Today I attended an intermediate aerobics class — my instructor won’t let me lift weights yet, because he said my body needs to get used to the whole exercising thing again first. So for this first week, all I do are cardio and aero exercises.
I’m not complaining. I love aerobics classes, especially kick boxing. It’s a tremendous workout! You start sweating in the first 15 minutes of the routine. And especially if the instructor is good, it could also be enjoyable.
The best part of aerobics programs is the abs workout, or the "matwork." See, working out your abs is sooo difficult and boring…. But when you’re in a group, and you’re doing it to lively music, the tediousness will be eliminated, and so will your spare tire! Well, after a couple months of dedicated workouts and dieting, that is. In the aero classes, you get to work out your abs together with other people. On one hand, that makes it enjoyable, or at least not boring. On the other hand, it could get challenging as well. Of course you’d feel you have to keep up!
Next week when I begin my weights training, I don’t think I’ll have time to keep joining the aero classes. But, nothing’s going to stop me from taking part in the matwork! That’s all I’m really after now.
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April 12th, 2007 at 7:00 am
Hello,
I’m always amazed at how much false information is being disseminated by so-called health professionals or instructors. A good case in point is when your “instructor”(and I use the term instructor very loosely) told you how “your body needs to get used to the whole exercising thing again first.” I’ve heard so many myths about nutrition, exercise and fitness but what he/she told you is one of the most ridiculous, if not, the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
There is no wrong time to include resistance training (e.g. lifting weights) in your fitness regimen. As a matter of fact, a good fitness program should always incorporate resistance training (along with cardiovascular training, flexibility and nutrition) at inception! Physiologically, there is no limiting factor that would prevent the human body from resistance training at the beginning of a fitness regimen.
There are three reasons for resistance training: to build muscle; develop strength; and develop muscular endurance. I’m assuming that the whole point of resistance training for you is to build muscle as well as to develop strength. For hypertrophy (enlargement of muscle fibers) to occur, you need resistance training. No amount of aerobic training will help prepare your body for this. This holds true for resistance training–no amount of resistance training will help prepare your body for aerobic training. Studies have shown that resistance training has no significant impact on aerobic power. The bottom line is this: you will be unable to lift heavy weights (relatively speaking) when you embark on resistance training initially. Your body needs to make physiological adaptations. Conversely, you will be unable to perform long periods of aerobic activity when you first undertake it because your body still needs to develop aerobic physiological adaptations.
Hey, I bet you didn’t know that your “instructor” could tap dance. If you want to find out, ask him to explain to you why you had to get used to the “exercise thing first” before lifting weights. Watch him tap dance his way out of that one!
If your “instructor” is as ignorant of fitness as I think he/she is, then I must tell you one other thing. And that is, if time permits, DO NOT PERFORM RESISTANCE TRAINING ON THE SAME DAY AS AEROBIC TRAINING IF YOU WANT TO MAXIMIZE MUSCLE GAINS. Simply put, you are sending your muscle mixed signals. On one hand, you are telling the muscle to build muscle and on the other you are telling it to build aerobic endurance. In the end, you wind up with less training response in both areas.
I wish you well in your fitness quest. I welcome any questions you might have about health and fitness. Here’s a little information about me. I hold a CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist) certification from the NSCA. You can check that organization on the web.
April 12th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
hello dino! thanks for your input, i appreciate it very much.
in defense of my instructor, i believe he was merely trying to accommodate my own dislike of weights training. that’s why he let me have my way, just doing aerobics exercises at first.
but i’ll keep in mind what you said about not doing resistance training and aerobics on the same day.