Cardio Strength effects

[Alek]

So, cardio affects negatively strength gains. Does this means that even running can affect upperbody strength? or only leg strength (since mostly legs are working)

Can anyone post a cardio routine ?

thanks

[Knight_Errant]

well yes- if you do it to extremes. As for the routine, it would help if I knew what you were after. Weight loss? conditioning? Do you plan to run, or use some other form of exercise?

[Nutjob]

it only eats into muscle if your are doing huge runs often, you could look at interval training or high intensity but without knowing what you want no one can help!

[Alek]

my goal is to lose some weight but also to improve my endurance and speed. I think roadwork would be great to lose weight, and it can be performed almost everyday. As for general endurance, i was planning on doing some interval running, pushups/pullups/squats to failure 2-3 days/week and for strength heavy lifting 2-3 days/week. However, jogging or walking could be done every day, even in "strength" days until I lose the weight.

I was thinkning somethink like this:

1:Plyometrics and evening jogging or long distance walk
2:Strength and evening jogging or long distance walk
3:Endurance(failure+interval runs) and evening jogging or long distance walk
4:evening jogging or long distance walk
5:Strength and evening jogging
6:Endurance(failure+interval runs) and evening jogging or long distance walk
7:Rest

[Knight_Errant]

I'd avoid plyometrics unless you can squat 1.5 times your bodyweight. I wouldn't recommend you going jogging every day when you start off- that's a good way to pick up an injury. But walking should be fine. I think you're being too ambitious- I'd try interval running just once a week to start off with and strength training 2/3 days a week. Bear in mind that your muscles don't grow while you're working out- only while you're resting.

[Alek]

are 24h enough to recover from a light workout? like some push ups, pull ups and a few weights.Or do we need standard time to recover no matter the intensity of the workout

[CosmicFish]

Generally the harder you work out, the longer you need to recover. Plus bear in mind that your ability to recover will improve over time. E.g. the first time you do some pushups you may be sore for many days afterwards. If you keep doing pushups several times a week, eventually you'll get to the point where you can do far more pushups and will need only a fraction of the time to recover.

The biggest problem in judging recovery time in the fact that there are many variables affecting it. Some are short term, like food intake and how much sleep you got over the last few nights. Others are long term, like your genetics and training experience. Given which, the best guide to recovery time is actually your own experience.

[jonwade]

This plyometric workout for boxing / martial arts (http://www.motleyhealth.com/fitness_and_strength/fitness/boxing-workout-plyometric-circuits-for-speed-power-and-strength) may help. Not sure if being able to squat 1.5 time your bodyweight is really a prerequisite.

[Knight_Errant]

Well no- you can do plyometrics without it, it's just considered an 'industry standard' for how strong you should be before it's safe.

[d0ugbug]

If your running on the road and your art uses the legs or you do alot of knee's / knee kicks. Then get some decent shoes the more you spend the better you are in the long run. It will help save your knees[1]

If your looking for endurance id recommend the heavy bag hit the heck out of it for 3min rest for 1. Same again but hit for 2min and rest for 30sec. 1min hitting 15 second rest. 30seconds blast and empty your tank.


[1] Id recommend a decent shoe for running anyway regardless of what your goals are, one pair for running another for gym

[NoOne2]

If you are interested in building strength and aerobic capacity you might try circuit training. The upside is that it is great for building strength and aerobic capacity, the down side is you can't really do it at a gym and if you do it at home it requires an investment in some equipment.

Try 6-8 exercises. Mostly compound movements. One exercise performed right after the other until you have done all 6-8 exercises before you rest.

When you rest keep it to about one minute. Start with one to three sets depending upon the amount of weight you use for your exercises and work up to about 5 or 6 sets. You could even go up to ten sets if you really want some endurance. Once you can do 3-5 sets of 5 reps you can also work up to ten reps per set. For a strength focus do 3 sets of 3 reps with heavier weights and 2-3 mins rest between circuits.

If you think you might be interested, I'll post my workout for you.