I am off to see the drill sargent!

[tiggerlover]

A new friend of mine is happy with my weight loss, however, she thinks I need to start incorporating more into my exercise routine so I can tone up. I do agree with her, but boy am I not looking forward to the aching muscles! She wants me to do 3 days of cardio and 3 days of weights, but I don't want to, is that horrible or what? I want to incorporate exercise in my days that are reasonable for me, however, I am not willing to give 6 days a week. I have lost 30# so far and still have about 37# to go and I have been doing cardio 3 days a week plus some free weights for my arms on my off days and it is working well enough, just not toning a lot. My new drill sargent (she is really pushy on this subject, hence the nickname, but I say it with a ) says I need to do 5-6 days a week. But I ask you why should I set myself up for something like that when I know I don't have the time to devote to that, nor do I want to. Also, is there anything wrong with doing cardio and weight training on the same days? This way I can do both, but just on the 3 days I have alloted myself?

 

[glo]

LOL...I hate to say she is right, but she is...If you loose the weight and don't tone you will end up with hanging flab like I do in my tummy area....Nothing wrong with doing cardio and weights on the same day, I try to do cardio everyday, just as long as you do not do weights in the same area everyday. Your muscles need a day of rest in between. If you do weights everyday, make sure they are for different muscle groups Keep it up, don't do anything that will set you up to fail, but try to increase it a little. Maybe tell the drill sergeant better to do some exercise than nothing at all

 

[ohMom]

and my own .02 - be careful you don't burnout and end up not exercising at all! I have always thought that 3-4 days a week if they are good workouts (cardio/weights x 60 mins) is plenty. If you can incorporate activities you enjoy to burn calories on the off days, even better (walking, biking, yoga, etc on a lighter level)

Resting is an important part of muscle building! Like Glo said, never ever work the same groups two days in a row!

If you can't say 'no' to your friend, maybe give it two weeks and see how it's working for ya?

BTW, with the time difference, you should be done? how did it go??

 

[anniet]

I agree with Glo and OhMom but only IF that's what you want to do....and it doesn't sound like that's the case. If you start working out too often too soon you'll get discouraged and give up. Do what YOU want to do when you want to do it, and RUN like the wind from this drill sargeant! I worked out on Nautilus for a year before I was MENTALLY ready to hire a personal trainer and start hitting free weights and now it's been another year and I am JUST ready now to add cardio.

I do agree if you do it her way you may see results faster, but if you get discouraged and give up, you won't see anything at all. If she insists on working out every day, limit the time to what is comfortable for you.

Good luck.

 

[TigH]

This is a toughie, Debbi!

On one hand, I agree that you will see great results if you add to your workout schedule. However, if time is a problem, then why give yourself the added stress to your schedule?

3 times a week for cardio is the recommended minimum, and you are hitting that mark. Free weights on your off days is excellent.

Will the Drill Sargent compromise with you? How are you going to be able to make all these comitments if you don't have the time? Will you feel like you are letting your friend down if you have to cancel one or twice (or more) a week? If so, will you feel guilty about it?

How long have you been using the free weights for your arms? I think it takes about 3 months to REALLY REALLY REALLY see a big difference, so if it hasn't been that long, you can't say it's not really toning much.

Hmm, so this is a *new* friend, eh? Tell her I said back off (kidding!) Sometimes I get caught up in my own enthusiasm and try to spread it around to everyone surrounding me and my words are not well received (like planning my mom's exercise routine so she moves from reading the paper and smoking all day on my patio to yoga and walking around the block...she's not interested!) I think you should stand your ground and not be pushed into something you don't want to do. If what you are doing now is working, that's fine. However, if your schedule opens up a bit, try fitting in an extra day of cardio (at your leisure). FOR ME, it's easier to work up to things gradually. I don't like to pressure myself to move ahead too quickly. It can be overwhelming. Other people like to dive right in.

Good luck, Debbi! You are doing an awesome job!!! The weight will continue to come off and you will continue to work out at a pace that is comfortable for you. There is always going to be a chance to add to your workout when you are closer to your goal.

 

[tiggerlover]

I am back and I survived (suprisingly). I really didn't know what to expect today because weights were never my thing, but I have to say I did enjoy myself.

I also had a chat with my friend and told her that I really couldn't commit to 6 days a week and that I would be willing to commit to 3 days a week and incorporate weights and my cardio, cutting my cardio down to 20-30 minutes plus the time we spend on free weights and see how it goes for two weeks. I think as someone said she is just really enthusiastic and that was coming to me as being like a "drill sargent". She was okay with the plan and she also told me we wouldn't work the same muscles every time. Today was upper body plus the elliptical (my cardio choice) and then on Wednesday we will work the lower body and then friday back to upper body. She started me out on lower weights (4-6 lbs.) because she said she didn't want to scare me away...lol. So we will try this for 2 weeks and see where we go from there.

Thanks for your support, you guys are wonderful for me!