This blog was created to help others in the process of getting fit and healthy by sharing individual observations and discussing alternative methods of handling challenging situations and choices regarding our health.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Cardio Versus Strength
As a woman, I have always focused on cardio as a way to loss or maintain weight. Not until the last 5 years did I start using strength training as a vehicle for weight loss/maintenance. It's not that I didn't strength train but I tended to short-change my strength workout to accommodate my cardio sessions. Now, I do them equally and with the same intensity. My cardio workouts rotate through the week -- intervals (high intensity), gradual increases (moderate intensity), and slow long-distance (low intensity). The same for my strength sessions -- circuits/supersets etc. (high intensity), pyramids (moderate intensity), and high reps (low intensity). I always make the weight for the reps challenging and I have been able to keep my HR at close to 75% doing weights. I never work the same intensity for both cardio and strength--I tend to alternate them inversely (high-low, high-med) so as not to over train. Then about every 8 weeks, I back off from my strength training and do cardio and stretching only. Over the last 2 years, this has provided the best results for me and been a mainstay of my program.
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