Intensity v frequency

marct

Hi All,
I've been seriously training for a few months now and have managed to lose a stone:D This was through using dumbells at home with some circuit traingin and jogging 3 times a week for 30mins. Then it plateaued and really slowed down as my body got used to the punishment. I've now upped the cardio to 5 times per week. My question is, should I have upped the intensity of the cardio rather then the frequency?

PS I am 6'1 and 15st 12 if thats any help. Thanks in advance

trotter_inc

This might be side-tracking a bit but Mens Fitness magazine (September issue) has a very good article and sample programme that deals with this issue, worth a look. It also has a great beginners program for strength training.

Jak

I would suggest increasing the intenstity of programs. 2 Heavy cardio sessions and 2 good weights sessions should be more than enough. If you have issues pushing yourself - maybe stick with the increased frequency.

I used to have a 3 day weight (all heavy) 3 day cardio (2 hard - 1 easy) split for about a year.

Initially when I cut back to 3 and 1 - I still noted cardio times/distances gradually increasing - and weights continued to increase.

I have since cut back to 2 and 1 for the next 2 months, and cardio has dropped quite a bit, due to the lack of effort I put into it. As for weights - on 2 sessions I am still progressing faster than before. A fair bit of this is to do with the fact with lower cardio and diet changes I am trying to gain more weight - and it's working. But with enough intensity - 2 weights sessions can cover you.

Personally I think 3 weights - 1 cardio and a general active lifestyle - sports etc is the ideal - and what I hope to do around October.

JAK.

marct

Thanks for the tips Jak. I've tried supersets to overload the muscles when weight training and added another session. In just a week I have really seen results. Losing weight is the object of all this and I've lost 3 pounds this week...:D