I'm kind of over the moon at the moment. A few days ago I was pretty upset with not being able to do my usual weight training routine, and I think I've figured out how I can manage both weight training and cardio without burning myself out!
My main area that I want to focus on with muscle building is my arms and shoulders, since they're extremely weak in comparison to my core, back and lower body. But it's okay, because I've devised a new routine, and since trialling it yesterday, I think it's pretty awesome!
By now I've said a few times on other posts I've made that I like playing Dance Dance Revolution as exercise. I'm a gamer, I enjoy gaming, and to be able to exercise while gaming, that's perfect for me. The difficulty level I play at now is easy on the joints, super low impact, but it does work up a good sweat and raises my heart rate considerably. Best of all, it's fun, so it's sustainable and won't drain me mentally!
So yesterday I tried out alternating between 10 songs on DDR (20 minutes cardio) with one set of 10 reps of a few dumbbell exercises targeting the muscle groups I need to develop most, and repeating that routine until I got to my desired total cardio time and target sets for the weight training.
And you know what? It worked like a charm. The DDR kept my heart rate up during the sets of weights, and I could lift heavier and for more reps than I usually do during a non-stop weight training session, so my arms got a killer workout. And through the whole thing, core and lower back were engaged for stability so I wasn't neglecting those muscles.
I'll be doing this three times a week, with just cardio on the other days except Sunday which is rest day.
Pretty happy now that I've got a routine that doesn't make me feel awful, or make my back hurt too much more than it normally does!
Much more positivity on the horizon now, hooray!
My main area that I want to focus on with muscle building is my arms and shoulders, since they're extremely weak in comparison to my core, back and lower body. But it's okay, because I've devised a new routine, and since trialling it yesterday, I think it's pretty awesome!
By now I've said a few times on other posts I've made that I like playing Dance Dance Revolution as exercise. I'm a gamer, I enjoy gaming, and to be able to exercise while gaming, that's perfect for me. The difficulty level I play at now is easy on the joints, super low impact, but it does work up a good sweat and raises my heart rate considerably. Best of all, it's fun, so it's sustainable and won't drain me mentally!
So yesterday I tried out alternating between 10 songs on DDR (20 minutes cardio) with one set of 10 reps of a few dumbbell exercises targeting the muscle groups I need to develop most, and repeating that routine until I got to my desired total cardio time and target sets for the weight training.
And you know what? It worked like a charm. The DDR kept my heart rate up during the sets of weights, and I could lift heavier and for more reps than I usually do during a non-stop weight training session, so my arms got a killer workout. And through the whole thing, core and lower back were engaged for stability so I wasn't neglecting those muscles.
I'll be doing this three times a week, with just cardio on the other days except Sunday which is rest day.
Pretty happy now that I've got a routine that doesn't make me feel awful, or make my back hurt too much more than it normally does!
Much more positivity on the horizon now, hooray!
