Does Anybody Know If One Aerobic Workout is Better

[Psychicanimal]

what if I would rather ask here and hope for Coach Izzy? or Cameron?

but thanks for the advice, I might have been able to come up with that one myself. lol.

I wish I could give a detailed answer, but there is none. It all depends on so many factors...age, sex, prior conditioning, goals (if any), realistic training time, realistic resting time, etc. Track & field events are won by such narrow margins that coaches are well polished in the details of aerobic/anaerobic training regimes. I took boxing as Phys. Ed. @ univ of PR and the teacher was a professional boxing coach who had been PR's olympic track & field coach at some point in his career. I could see how he was such an advocate of heart rate monitoring, rest, intensity of workouts as a function of age, semi vegetarian diet, etc. He was very commensurate, methodic & prudent at training. That's why I referred you to a track & field coach to help at a personal level.

What I can say for sure is this: if your basal pulse is 10% or more than usual, you've overtrained.

 

[Charlie99]

Catherine, don't forget that actually performing a simple exercise plan that fits your schedule and lifestyle is much better than the world's best plan that doesn't happen.

On the grounds that it may tend to incriminate me, I decline to state why I know this is true.

Charlie Allen

 

[Cacia]

very funny Charlie. We all have learned that lesson over and over.

An example of HI training would be where you start slow to warm up, then run as fast as you can for a min, then slow down for a min, and just continue these cycles until then end of your workout and have a cool down session.

right, thats what prompted me to ask.

"should I go harder for less time twice daily" or kill myself going longer probably at a slightly lower target zone, for an hour for a bigger benefit?

I know it's silly, just wondered if the jury was back on that.

 

[scubajenn81]

Hello,
I am a degreed Exercise Physiologist, Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor and Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant. If you still have questions on this topic, feel free to PM me and I will do my best to answer any you may have. This goes to anyone on this tread.

 

[RoyN]

Look! What a cute little turtle!

I gotta touch it!

Sorry for going off topic, had to get that out of my system.

Back to topic, I'll check out Shiva Rhea's book and cd. Most of the yoga skills I've learn in my class was breathing and stress relief. The stress relief never works but the breathing sure helps alot.

scubajenn81, how long does it usually take for muscles to develope on the body? Like I want to have a six pack or something? I've been doing it for about 5 months now...

 

[Kevrumbo]

Swing and Lindy-Hop Dancing at least three times a week; three hours per day; three consecutive songs to dance to and rest on one. (Actually a lot more fun than just simple aerobics. . . )

 

[Psychicanimal]

Swing and Lindy-Hop Dancing at least three times a week; three hours per day; three consecutive songs to dance to and rest on one. (Actually a lot more fun than just simple aerobics. . . )

Definitelty!

Where I was working more than half (300+) were women and the best body belonged to a salsa dance instructor (41 yrs old). She'd been doing it all her life, as her mother and brother are competitive salsa dancers. The 20-something girls were no match for her...:no

 

[scubajenn81]

"scubajenn81, how long does it usually take for muscles to develope on the body? Like I want to have a six pack or something? I've been doing it for about 5 months now..."

Increased muscle size comes from the increase of size of the muscle fiber more then the actual increase of muscle cells.
When you start a heavy resistance training program, changes in the types of muscle proteins start to take place within the first few workouts. As you continue training(3-4 weeks),the amount of muscle contracting proteins increase making you able to lift heavier amounts of weight (According to the National Strength and Conditioning Assosiation)

In real terms, in order to effectivly stimulate the growth of muscle, you have to stimulate it enough to really tire it out. It is better to do that though full body exercises like squats verus a leg extension on a machine (provided that you do it correctly that is). It is more functional and you get more muscle recuitment.
When you max out a muscle, your body will build it up again making it stronger and stronger. However it will take time, you can safely lose up to 2 pounds per week, but it takes more like a month to put on a few pounds of lean muscle.

When it comes to abs, you want to be sure that you are training the entire core area (abs and back), not one section, and be sure you have a healthy diet. You can do all the crunches you want but if you have a beer belly, you will never see the muscle structure underneath. In addition, you would want to be doing some cardio to strenghen your aerobic systems and help with your breathing during a dive. This will also of course add to any calorie burn that come along with the reisitance training.

If you have been working out well for the past 5 months, you should be seeing and feeling some gains, if not, it does not seem to me that you are working out hard enough, or other activies in your life are balancing out any real progress. That said, you are not going to be a body builder in 5 months (unless that is all you do 15 hours a day), but you should be going up in weight that you are able to lift and do more cardio then you were able to do.

If you are really interested in your lean muscle gain, ask a local gym if they have any ways to measure your body composition. The best way is though water submersion, but that can be pretty costly. Most gyms will have a set of calipers, or at the very least a electronic way to calculate it (NIR). Either way, have someone that knows what they are doing, do it and record your results. Then check it every 6-8 weeks. Be sure to go at the same time of day and avoid exercise and limit caffeine before the measurements. It is also reccomended that you change your exercise routine that often as well so your body does not have time to adapt to the workouts you are currently doing.

Anything else?

 

[CameronMartz]

Charlie hit the nail on the head. You have to first ask yourself, "Which fits my lifestyle better?" The textook ideal means nothing if you cannot sustain it.

Also, you must avoid the mentality that you can do something extreme short term to lose the weight, then go to "maintenance" to keep it off. This strategy is rarely successful for a number of reasons. This means that whatever you decide to do should be chosen with a lifetime habit in mind.

So, we can start with the idea that you want to lose weight and suspect that additional cardio volume is a possible answer. This might be true, and it is certainly one way of burning more calories. However, you must be sure that you're spending you current workout time efficiently before it makes sense to carve more time out of your day to exercise when it might not be necessary.

As others have alluded to, the "fat burning zone" is bunk- the biggest mistake most people make is to maintain a single intensity throughout a workout. No matter how long your training session, it seems that some form of interval training will result in a faster and larger increase in fitness. It might also increase the amount of calories burned during and after a workout.

Doubles are hard to pull off without getting in the way of good recovery. Many athletes do it, but over-training is a big risk, and with over-training usually comes a big rearward slide in health and fitness. If you think you're getting the most out of your current workouts, want to increase volume, and feel that splitting your workouts will fit into your schedule better, then it is best to switch modes of exercise. For example, you might run in the morning and swim in the evening.

A professional triathlete friend of mine had a great system to evaluate her training to avoid over training. She scored her workouts on a scale from 1-5, with 5 being less than race intensity but a very hard workout. She never did more than a total of 5 each day between her workouts. Some days, that meant one really hard workout. Other days, it meant splitting time between intensity and active recovery.

Overall, if you truly are exercising at the most efficient intensity, then I think (I'm sure others might have different opinions) it is much easier to stay healthy with one-a-days. If you are a multisport athlete or getting experienced with exercise and its needed recovery, then doubles can help you get it all in.

Just remember that if it feels extreme, then it probably is.

Cameron

 

[texdiveguy]

Any one that you will stick with on the long haul!