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It seems that all the time spent running in May had some deleterious effects on my muscle strength. Early in May, I set a mileage goal and a weight training goal; I was only able to complete the mileage however. In fact, I think I only lifted 3 or 4 times in May instead of my planned 10.
Well, today I hit the weights after a 3 week break and it sure was hard. I didn’t decrease any of the weights that I had been doing last month, but I wasn’t able to complete as many reps–and each set was much more difficult than I remember it being the last time I worked out. I’m always amazed at how fast you can lose muscle strength. I want to continue to put on muscle while I’m losing fat so that I can keep my metabolism high. And since I’d rather be seen as an all around fit person, and not as a runner, I’m going to start doing a better job of splitting my workout time between running and lifting.
And, since everybody’s doing it, I thought I’d join in on the 100 pushup fad. On my 3 run days/week, I’m also going to be doing my pushups while continuing to lift weights on the other days. We’ll see how it goes. I’m excited.
The guys of the Fitness Health Network have posted some interesting stuff this week, here’s a few of the good ones:
Lazy Man wrote about Exercising for Kids and gave some Tips For A Healthy Heart.
Kevin gave us some good ways to combat common excuses that keep us on the couch.
And Israel found a post about how Golf Can Be A Dangerous Sport. Since I love playing golf in my free time, I thought it was going to be an interesting article. Good thing I don’t use a cart.
Have a great weekend.
J.D.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Peter // Jun 13, 2008 at 10:10 am
Hm… I thought it was pretty much impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. You need a calorie deficit to lose mass (hopefully fat) and a calorie surplus to gain mass (hopefully muscle). So the two goals contradict. I think that’s why bodybuilders have the whole ‘bulking up’ - ‘cutting up’-cycles. So:
Bulk up: calorie surplus, primarily weight lifting with some cardio –> increase in muscle, while fat ideally stays the same
Cut up: calorie deficit, primarily cardio with some weight lifting –> decrease fat, while muscle mass ideally stays the same.
I made the same mistake of neglecting weights last time and I lost some strength too. I make sure to get some weights in this time and even though the total mass I lose is less dramatic, at least I know it’s the right kind
2 Nova // Jun 14, 2008 at 5:40 am
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to say thanks for all the great info. I have been reading ya’lls health and money sites for a while now. I love the focus on getting fit slowly. I am underweight and have a hard time keeping my weight up. But before you tell me I’m in the wrong spot hear me out. Actually I am just as out of shape as someone overweight. I have similar health issues as a result. I also need to learn to eat the right way to gain the right kind of weight. You guys encourage me in my efforts to get fit. I can now keep up with my boys in a game of tag and am going to be incorporating some strength training into my routine. Thanks!
3 » The One Hundred Pushup Goal // Jun 15, 2008 at 7:07 pm
[...] Chelsey Diet Girl The Happy Rock Karen Sugarpants Mac Run Momma Run Say What? Weight Ladder Workout Mommy Posted by admin on Sunday, June 15th, [...]
4 Him // Jun 17, 2008 at 7:33 am
Running also makes your body look at your muscles as a good source of energy. Your body sort of adapts to running so it changes accordingly. I lost a lot of strength last year by solely training for a good half-marathon time.
5 Pat Blanks - EasyDietMeals.com // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Mac, thanks for sharing the informative article “Golf Can Be A Dangerous Sport” link.
We must beat those excuses for not exercising in order to live a healthy life.
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