How to integrate cardio and strength training into an effective plan?
I walk/jog a couple times a week and will do sit ups, push ups and lunges.
What’s the most efficient way of using cardio and strength training together to burn the most fat?
ALSO, what are thee best leg exercises to get rid of that stubborn fat that won’t go away!
Hey Boogie* Guys just need to losin up a little!
The best way to implement cardio is by using PROGRESSIONS. Meaning "slowing adding to the amount when fat loss stalls".
For example. Start off 3x per week for 30 mins. Each week add 1 day to the mix. Keep it there until fat loss stalls. Then add 10 mins to each session. Keep it there until fat loss stalls. then add another 10 mins. etc etc
((Always wait for 2 consecutive weeks of no loss. Why? because our bodies don’t lose fat linearly. 1 week we might lose 3lbs the next week we might lose 0 lbs. The next week we’ll lose 2lbs and the following 1lb.)) It’s best to do cardio in this fashion because our bodies are highly adaptive so we have to steadily add to the minutes to keep our bodies from fully adapting to the stimulation.
Do weight lifting 3-4x per week. For no longer than 45 mins each session.
ALWAYS do your cardio AFTER the weight lifting. If you were to do the cardio before, it takes approx 10 mins before your heart rate is high enough to be beneficial. If you do it AFTER the weights, your heart reate is already raised so you immediately reap the benefits.
good luck Ms. Boring Dater :p
November 19th, 2009 at 11:00 am
First off, there is no way to target specific areas of your body to get rid of fat in those areas. I.E. doing sit ups does not make stomach flab go away necessarily. A good program I have had much success with to combine cardio and strength training is the P90X system.
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?code=P90XDOTCOM
References :
November 19th, 2009 at 11:47 am
The best way to implement cardio is by using PROGRESSIONS. Meaning "slowing adding to the amount when fat loss stalls".
For example. Start off 3x per week for 30 mins. Each week add 1 day to the mix. Keep it there until fat loss stalls. Then add 10 mins to each session. Keep it there until fat loss stalls. then add another 10 mins. etc etc
((Always wait for 2 consecutive weeks of no loss. Why? because our bodies don’t lose fat linearly. 1 week we might lose 3lbs the next week we might lose 0 lbs. The next week we’ll lose 2lbs and the following 1lb.)) It’s best to do cardio in this fashion because our bodies are highly adaptive so we have to steadily add to the minutes to keep our bodies from fully adapting to the stimulation.
Do weight lifting 3-4x per week. For no longer than 45 mins each session.
ALWAYS do your cardio AFTER the weight lifting. If you were to do the cardio before, it takes approx 10 mins before your heart rate is high enough to be beneficial. If you do it AFTER the weights, your heart reate is already raised so you immediately reap the benefits.
good luck Ms. Boring Dater :p
References :
November 19th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
First of all I will begin by saying I am a qualified, registered and experienced strength and conditioning coach. Hopefully that provides a little bit of incentive to take my advice.
Quite often people get caught up believing that a magic combo of exercises and a certain formula will provide the ultimate results. The truth is that there is no one combination, it’s a matter of how things are put together. The first thing to get right is nutrition. Without a good diet you are just treading water.
I see my second point has been answered already. That is, you can’t spot-reduce, meaning you can’t do leg exercises to specifically reduce fat from the legs. If you could then imagine a great big obese person who does 1000s of crunches. He would have a ripped six pack with great big slabs of fat everywhere else. Have you ever seen this?
I feel I should best answer this with a few points to consider…
Strength training is one of the best forms of cardio, provided it is done using compound movements that utilize the maximum number of motor units. Do a heavy set of squats then measure your heart rate. It will be high, meaning you are getting a cardio workout.
Too much aerobic exercise stimulates the release of the stress hormone cortisol. This causes muscle break down and fat storage as a survival mechanism.
High intensity, short duration exercise stimulates fat loss much more rapidly. This is due to EPOC, which basically means the amount of fat you are burning for hours after you finish the session.
Strength training should form the basis for any fat loss program. Muscle is metabolically active, the more of it there is the more energy is required to keep it there, hence more fat loss. And women will not get huge and bulky if they train the right way.
So lets sum this up in simple, Occam’s Razor fashion…
Train high intensity, progressive strength work around 3 days a week. Use compound movements like squats, rows, pull-ups, bench press, overhead press etc. Keep sessions brief and very intense.
Utilize "cardio" a few times per week in ultra short, super high intensity intervals. Don’t overdo it, more is not always better.
Get the diet right. This will be the make or break of all fitness results.
Check out my site. It is a huge content based site with loads of articles and programs, all free. Here you can find what you’re looking for and then some.
http://www.endlesshumanpotential.com
References :