For today’s Wednesday Workout, I will be answering your fitness questions! I’ll field a few that I have heard recently, then feel free to ask any (fitness related) questions in the comment section and I’ll do my best to answer. Actually, you can ask almost any question, except maybe car repair questions and I’ll answer.
You might say that I am answering questions today because I am unprepared for the usual Wednesday Workout. Or that I am lazy and just didn’t want to work out. Well, you’d be right wrong! Well, you’d be kind of right. I had a plan this morning to video my run, but, as you’ll see tomorrow in my post, “Why I Need a GoPro,” it just didn’t work out.
#1 From Confused Carl: “I saw this on a blog the other day, and it told me to do one thing, then I read somewhere else to do the opposite. So really, what should I do first, cardio or strength?”
Ah, the question of the decade, as difficult to answer as whether the chicken or the egg came first. And the answer will be…whatever works for you.
Frequently trainers will recommend to their clients that they do their strength training first, while they are fresh and strong, and can deal with lifting heavy weights before tiring themselves out with their cardio.
My opinion is that it varies, depending on your goals. And by goals, I mean not only overall, but daily and weekly goals as well. For example, say you are a marathon runner who has added strength training to your program. Yes, you want to get strong. But what is your priority? If it is running, then get on the treadmill and do your miles while you are fresh and finish with some moderate strength training (note: I wouldn’t recommend strength training after a long run, but this may come up on other, more moderate distance, days of the week).
Or, say you are that same runner, but today you are coming to lift some serious weight, complete a tough core circuit, and have an easy run day. In that case, I’d suggest doing the weights first (after a warm up), because they are your priority for the day.
So, think about what your priorities are. Then you will know what to do first.
#2 From Clumsy Carla (no, miz, I’m not talking about you): “Do you think I should do yoga? I’d be really bad at it. I can’t touch my toes. I’m just not bendy. Plus, my balance is terrible.”
I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but did you hear what you just said? Those are exactly the things that yoga is excellent for! I know you might have images of a class full of super bendy yogis, standing on their heads in full splits, but unless you’re in the advanced class (which, ahem, I wouldn’t recommend for you yet), you will be surrounded by people just like you!
Yoga is a total body miracle workout. It will make you stronger, more flexible, and more balanced (both on one foot and in life in general). It will calm your mind, help you set priorities, and teach you to breathe (no, you don’t already know how to breathe).
Speaking of super bendy, you might not want to go this far:
#3 From Soppy Sam: “My buds tell me that hitting the beer garden after a race is the best thing for recovery. Is that true?”
Sorry, Charlie, er, Sam. Not so much. You may have been told that the carbs in beer make it a great post-workout drink, but I’m sorry to tell you that it is a poor choice. Beer is a natural diuretic, which is the opposite of what you need after a workout. Beer will make you lose more water instead of replenishing what you’ve already lost. The little bit of potassium that beer has is much better supplied by a glass of orange juice or real food accompanied with a glass of water.
So, there you have it. Whether you watched the video or read the text (or both..I love you), you have my answers. Do you agree? If not, let me know. You can also tell me if you do agree, I like that :-). Do you have any questions that you’d like answered? Promise, I’ll do my best.
Great questions and great responses. I particularly love the answer to the yoga question. It’s so hard for us to do the things that are hard for us… but that’s usually exactly what we need! 🙂
Thank you. Seriously, it is amazing how many people say that to me about yoga!
Excellent! The yoga one is obviously true, but I always assumed weights go first (unless I’m angry and need to run it out!) – maybe not so – I appreciate it 🙂
Ok, my question for you: How do you know when you need to stop? I’m not talking about injury, but rather, if you’re exhausted or don’t feel right, do you push through your workout, or can that be dangerous?
You’d think that yoga thing would be obvious, but I hear it a lot.
If you’re working out and feeling totally exhausted, it is probably better to stop. Only you know your body, but pushing through can potentially lead to injury. You kind of have to be the judge, is the regular tiredness, is the workout just hard and my body is rebelling, or am I really too tired to go on. Giving it up once is not going to hurt your overall training.
Now, if this happens more than once or regularly, you might need to consider if you are overtraining. Exhaustion is a symptom. Also, not sleeping or sleeping too much, diminishing results, loss of appetite, weight loss or gain, soreness (more symptoms here: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/overtraining/a/aa062499a.htm)
Thanks Debbie. It was more a general question – because there are those days where you just want to stop! Over-training is serious thing though – so I definitely am keeping my eyes open 🙂
AHHH SORRY
that IS ME 🙂 the clumsy carla the ImaMess Miz and yet Im so so so sticking with it too.
great answer.
I went yesterday 🙂
That’s right, you even wrote a post about it not too long ago, didn’t you. I swear I wasn’t thinking of that when I wrote this. Clumsy and Carla just seemed to go together 🙂
Yep, workouts are all about what works for you and what your fitness goals are. These vary among all. Find out what your goals are and then you can figure the rest out for how to get there!
That is so true, but it is difficult sometimes for beginners because there is SO MUCH information out there and some of it is contradictory.
Love the Q&A! Lovin’ the yoga answer 🙂
Thank you. I was thinking of you when I was answering the which to do first question. With training for your contest and your race, you are probably the queen of prioritizing.
i love the little q and a session!! do these more often!!!! :o) SPA LOVE!
Why thank you! Since I’m often lazy, I will probably do these more often (it gets me out of the Wednesday Workout :-)).
I wish the Beer was good for me after the race!!! 😉 But it sure does taste good!
Yeah, I’m not the beer police, so go ahead and enjoy that post race beer. Just don’t think that it’s doing your recovery any good 🙂
i love the things we tell ourselves to justify them 🙂 oh if I drink beer post race i’ll recovery quickly. I probably apply this to chocolate since I don’t drink.
Love the first answer about picking what’s most important so you can put your energy there first
Thanks. I’m sure that chocolate must be good for recovery. Please?
Hmm I don’t think strength training or cardio should come first. The most effective way I’ve found is to combine them both in high intensity interval training. However, this does vary, depending on your goals. When training for a marathon or race cardio is definitely most important. If you’re goal is just to get in better shape I would say do quick intervals mixing plyometrics and weights and you’ll be pleased with the results.
So funny that you just posted here. I was just reading your post and getting ready to comment there 🙂
I think HIIT has its place, but some experts say that it is a kind of workout that is best done a couple times a week at most. That being said, it is an excellent way to burn some fat and get very fit.
Everybody is different and every body is different, so I say do what works for you and what you enjoy doing.
I love these questions and answers! I totally agree that you should do what works for you. Since I am a runner I am definitely going to get my miles in before I do anything else. But I also need to do more strength training. And yoga! 🙂
Runners definitely need some strength training to balance out their muscles. Interestingly, my local paper has an article on just that subject today! and we can all use more yoga 🙂