Cardio queen, but what about STRENGTH??

That's right. I am the cardio queen. I do an hour to two hours of cardio daily. Not bc I'm trying to kill myself or something, but I just LOVE cardio! Running or using a machine, i love both of them.

That leads to my problem. I HATE HATE HATE weights. My legs are pretty strong bc i use the different strengthening levels on cardio machines, but my upper body has gotten flabby and weak. I used to do competitive cheerleading, so my upper body was toned and strong from lifting, since i was a base. But now that it's over, i dont know how to get my strength back, especially since I'm so anti-weights.

I've started doing some pushups everday, trying to work my way up to 50 (im only at 10 right now). And honestly, im scared that if i lift weights, my shoulders and upper body will only get bigger. I'm fairly well endowed, if you know what i mean, so i dont want to have huge arms and back to go along with that!

So someone please tell me....how do i lift weights without getting big? And, are pushups going to help me at all or am i looking stupid for no good reason?

Any advice or other tips are much appreciated, thanks:)

Strength without size: How to get stronger without getting bulky

Great Link, I'm saving it for future use!

Lift light weights. 3lb/ 5lb or even less. just to tone your arms. 

Thanks y'all:)

Original Post by xoxx_beachxxdiva:

That's right. I am the cardio queen. I do an hour to two hours of cardio daily. Not bc I'm trying to kill myself or something, but I just LOVE cardio! Running or using a machine, i love both of them.

Please make sure you're doing at least a little bit of strength training.  I ended up with a fractured femoral head/hip from overdoing cardio and not doing ANY strength training.  It throws your whole body off.  Your core gets weak and is unable to stabalize your hips, torso, back etc and injuries occur.  I also HATE stregth training - so boring - but I learned the hard way that it is not optional when you're working out that much.

I used to be the same way. I would spend hours doing cardio (5-6 times a week @ 45-60 minutes a session). It never really got me any real results. My resting pulse rate didn't really change, and my blood pressure didn't really drop either.  I didn't see any real results until I started doing the right type of cardio training with reduced frequency combined with a solid nutrition program and a good strength training regimen.

It is a common myth amongst women that lifting heavier weights will lead to bulkiness, etc.. However, the only way to get truly toned is to lift weights. A lot of women become hooked on cardio and then become upset at the lack of results despite the hours they spend in the gym. By doing hours and hours of cardio, you are actually hindering your progress and eating away at muscle.

If you do three intense strength training sessions per week with weights that you can only do 6-10 times, it will help you to build lean muscle that makes you toned. Make sure you do intense 45-60 minute sessions. Make sure to lift each muscle group once per week to avoid overtraining. By doing push-ups, etc everyday, you are actually not giving your muscles a chance to rest and re-copperate. Muscle and strength are developed during the time you are resting. A good split would be Mon (Chest/Triceps), Wed (Legs/Biceps), and Fri (Back/Shoulders). O

*On these days, I would recommend not doing any cardio at all. You should be worn out from your weight training and not have any energy left. There is also a need to get your post workout nutrition within the first 30-60 minutes of finishing.  If you have to do some cardio, I would say limit it to 20-30 minutes after your upper body training days. Doing cardio after leg training is tough. :)

For the other three days you aren't lifting, start doing HIIT cardio (High Intensity Interval Training). HIIT is done by combining short periods going extremely hard (10-30 secs) combined with recovery periods at a slower pace (40-90 secs). Do a 3 minute warm up at a steady pace, and then go into the first "sprint" phrase followed by the first recovery phase. Then keep switching off between sprint and recovery for 20 minutes. Then do a 5 minute cool down. By constantly changing speeds, your body never adapts and your metabolism gets sped up considerably for hours and hours (sometimes days) after the exercise. HIIT specifically targets bodyfat. The cool thing about HIIT training is that it can be done in a variety of different ways. Personally, I prefer sprinting. However, it can be done on a treadmill, stairmaster, elipitical, bike, etc.. As long as you are switching between fast and slow intervals.

Now I know that you really enjoy doing cardio. However, wouldn't you rather get much better results in a lot less time per week?

THANK YOU:) but i must admit, im still a little hesitant to lift (i know, and you just went through all of that, im sorry!)

but i have some questions. how long should i lift weights? i dont see how some people can lift for like, an hour! how many reps and what not should i be doing or building up to?

Original Post by denecia:

Lift light weights. 3lb/ 5lb or even less. just to tone your arms. 

I just died a little inside

That is false. Let the ladies over at Stumptuous show you the light. They have routines and and answer any and all questions you could possibly think of regarding women and weights

Beachdiva,

No problem. :) I do have to ask though. How do you not get bored out of your mind doing 1-2 hours of cardio per day? I would go crazy doing it that long...LOL But hey, do what you love right :) I will say it again though. HIIT cardio three times per week on non lifting days will get far better results in the long run then 1-2 hours of cardio per day. HIIT is designed to specifically target bodyfat, it gives you a better cardiovascular workout, and it really speeds up your metabolism. It is the only cardio to ever get me results, and I used to do cardio 5-6 times a week for 45-60 minutes a session.

In regards to lifting...

I would say that you should probably lift at a minimum for 35-40 minutes for three times a week. Start out doing 10-12 reps for the first month to get used to it. Then progress to a weight you can do 6-8 times. I would recommend 3 exercises per body part and for each exercise do three sets. Rest for 90 secs - 3 minutes between sets depending on what exercise you do and what muscle group you are lifting.

I would also recommend not doing cardio on these days. Doing a lot of cardio after lifting puts your body in a muscle burning state and can do more harm than good. To get toned up and stronger like you want, you want to hold onto your muscle and not lose it. That is why HIIT is so great. It spares muscle and just goes after bodyfat. Plus after lifting, you want to get your post workout nutrition as soon as possible.  However, if you have to do it, only do 20-30 minutes on the two days you don't train your legs.

So many people ask me that haha but for me, it's almost my meditation. I get into this system of just pushing myself to keep going. It's kind of hard to explain, but time flies when I'm doing cardio, it's probably my favorite part of my day! But i realize I do need to lift too...sadly:( haha

I will most definitely try HIIT cardio though, it sounds really fun (to a weird person like me lol)! And I will start my weight lifting today. Another question though..you said if I do cardio, then i should do it after i lift, but would it be bad to just do a ten minute warm up of cardio and then hit the weights? Or just do the weights first and then do a little bit of running?

You should warm up before lifting, including some cardio if you like and dynamic stretching (as opposed to static stretching).

But your actual cardio workout should follow lifting (or leave it for your non-lifting days).

awesome, thanks for all your help!

Original Post by denecia:

Lift light weights. 3lb/ 5lb or even less. just to tone your arms. 

 NO NO NO NO NO.  Lift Heavy, do total body workouts.  After my wife has her third child this Sep. I am putting her on the same workouts I am doing.

All are 3 sets with 5 reps, except for the deadlifts they are 1 set 5 reps cause your low back takes a beating from the squats and cleans as well.

Do 2 warmup sets for each exercise that consist of 1 set at 50% of your working weight so for example if your 3 work sets of bench is 200lbs you would first warmup with a set of 100, then 2nd warmup set is 75% of your work set which in this example is 150lbs.  Then go into your 3 sets of 5 of 200lbs.

Workout A:

Squat

Bench

Deadlift

Abs

Workout B:

Squat

Military Press

Power Cleans

Abs

You do the workouts 3 days a week every other day, aternating workouts so week one would be Workout A- Mon, Workout B-Weds, Workout A Fri.  The next week would be Workout B Mon, Workout A Weds. and workout B Fri.

Do cardio on the Tues. Thrus, Sat.

Original Post by aidancolin:

  After my wife has her third child this Sep. I am putting her on the same workouts I am doing.

wow, lucky wife to have you around to put her on a program

Original Post by sugarshocked:

Original Post by aidancolin:

  After my wife has her third child this Sep. I am putting her on the same workouts I am doing.

 

wow, lucky wife to have you around to put her on a program

 Lol, we are both trying to be healthy and I am just trying to support her.  I couldn't tell if this was a genuine compliment or sarcasm but I will take it as a compliment and say thank you!

BTW I did not make this program myself, It is called Starting Strenght, and I found it with the help of melkor the fitness moderator on here and I have since dropped down from 257 to 223 since January and all of my lifts have gotten much, much stronger.  Now to just get down to around 205!

"melkor the fitness moderator" should be heard as that booming movie voice with a pause before and after.  It just should. :D

Original Post by crazydiamondchrysalis:

"melkor the fitness moderator" should be heard as that booming movie voice with a pause before and after.  It just should. :D

 I can't begin to say how right you are!  He is great and always willing to help with any questions.

I'm making my way through Starting Strength now.  Very very good read.