Exercise Question

[Bobber]

I'm working on getting in better shape. Am biking about 9 miles ever other day and lifting weights on the off days. My wife thinks I should bike more and lift weights less.

Any opinions?

 

[Cy's Taxi]

Depends on what you're trying to do. If you're trying to lose weight, bike more. If you're trying to build muscle, lift more with high weight and low reps. If you're trying to do both, in general a mix of both will help you out.

 

[Swanson10]

expand on what you mean by "better shape." As in, lose weight or get cut?

 

[cyclonedave25]

Lifting weights will build muscle mass, more muscle mass = higher metabolism.
Biking and lifting weights are both good forms of exercise, its good to have a balanced exercise routine with both cardio and resistance training. If you want to change it up, try biking at different intensities. Interval training will get you in shape faster and burn more calories faster than just riding a bike for 9 miles at the same speed.
I don't know how long it takes you to bike 9 miles, but exercising at a very high intensity in intervals will do more for you in a half an hour than riding a bike for a long period of time. Partner that up with a nice resistance exercise routine and you have a good workout.
Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[tiberius]

Lifting is the most important thing. If you are trying to lose weight, cardio really isn't needed you just have to burn more calories than you eat. Cardio helps burn calories, but I would rather just not eat a big mac then have to run 2 hours to burn it off.

 

[Cydar]

Lifting weights will build muscle mass, more muscle mass = higher metabolism.
Biking and lifting weights are both good forms of exercise, its good to have a balanced exercise routine with both cardio and resistance training. If you want to change it up, try biking at different intensities. Interval training will get you in shape faster and burn more calories faster than just riding a bike for 9 miles at the same speed.
I don't know how long it takes you to bike 9 miles, but exercising at a very high intensity in intervals will do more for you in a half an hour than riding a bike for a long period of time. Partner that up with a nice resistance exercise routine and you have a good workout.
Let me know if you have any more questions.

Yes. Definitely interval training.

What are you doing for your weightlifting workouts?

 

[Bobber]

I weigh 220 and want to get down to 190( on a 6' 1" frame.) That's my main goal and I'm not so worried about having big muscles.

Am watching the diet as well(I'm a little smarter about it now than a few years ago when I successfully did the Atkins diet. Got a lot of bad habits from that system...).

 

[Bobber]

Lifting weights will build muscle mass, more muscle mass = higher metabolism.
Biking and lifting weights are both good forms of exercise, its good to have a balanced exercise routine with both cardio and resistance training. If you want to change it up, try biking at different intensities. Interval training will get you in shape faster and burn more calories faster than just riding a bike for 9 miles at the same speed.
I don't know how long it takes you to bike 9 miles, but exercising at a very high intensity in intervals will do more for you in a half an hour than riding a bike for a long period of time. Partner that up with a nice resistance exercise routine and you have a good workout.
Let me know if you have any more questions.

I'm a little fuzzy on what you're getting at with inteval training. How does that work? Also can you give a good example of a resistance exercise?

 

[Bobber]

Yes. Definitely interval training.

What are you doing for your weightlifting workouts?

Just starting lifting. I've been biking for about a month now. Mostly upper body work out on machines. 10 reps 3 different times on each machine. I figure good to bike every other day and work on the legs that way and do upperbody on the off days.

 

[Cydar]

I'm a little fuzzy on what you're getting at wiht inteval training. How does that work? Also can you give a good example of a resistance exercise?

Interval training - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I do interval training on an exercise bike. I go a minute hard then a minute easy/moderate. It'll get you breathing hard.

 

[cyclonedave25]

I'm a little fuzzy on what you're getting at wiht inteval training. How does that work? Also can you give a good example of a resistance exercise?

Interval training is going hard for short periods, followed by a short period of rest, followed by more intense training, etc.
i.e. Ride your bike up a steep hill as fast and hard as possible. Coast back down, do it again. Coast back down, do it again. etc. The key with interval training, is it will only work if you do it with high intensity.

I train a lot of football players and when we do interval training, we will run/sprint at a specific speed and a specific incline for anywhere from 6-15 seconds depending on the speed and incline, then they will rest for about 30-60 seconds and do it again. We repeat that for a while, and then change it up. Sometimes during the resting phase, we will do a core workout (sit ups, leg lifts, push ups, etc) to keep the heart rate up. This will bust you in shape and burn more calories than anything.

A good resistance exericse? That would be like your squats, bench press, military press, lat pulldown, etc. For somebody like you, you want to work the largest muscles if possible. So, in other words, stay away from your basic curls, unless you really need them and want to do them. Focus on the larger muscles so that you get a better workout and train more muscle. (you biceps will get worked on your pulling movements anyways, curls are just an auxillary lift that you should do if you have the time and energy when done).

 

[Cydar]

Interval training is going hard for short periods, followed by a short period of rest, followed by more intense training, etc.
i.e. Ride your bike up a steep hill as fast and hard as possible. Coast back down, do it again. Coast back down, do it again. etc. The key with interval training, is it will only work if you do it with high intensity.

I train a lot of football players and when we do interval training, we will run/sprint at a specific speed and a specific incline for anywhere from 6-15 seconds depending on the speed and incline, then they will rest for about 30-60 seconds and do it again. We repeat that for a while, and then change it up. Sometimes during the resting phase, we will do a core workout (sit ups, leg lifts, push ups, etc) to keep the heart rate up. This will bust you in shape and burn more calories than anything.

A good resistance exericse? That would be like your squats, bench press, military press, lat pulldown, etc. For somebody like you, you want to work the largest muscles if possible. So, in other words, stay away from your basic curls, unless you really need them and want to do them. Focus on the larger muscles so that you get a better workout and train more muscle. (you biceps will get worked on your pulling movements anyways, curls are just an auxillary lift that you should do if you have the time and energy when done).[/QUOTE]


So would you suggest a total body workout with less weight, higher reps, and less rest in between sets?

 

[Bobber]

Interval training is going hard for short periods, followed by a short period of rest, followed by more intense training, etc.
i.e. Ride your bike up a steep hill as fast and hard as possible. Coast back down, do it again. Coast back down, do it again. etc. The key with interval training, is it will only work if you do it with high intensity.

I train a lot of football players and when we do interval training, we will run/sprint at a specific speed and a specific incline for anywhere from 6-15 seconds depending on the speed and incline, then they will rest for about 30-60 seconds and do it again. We repeat that for a while, and then change it up. Sometimes during the resting phase, we will do a core workout (sit ups, leg lifts, push ups, etc) to keep the heart rate up. This will bust you in shape and burn more calories than anything.

A good resistance exericse? That would be like your squats, bench press, military press, lat pulldown, etc. For somebody like you, you want to work the largest muscles if possible. So, in other words, stay away from your basic curls, unless you really need them and want to do them. Focus on the larger muscles so that you get a better workout and train more muscle. (you biceps will get worked on your pulling movements anyways, curls are just an auxillary lift that you should do if you have the time and energy when done).

Thanks. Sounds like I'm approaching it right mixing biking and lifting weights. I'll try to do more interval work out with the bike.

On the weights, I've been going pretty easy initially. I'm sore enough I think I've been pushing it too hard right off the bat.

Once they start feeling better, Do you suggest lighter weights lifted longer or heavier weights with shorter lift times?

 

[cyclonedave25]

Interval training is going hard for short periods, followed by a short period of rest, followed by more intense training, etc.
i.e. Ride your bike up a steep hill as fast and hard as possible. Coast back down, do it again. Coast back down, do it again. etc. The key with interval training, is it will only work if you do it with high intensity.

I train a lot of football players and when we do interval training, we will run/sprint at a specific speed and a specific incline for anywhere from 6-15 seconds depending on the speed and incline, then they will rest for about 30-60 seconds and do it again. We repeat that for a while, and then change it up. Sometimes during the resting phase, we will do a core workout (sit ups, leg lifts, push ups, etc) to keep the heart rate up. This will bust you in shape and burn more calories than anything.

A good resistance exericse? That would be like your squats, bench press, military press, lat pulldown, etc. For somebody like you, you want to work the largest muscles if possible. So, in other words, stay away from your basic curls, unless you really need them and want to do them. Focus on the larger muscles so that you get a better workout and train more muscle. (you biceps will get worked on your pulling movements anyways, curls are just an auxillary lift that you should do if you have the time and energy when done).[/QUOTE]


So would you suggest a total body workout with less weight, higher reps, and less rest in between sets?

It really depends what you're looking for. You can get a good cardio workout by lifting weights, if you keep the rest periods short, move from exercise to exercise, kind of like an intense circuit training.
For most people looking to burn the calories and get into shape with some definition, I would stick with "lighter" weight and higher reps. Something in the range of 10-15+ reps and 3-4 sets. The weight should be heavy enough so that your last 4-5 reps of each set are moderately difficult.
Again, it really depends on the person and goals. Total body workouts are fine for the general population just looking to lose some pounds. I would suggest, though, doing an upper body day and a lower body day. Or, if you wanted to lift 3 days, do an upper body "pull" day, an upper body "push" day, and then a lower body day. If you wanted a 4 day workout, then you can modify it even more. It really just depends on your goals.
No workout should be the exact same for 2 people, it depends on body type, goals, and exercise level.

 

[tiberius]

Interval training is going hard for short periods, followed by a short period of rest, followed by more intense training, etc.
i.e. Ride your bike up a steep hill as fast and hard as possible. Coast back down, do it again. Coast back down, do it again. etc. The key with interval training, is it will only work if you do it with high intensity.

I train a lot of football players and when we do interval training, we will run/sprint at a specific speed and a specific incline for anywhere from 6-15 seconds depending on the speed and incline, then they will rest for about 30-60 seconds and do it again. We repeat that for a while, and then change it up. Sometimes during the resting phase, we will do a core workout (sit ups, leg lifts, push ups, etc) to keep the heart rate up. This will bust you in shape and burn more calories than anything.

A good resistance exericse? That would be like your squats, bench press, military press, lat pulldown, etc. For somebody like you, you want to work the largest muscles if possible. So, in other words, stay away from your basic curls, unless you really need them and want to do them. Focus on the larger muscles so that you get a better workout and train more muscle. (you biceps will get worked on your pulling movements anyways, curls are just an auxillary lift that you should do if you have the time and energy when done).

Very good advice, I agree 100%
If I had it to do over I probably would start with a personal trainer, as I wasted about a year at the gym before I got things figured out.

Bodybuilding.com - The Future Of Bodybuilding! Huge Bodybuilding Site.
A lot of good information here.

 

[cyclonedave25]

Thanks. Sounds like I'm approaching it right mixing biking and lifting weights. I'll try to do more interval work out with the bike.

On the weights, I've been going pretty easy initially. I'm sore enough I think I've been pushing it too hard right off the bat.

Once they start feeling better, Do you suggest lighter weights lifted longer or heavier weights with shorter lift times?

Here's the thing. It depends on what you want for muscular size or strength.
Lower reps and heavy weight = power and strength (reps 1-6)
High reps and lighter weight = endurance and tone (reps 10-15)
High reps and heavy weight = muscular size (reps 8-15)
Whatever it is, you want to continue to push yourself. Don't ever let yourself plateau. If you find yourself not getting too sore or leveling off, its time to bump the weight up and push yourself.

 

[Bobber]

Here's the thing. It depends on what you want for muscular size or strength.
Lower reps and heavy weight = power and strength (reps 1-6)
High reps and lighter weight = endurance and tone (reps 10-15)
High reps and heavy weight = muscular size (reps 8-15)
Whatever it is, you want to continue to push yourself. Don't ever let yourself plateau. If you find yourself not getting too sore or leveling off, its time to bump the weight up and push yourself.

Burning calories. That's all I want.

 

[dualthreat]

Dont use machines unless you have to. It amazes me how everyone has bought into those things. Especially people over the age of 25.

Those things have their place, but they are such immobilzed they are probably more harm than good. They strengthen the muscles but not the tendons and stablizers. This is the complete opposite of what people should be focused on training. Unless you want to go into power lifting (even then they are avoided)

 

[cyclonedave25]

Burning calories. That's all I want.

I would stick in the higher reps (10-15) with moderate weight. Your last 5ish reps or so should be tough. Once that gets easier, bump the weight up. You will build tone this way and burn the calories. If you want to burn even more calories, spend little time resting and do a circuit training regime. It's harder than some people think bouncing from exercise to exercise with little rest. It really elevates the heart rate.

Dont use machines unless you have to. It amazes me how everyone has bought into those things. Especially people over the age of 25.

Those things have their place, but they are such immobilzed they are probably more harm than good. They strengthen the muscles but not the tendons and stablizers. This is the complete opposite of what people should be focused on training. Unless you want to go into power lifting (even then they are avoided)

This. Stick with free weights, if you can. Only use machines if you are brand new to lifting and have no idea what to do, the machine will basically do it for you. Otherwise, use free weights as much as possible.

 

[Cydar]

I would stick in the higher reps (10-15) with moderate weight. Your last 5ish reps or so should be tough. Once that gets easier, bump the weight up. You will build tone this way and burn the calories. If you want to burn even more calories, spend little time resting and do a circuit training regime. It's harder than some people think bouncing from exercise to exercise with little rest. It really elevates the heart rate.

This. Stick with free weights, if you can. Only use machines if you are brand new to lifting and have no idea what to do, the machine will basically do it for you. Otherwise, use free weights as much as possible.

I got more out of doing free weight squats than doing leg curls or a Hammer Strength V-Squat.