Is pain a good thing? & cardio

Hello All,

Noobie here to the weight training and wondering if very sore muscles the next day is a good thing? Does this indicate that I worked them good and now they are reparing themselves? Or did I do too much?

Also, how does one know how much cardio is needed to burn fat? I am starting a cardio routine of at least every other day is not every day, at least 15 min. running. Do I adjust my cardio according to heart rate? I don't have a heart rate monitor.

Thanks for the help!

Scrappy
 
There's a difference between being sore from working unused muscles, and being sore from injury - which do you think it is?

I've been doing cardio 4x a week (in addition to strength training 3x a week) and I've been having good results. If you're going to do cardio, give interval training a try (2 minutes at a moderate pace, 1 minute at a fast pace - repeat as necessary). You can get an idea of your heart rate by feeling for your pulse in your neck and counting the number of beats for 10 seconds. Multiply that number by 6 and you'll have an estimate of your heart rate. I find heart rate monitors are more convenient, especially when taking classes and you're not really able to take time out on your own for a heart rate check.
 
sore not injured

My muscles are just sore from working out, I don't believe I injured them as I am still able to walk, sit, etc. without pain, muscles are just really sore.

I'm just curious, why are you answering questions under "Women's Weight Training"?

I'd like to hear more from women who are weight training or who have for a long period of time.

I do plan on doing cardio 3-4 days a week minimum and I'm sure the more I do the more stamina I will acquire and will be able to do more as I progress.

Thanks for your help & suggestions!

Scrappy
 
One of the main reasons is when I first posted my journal, I accidentally did so in the Women's section. Since it couldn't be moved, I started posting to my journal/diary and to those around mine. The Women's Weight Training section is the section just above it (yeah kinda lazy in that regard), and the threads I respond tend to deal with fat loss as a goal. (Having dropped from 354 to around 240 currently, it's something I feel I can have some input with.)
 
If people are knowledgeable and willing to offer help I would not be so picky about who helps you. Besides, there are much fewer women answering quesions than asking them here. Everyones muscles act the same way, women or men. You also began you post by saying hello ALL.

If you are really sore, you should probably take a day or two off. You will be doing yourself a favor. Training when sore is of limited use. Also, once you get used to the workout you just started you will become less and less sore to the point that you may not get sore anymore. Give it time and rest up when you need it. Listen to your body...when you are really really sore you are approaching injury, so let your body repair. Only you can be the judge of how 'sore' you are before you need a rest day.

Cardio without resistance training is only half the fat loss equasion.
 
Cardio & Resistance

yeah, you've got a point. Advice is better than no advice so any knowledgable suggestions, info., and advice is appreciated.

I do weight lifting 3-4 days a week. I'm trying to incorporate cardio in as well. I just started a routine roughly 1 1/2 weeks ago so I'm still making adjustments, getting a rythmn, and trying to organize a meal plan.

I just started logging my daily food intake on Fitday.com today.

Thanks again for the info.

Scrappy
 
It's good that you started to log your diet. I suggest you log your workouts as well. This is especially of great benefit to beginners. Write out your goals before you begin. Write down what you accomplish while you work out during rest periods. Review the past few days workouts before you write the one for that day. Make your adjusments before you write out your goals for the day. If you are annotating your log after each set with how you 'felt' during the set, the next time you schedule your training it will be that much smarter. Same goes for the cardio. Write that down as well.

Personally, I recommend you get used to doing your cardio routine at low-mid intensity until you are not really sore anylonger. Then I would try and integrate some HIIT training once a week and build from there.
 
hi

Hi,

From everything I've read and what works best for me, you need to raise your heart rate to between 60%-80% for at least 30 minutes. Try to do this 3-4 days a week. I use a Polar HR monitor that snaps into a sports bra from NuMetrex, and that's been working well for me.

Here's a short blog about burning fat by training within a certain HR zone:


And the HR monitor site:


Keep up the good work!
 
Training with a HR monitor can really help keep you in the zone. It can also make sure that you don't short change yourself with rest periods. Keep in mind, if you are running at a lower intensity you will have to run longer to start burnining fat. At a higher intensity (HIIT) the workouts are shorter with the same or better results. However, I would not recommend HIIT until you are no longer getting sore from running.

is another good article.

Also one from runners world.
 
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