How does Cardio factor into your workouts?

[turbo_tortoise155]

Hey!

 

Ok, so disclaimer - I'm new to nerd fitness. I'm pretty much a noob at all this fitness stuff.

 

I did my first Beginner Body Weight Routine today... Let me just say that it kicked my butt!!! During the work out I was quickly sweating MORE that I do after an entire 40 minute routine of Turbo Jam or 50 minute routine of Zumba.

 

Also... everything, EVERYTHING hurts.. I am sore all over! More that I've ever been in my entire life!! Here is what I did.

 

10 Minute Warm Up - Turbo Jam Cardio Party DVD

20 Body Weight Squats with a Chair (I won't need the chair next time.. I used it this time bc I didn't know what to expect)

10 Push-ups (on knees)

20 Walking Lunges

10 Dumbell Rows Each Side Using a 12 pack of Lipton Green Tea (estimated 13.23 lbs)

30 Second Plank

30 Jumping Jacks

 

x3 Circuits. Didn't time it all (next time I will), but my last circuit took me 5 min 31 seconds

 

 

First Question:

 

When do I do Cardio? Do I do cardio? I'm doing the routine three times a week. I know I have to rest in between to build muscle, but I feel like that isn't enough. Just fyi I am trying to lose weight (about 42lbs in total) at a rate of 1 lb per week. For the past two months I've been doing either Turbo Jam (40 minutes - kickboxing style exercies) OR Zumba (50 minutes) 4-6 times a week. I've gone from 210 to 197 lb.

 

Second Question:

 

How do I eat before/after workouts? My daily routine has been to get up around 8am, eat a breakfast of 2 eggs, two peices of toast with 25 calorie cheese wedge. I would work out around 10 am (that is when my daugher takes her nap), shower, then eat lunch around 11:30 or 12 (food varies). I'm planning on going Paleo on Monday

 

Third Question:

 

Should I increase the amount of weight for dumbell rows? Although simply continuing to move through the routine was becomming a challenge I found that the weight I lifted was easy for me. I assume I should increase, but how much?

 

 

Thank you for your advice and suggestions!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cline]

Welcome!!!!  Yea you!!!  Well done so far! You've chosen an absolutely awesome way to start!  My $0.02 below.

 

Hey!

 

Ok, so disclaimer - I'm new to nerd fitness. I'm pretty much a noob at all this fitness stuff.

 

I did my first Beginner Body Weight Routine today... Let me just say that it kicked my butt!!! During the work out I was quickly sweating MORE that I do after an entire 40 minute routine of Turbo Jam or 50 minute routine of Zumba.

 

Also... everything, EVERYTHING hurts.. I am sore all over! More that I've ever been in my entire life!! Here is what I did.

 

Don't use how much you sweat as any indicator of your work.  I find I barely sweat when heavy lifting but sweat like crazy doing functional fitness.  AND I do believe doing your body weight program is much harder than zumba, etc.  Body weight exercises are deceptive - people scoff and think they are easy or not "working out" but they are AWESOME!  I do oodles of body weight stuff.  Still.

 

As for everything hurting and being sore - already.  You over did it.  Time to rest.  I might suggest scaling back the sets for a week or two.  Try two sets.  While adjusting to a new routine always takes time, sore isn't the goal or a desirable outcome.  Rest day today.  And maybe tomorrow.

 

10 Minute Warm Up - Turbo Jam Cardio Party DVD

20 Body Weight Squats with a Chair (I won't need the chair next time.. I used it this time bc I didn't know what to expect)

10 Push-ups (on knees)

20 Walking Lunges

10 Dumbell Rows Each Side Using a 12 pack of Lipton Green Tea (estimated 13.23 lbs)

30 Second Plank

30 Jumping Jacks

 

x3 Circuits. Didn't time it all (next time I will), but my last circuit took me 5 min 31 seconds

 

Nice circuit. 

 

the most important thing here (aside from what you've already accomplished - starting this routine!) is to work on form.  Study pics and vids.  Most people do not squat properly or do proper pushups.  If you learn bad form now, you'll keep it forever.  Start of ssssllllloooooowwwww and really work on form.  Video yourself. 

 

Can't tell you how many lousy walking lunges I still see.  AND dumbbell rows - 13lbs is pretty high for a beginner.  These are hard to do properly.  I almost never see good ones when I'm at the gym.    I wouldn't up the weight.  I'd drop it and practice form with a lighter weight. 

 

This is a good routine!  Nail it with form - can I just say "core"?

 

First Question:

 

When do I do Cardio? Do I do cardio? I'm doing the routine three times a week. I know I have to rest in between to build muscle, but I feel like that isn't enough. Just fyi I am trying to lose weight (about 42lbs in total) at a rate of 1 lb per week. For the past two months I've been doing either Turbo Jam (40 minutes - kickboxing style exercies) OR Zumba (50 minutes) 4-6 times a week. I've gone from 210 to 197 lb.

 

No need.  Cardio is a choice about how you want to workout.  Your body weight routine at a decent speed should be good.  Do you like Turbo Jam and Zumba?  If you do, keep it up.  BUT don't jump into strength 3x week and cardio 3x week - you risk burn out and soreness (d'oh!), etc.  And yeah, you'll need rest.

 

You've probably adapted somewhat to Turbo and Zumba.  Try using 1lb weights. 

 

Here's the deal with cardio - you don't need it for either weight loss or for "cardio".  You do it if you like it and it works for you.  I think being well rounded is a great option.  So if you like Zumba - do Zumba!  But zumba won't melt away the pounds. 

 

I almost never do "cardio" days or workouts.  Some people only do "cardio".  Go with what you love and what feels good.

 

Maybe body weight 2x week, zumba 2x for a month or two and then work up?

 

Second Question:

 

How do I eat before/after workouts? My daily routine has been to get up around 8am, eat a breakfast of 2 eggs, two peices of toast with 25 calorie cheese wedge. I would work out around 10 am (that is when my daugher takes her nap), shower, then eat lunch around 11:30 or 12 (food varies). I'm planning on going Paleo on Monday

 

Since you are looking to lose weight, I would go with what you need right now.  I don't like eating before I exercise - there really isn't any reason to do so unless you are hungry.  Given that you get up early in the am with a child, you could probably eat breakfast and then be all ready digested by 10.  Sounds reasonable.   You don't need to eat right away after you work out unless you are hungry.  Get your weight loss on track and don't worry about protein or carbs before/after etc until you are much more advanced.

 

Now for diet.... no toast!  ;-)  But you know this.  Your weight loss will be 80% diet, 20% workout (sorry....).  Get Mark Sissan's Primal Blueprint or study all the primal stuff at Mark's Daily Apple. 

 

Paleo is really really hard esp since you are toasting and cheesing today.  Giving all that up cold turkey on Monday is likely to lead to failures.  Go slowly and ease into it.  Really - try primal.  That's how I started and how I lost 50 lbs.  Start Monday by giving up all bread.  Start slowly and ease into it so you are successful. 

 

Understand why you are going paleo or primal.  There's a lot of stuff there to know.  It's a great way to eat.  When you get it all and understand it and buy into it.... it gets easier and easier.  1 lb/week is a great goal!  You can so do that!!!!

 

Third Question:

 

Should I increase the amount of weight for dumbell rows? Although simply continuing to move through the routine was becomming a challenge I found that the weight I lifted was easy for me. I assume I should increase, but how much?

 

 

Thank you for your advice and suggestions!!!!

 

I really wouldn't.  First of all, using a case of anything - bc of shape - makes me really really wonder about form.  Get some dumbbells - 1-2 lb (zumba!), 5 lb, 7/8 lb, 10 lb or something and work with a dumbbell on form. 

 

This is such a great approach!!! You are going to be very successful!!

[Waldo]

^^^Wow, I totally disagree with virtually everything you wrote....^^^

First off, the first time you do a new strength related exercise routine, or new exercise, expect to be extremely sore. It is the noob DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) effect, you will only get it strong like that the first time.  It will go away entirely in a few weeks/months.  Don't worry about overdoing it, as a beginner, you aren't physically capable of overdoing it, you aren't strong enough to really damage your muscles much and don't have the stamia to stack a lot of it together.

 

Bad form will not stay with you forever.  If you are going to stick with bodyweight work, you are going to have to learn to work through bad form (the idea that someone could ever start doing the hard stuff with good form is laughable).  There is a big difference between bad unsafe form and bad not pretty/easier form.  Form progression is a major type of progression with bodyweight work.  Always look to improve your form, never be satisfied with it, don't do things that hurt.  Aside from collapsing joints the wrong way, its pretty hard to hurt yourself (world of difference between weighted/unweighted work there).

 

If there is one big lesson in New Rules of Lifting for Women, it is that women tend to stand on perfect form as a crutch and in the end not working very hard because of it (while men are the opposite).  Some sloppy form is ok, especially on later reps.  If you are doing your 1RM with perfect form, you aren't doing your 1RM, not even close.

 

Early on is a good time to explore your limits, the effects of going to failure, staying away from failure, slow tempo, fast tempo, form variances, muscle activation.  By experimenting you will learn valuable lessons that can only be taught by trying, while not compromising progression; early on progress will come very easy, everything works.  Not to mention, experimenting will keep things fun, which should be the point.

 

1) Do cardio whenever you like.  If you're a 7 day a week workout kinda person, do it the other 4 days.  Heck you can do cardio at other times of the day on strength days or right after your strength workout.  It is pretty darn common for a beginner to do a couch to 5K running program 3x a week and a full body stregth program 3x a week, with 1 off day (I would wager that is in fact the single most common beginner workout schedule).  Don't be overly concerned about burning out and whatnot, you can exercise 7 days a week just fine.  A lot of people do it (I do, and have since day 1 of starting to get in shape/lose weight, as does my wife), it tends to work well for people who have a very scheduled/structured life.  You just have to know how to take it easy from time to time.

 

2) Don't eat especially for workouts.  The need to eat around a workout is purely psychological.  Humans perform just fine in a fastest state, and recover just fine if they don't eat afterwords.  There is a whole lot of hooplah about this in the fitness industry, but the effect is TINY, the only way you'd ever notice it is if you are near your maximum physical potential.  If you think about it, needing to eat to perform your best is a REALLY stupid evolutionary adaptation.

 

3) Being a major compound movement, people can typically row quite a bit.  13 lbs is a very small amount.  If you can do a pullup, chances are you can row close to half your bodyweight per arm.  If 13 lbs is difficult to row, things like picking up a 12 pack of soda and putting it in a shopping cart (~10-11 lbs) will also be difficult.  My wife rowed my 35 lb dumbbells for 6 reps on her weaker arm the first time she tried, and had only been doing stuff like cardio videos and walking prior to that (OTOH I wouldn't be shocked if I could row 150lb+ per arm).  If you can, try to figure out a way to do inverted rows instead of increasing the weight (use a table, metal bar at suitable height, rings (or rope with handles) hanging from a doorway pullup bar).  By small form tweaks to inverted rows, you can greatly adjust the load, and they will take you all the way up to pullups and beyond.

[cline]

so we've totally confused you.

 

You'll figure it out. 

 

NRLW emphasizes form and learning to squat, row, etc. properly.

 

Here's Steve's take:  http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

[FyreFlies]

There's a lot of great information in this thread. I enjoyed reading it.

 

1) Do cardio whenever you like.  If you're a 7 day a week workout kinda person, do it the other 4 days.  Heck you can do cardio at other times of the day on strength days or right after your strength workout.  It is pretty darn common for a beginner to do a couch to 5K running program 3x a week and a full body stregth program 3x a week, with 1 off day (I would wager that is in fact the single most common beginner workout schedule).  Don't be overly concerned about burning out and whatnot, you can exercise 7 days a week just fine.  A lot of people do it (I do, and have since day 1 of starting to get in shape/lose weight, as does my wife), it tends to work well for people who have a very scheduled/structured life.  You just have to know how to take it easy from time to time.

 

I've been looking for this answer for a while now. Thanks for it.

[turbo_tortoise155]

First let me say thank you Cline and Waldo for taking the time to answer me. It was interesting that you both had very different answers, but you also had the same answer about when to eat for exercise... which was DON'T. Noted!! That actually takes a lot of stress off!!

I will continue to do the three circuits, but I will be searching around and studying up to improve my form. Honestly I agree with Waldo....I'm afraid of boredom and losing momentum if I start going slow and studying form.

I have done research on the paleo diet, and I really think I'm capable and motivated. That being said I think Cline's suggestion to take it slow is very wise. I'm going to brainstorm about that. Of the top of my head I might have a "meal off" card I can issue 2-3 times a week if I am feeling squirrly. If I just go off bread I think I'll wind up over-doing it on another category (candy, dairy). I really want to jump in with both feet and be able to think "This is just me now", and something I've begun to learn is not to beat yourself up if you screw up. You tried, right?? That is more than most people can say. So, even if I fail I'm going to get right back on it. I'm also planning on continuing to count calories.

Waldo Waldo Waldo ....I cannot do a pull-up. I know it is sad... but the suggestion of me even being able to DO a pull-up made me chuckle! All joking aside I think that advice made total sense and I will transition to inverted rows. I actually read and watched the video Steve posted on inverted rows at home a couple days ago, so I'm ready! (They look kind of fun.. like monkey bars)

Also... I think if I can ever do a pull up I'll have to like... cry tears of happiness. That would be major.

 

Cardio - Basically you guys had a very similar response here as well. The only difference is that Cline would like me to ease off a little and Waldo said do whatever you want as long I'm not dying. I don't think I'll stop all together. I really do like it!! And I am still going to strive for three circuits a week, but I will see how I feel about cardio on my off days. Example:

 

Sunday: Cardio 40-50 min

Monday: Body Weight Circuit

Tuesday: Rest, Optional Cardio 20 min

Wednesday: Body Weight Circuit

Thursday: Rest, Optional Cardio 20 min

Friday: Body Weight Circuit

Saturday: Rest, Optional Cardio 20 min

 

As I progress I may increase my cardio or wind up doing very little. It all depends on how I feel/how my body responds.

 

 

Overall I want you guys to know how GRATEFUL I am to hear from you!! This really helped me get some direction.

[cline]

First off - this is a great reply.  It's so clear you are so intentioned.  This is really wonderful!!! I hope you are proud of yourself!!! WOOT!!

 

I stuck in some thoughts below.

 

First let me say thank you Cline and Waldo for taking the time to answer me. It was interesting that you both had very different answers, but you also had the same answer about when to eat for exercise... which was DON'T. Noted!! That actually takes a lot of stress off!!

 

Yup.  I often work out fasted.  And I'm talking hard lifting or intense functional stuff.  If you ever reach a point where you are tweaking body mass, etc. then it matters.  As for right now, use your body as a guide.  If you are super hungry about an hour before you work out, it's fine to eat a snack.   I actually find real hunger (growly tummy) distracting, so I would eat a small, easy to digest snack if I was that hungry.  Otherwise, don't sweat it.

 

I will continue to do the three circuits, but I will be searching around and studying up to improve my form. Honestly I agree with Waldo....I'm afraid of boredom and losing momentum if I start going slow and studying form.

 

Form matters to keep you from getting hurt and from learning bad habits.  You don't spend all your time practicing form.  But you nail it before just jacking up weight.  Like any other sport, right?  Talk to my spousal unit about lousy core engagement and lousy body weight squats and he'll tell you about his back injury.  You can get hurt with body weight exercises.  See Steve's article (I linked it in my previous post) - even he talks about form.  BUT you don't do it to the exception of the workout.  It's not all or nothing.   If form = boredom, nobody would be a professional athlete or even pursue monotonous lifting.  Form improvement can be fascinating. 

 

 

I have done research on the paleo diet, and I really think I'm capable and motivated. That being said I think Cline's suggestion to take it slow is very wise. I'm going to brainstorm about that. Of the top of my head I might have a "meal off" card I can issue 2-3 times a week if I am feeling squirrly. If I just go off bread I think I'll wind up over-doing it on another category (candy, dairy). I really want to jump in with both feet and be able to think "This is just me now", and something I've begun to learn is not to beat yourself up if you screw up. You tried, right?? That is more than most people can say. So, even if I fail I'm going to get right back on it. I'm also planning on continuing to count calories.

 

This is a great plan.  See how it goes.  One really good suggestion is to clean out your house re: whatever it is you are eliminating.  So if you start with sugar - toss the candy, the cupcakes, etc.  Don't buy more.  Makes it easier.   Counting calories can be good or bad.  Make sure you are getting enough.  Start to think less about total calories and more about type of calories.  Mark Sissan's Primal Blueprint is a great source for advice there. 

 

 

(something wonky happened to my quote stuff so I'll use a different color)

 

Waldo Waldo Waldo ....I cannot do a pull-up. I know it is sad... but the suggestion of me even being able to DO a pull-up made me chuckle! All joking aside I think that advice made total sense and I will transition to inverted rows. I actually read and watched the video Steve posted on inverted rows at home a couple days ago, so I'm ready! (They look kind of fun.. like monkey bars)

 

Turbo - most people (including most on this forum - not kidding) cannot do pullups.  Again, body weight stuff is deceptive.  It's way harder than you think.  I think it's this forum where someone posted backflip burpees - look at the rest of the exercises in the vid - do they look easy like anyone can do?  It took me nearly a year to do strict pullups. 

 

Rows are AWESOME!!  Hard hard hard!!!!  Start with a few reps and keep the legs bent versus out straight.  You'll improve.

Also... I think if I can ever do a pull up I'll have to like... cry tears of happiness. That would be major.

 

It is.  and yes, we all cry tears of happiness when it happens.  It will someday.  You just need to be really patient.  It takes a long time.  Honestly, took me about a year of regular work and assistance exercises and I was strong and in decent shape to begin with.  It will happen. 

 

Cardio - Basically you guys had a very similar response here as well. The only difference is that Cline would like me to ease off a little and Waldo said do whatever you want as long I'm not dying. I don't think I'll stop all together. I really do like it!! And I am still going to strive for three circuits a week, but I will see how I feel about cardio on my off days.

 

No reason to stop.  I do endurance stuff now and then and do a sport that requires a lot of endurance.  Occasionally, I do a 5-6 mi run just because it's nice out.  No reason at all to stop.  Especially if it's fun.  I know people who absolutely love Zumba for more than cardio (music, dance, etc.) - do it!!!

 

Example:

 

Sunday: Cardio 40-50 min

Monday: Body Weight Circuit

Tuesday: Rest, Optional Cardio 20 min

Wednesday: Body Weight Circuit

Thursday: Rest, Optional Cardio 20 min

Friday: Body Weight Circuit

Saturday: Rest, Optional Cardio 20 min

 

Okay, so re: rest days.  3x a week on circuit is fine.  Don't pump up weight or reps every time though.  Have an incremental plan.  Again, Mark Sissan has GREAT workouts (body weight, starter level).  I think there are one on NF too.  Have a plan for incremental improvements.  Cardio for 20 looks fine. 

 

Now rest.  *sigh*  I would workout 7 days a week if I could.  I love it.  Rest serves a purpose though on several fronts - it's when you actually develop muscle and when your body works to repair itself.  It's the single most important thing you can do (with diet) to increase muscle strength.  My trainer and his whole organization talk rest all the time.  And they mean sitting around for a day, lounging by a pool, relaxing with the kids, etc.  Cardio doesn't count as rest.  And believe me, I've tried that argument.  Also, I just trained with one of the world's leading weightlifting coaches.  A student asked "what are the tips to good recovery?".  Know what he said?  Lots of rest and good diet (low carb, no gluten, no sugar - sound familiar?).  Even crossfit which has a "go hard or go home" approach has 2 rest days in every 7 day circuit.  For a reason. 

 

In a nutshell.  Rest.  Minimum one day a week.  You need it.  If rest causes boredom, you need to find something else to do.  You are talking about a grand total of 30-60 mins of your life.  You'll be fine.  Rest.  Take up something else good for your body like cooking a paleo meal on rest days, meditating, sitting and gazing at trees, hugging your kids. 

[Waldo]

 

Now rest.  *sigh*  I would workout 7 days a week if I could.  I love it.  Rest serves a purpose though on several fronts - it's when you actually develop muscle and when your body works to repair itself.  It's the single most important thing you can do (with diet) to increase muscle strength.  My trainer and his whole organization talk rest all the time.  And they mean sitting around for a day, lounging by a pool, relaxing with the kids, etc.  Cardio doesn't count as rest.  And believe me, I've tried that argument.  Also, I just trained with one of the world's leading weightlifting coaches.  A student asked "what are the tips to good recovery?".  Know what he said?  Lots of rest and good diet (low carb, no gluten, no sugar - sound familiar?).  Even crossfit which has a "go hard or go home" approach has 2 rest days in every 7 day circuit.  For a reason. 

 

In a nutshell.  Rest.  Minimum one day a week.  You need it.  If rest causes boredom, you need to find something else to do.  You are talking about a grand total of 30-60 mins of your life.  You'll be fine.  Rest.  Take up something else good for your body like cooking a paleo meal on rest days, meditating, sitting and gazing at trees, hugging your kids.

 

What if your life situation was such that walking/biking several miles a day was normal (cough, any major university college student). Would you live in a perpetual state of overtraining? Make no progress on other training fronts?

Of course not. That's just silly.

Like I said, you have to know how to go easy, to work at a low intensity at times.

If most of your life consists of sitting on your hind end, getting up and doing something every day is a good thing. Lightly-moderate jogging a 5K, doing some yoga, taking a walk, going for a bike ride, that stuff is not going to impact your recovery from more intense exercise, and is just fine to do on rest days.

[turbo_tortoise155]

Thank you both for your responses!!!

 

I think I can make my answer for cardio frequency a little clearer - My first priority is the body weight circuits. I will listen to my body and cut cardio to rest if necessary. I think one rest day a week is as a minimum is a good rule (at least God thought so ). If I feel I need more, I'll take it.

 

I'm continuing my plan to eat 1730-1800 calories a day. I'm 5'5.5" with a medium-large frame. If I get hungry after that I eat more, but keep it a healthy snack.

 

Basically.. this isn't a race for me. I'm not trying to eat 1200 calories a day and work out 7 days a week. I'm trying to create a lifestyle that is sustainable and a body that is healthy.

 

Happy Friday!

[FyreFlies]

This is fast-becoming my favorite thread.

 

Just as a side note, I also do cardio about 6 days a week. A lot of times, this is with strength training. So MWF I will do Stronglifts 5x5 in the morning, take a half hour uphill walk at lunch, then spend 1.5 hours doing cardio in the evenings. The cardio may include stuff like jogging/sprinting, cross-trainer, stairs, bike. Then TTH I will do bw circuits in the morning, walk at lunch, and either hot yoga or cardio in the evenings, depending on what I'm in the mood for.

 

I've never had problems not being able to do it all. I do feel it in my legs a lot until I fill up with some coconut water for electrolytes. Then I'm fine. You might or might not be able to handle lots of cardio with your strength training. Just give it a try and see what happens. Adjust as needed.

[Aeryn]

Thank you both for your responses!!!

I think I can make my answer for cardio frequency a little clearer - My first priority is the body weight circuits. I will listen to my body and cut cardio to rest if necessary. I think one rest day a week is as a minimum is a good rule (at least God thought so ). If I feel I need more, I'll take it.

I'm continuing my plan to eat 1730-1800 calories a day. I'm 5'5.5" with a medium-large frame. If I get hungry after that I eat more, but keep it a healthy snack.

Basically.. this isn't a race for me. I'm not trying to eat 1200 calories a day and work out 7 days a week. I'm trying to create a lifestyle that is sustainable and a body that is healthy.

Happy Friday!

Go you for focusing on making this something you can do sustainably, not just for the next couple months. One the weight/cardio topic, I'll say that I do bodyweight exercise 3x a week, and swimming 3x a week on my off days - Saturday is my "rest" day, and even then I go to 2 hours of juggling and do all my house chores. If I'm wiped out and sore from a bodyweight workout, my swim may be slower, and similarly, if I've done a hard sprint session of swimming, my bodyweight reps may suffer the next day. Just pay a little attention to how you actually feel, and you'll figure out what works for you. Very few beginners actually overtrain - the psychological shift to working out daily is a bigger issue than the physical adaptation. Just start - you'll find a structure that helps you progress and makes you happy.

[I-Jo]

I had a girl almost pass out on me the other day from having not eaten.  I do NOT recommend NOT eating or working out in a "fast" state.  It does work for some people- but unfortunately if you work out by yourself- and you are not one of those people it works for- you will find yourself alone in your apartment trying to not pass out and possibly scaring yourself out of what could have been just another kick ass excellent workout.

 

I would absolutely not recommend that if you aren't familiar with your body.  I used to get physically sick in the morning working out like that- now- it lasted 3-4 days and I adjusted- but I knew exactly what was going on. 

 

I always recommend to people to eat a little something approximately 1 hour before a work out.   something small- a hard boiled egg- yogurt- some cheese- almonds- a pre-work out shake whatever it is- something.  

 

agree with cardio/weight training- do what you like. I dislike the notion of "cardio" so I do a lot of HIIT training and as Corey said- I lift weights faster.  

 

Then I go dance.  I do pure dance 5 hours a week- and I do combination training Mon, Friday, Sat, Sunday.  Thursday I do a quick workout- either pure lift- or pure hiit- usually 10-30 minutes- super fast. just to get it in there and done- my time on Thursday is super tight because it's BF time (he's only down 2 nights a week- so I feel badly spending it at the gym LOL)

 

But I don't beat myself up if I have to skip something or something gets canned for either another training opportunity (like this Saturday  I'll be skipping my regular training because I'm going to a dance workshop)- no big deal.   Think big picture- and your big picture goals.  not just- oh I didn't get my workout in THIS WEEK.

 

Also- as you have noted- there are an extreme variety of ways to train.  You really need to find what works for you.

 

what does that mean.

 

It needs to meet a few requirements

> will it accomplish your end goal 

 

> do you LIKE doing what your doing

 

> is it sustainable

 

> is it getting results (obviously not a snap judgement- need time)

 

 

I have more thoughts- but you get the jiist- these guys pretty much covered a lot of it so I don't need to add to the confusion LOL

(although I tend to focus on good form first as well- but it's a work in progress and don't let it keep you from doing extra as long as you aren't in physical hurt pain- rather than just muscle tied pain- that you have to just deal with LOL)

[Vector]

Good info here, all around.

[turbo_tortoise155]

Thanks I-Jo and Aeryn for your input. I have no plans to fast, and I've always been the kind of person that needs to eat before a workout (1-2 hours before).

 

I actually wound up pushing my friday circuit to tomorrow because I was still majorly sore this morning and TIRED.. like in my muscles. I've started to feel better as the day has gone on and plan on doing it tomorrow.

 

Thanks also for the affirmation and encouragement. Everyone has been so nice and not pushie at all. I really appreciate all the info

[FalseAesop]

Thank you Turbo for this topic. Answered a lot of questions I had myself as a new to working out. Even if the answers were both yes and no for everything... Ah well, still heard what I needed to hear. Some of us don't get "rest days" since our jobs require physical labor day in and day out. Nothing I can do about that, still Waldo you've alleviated my concern about alternating days between the workouts in the Rebel Fitness Guide and a Couch to 5k app before work.