my experience (about 9 years of strength training) I recommend doing cardio on seperate days than weights. Lift about two days a week for the first three weeks or so to get your body used to training differently then move up to three days a week if you like.

If you want to gain mass (size) then lift heavy weight slowly ( 6 second cadence. ie 3 secs up and 3 secs down) 3 sets of 6-8 reps. If you can do more then it isn't heavy enough. The dietary needs for gaining size is quite different and you will need to eat a lot of protein.

If you're looking for defintion then you will want lower weight and higher reps. (4-6 sets of 10-15 reps) This would be at about a 3 second cadence. It activates the muscle fibers in a different manner than heavy weights does.

I recommend you get a copy of "The Body Sculpting Bible for Women" I got one for my wife about 2 years ago and it is invaluable for learning the proper exercises and proper form for lifting. I have the Men's version and still use it for reference 5 years later. Proper form is the single most important aspect of lifting weights. Much more important than how heavy or how often. The book was at Barnes and Noble for about $15 and comes with a DVD that demonstrates each individual exercise. good luck to you in reaching your goals.