Do i need to increase physical fitness before working on strength training?
Posted by admin on Dec 2, 2008 in Diet Fitness |
la gitanita asked:
My Chiropractor told me that i have to increase my cardiovascular fitness before i start bodyweight exercises otherwise i won’t do execute the execises properly.
Breakfast
My Chiropractor told me that i have to increase my cardiovascular fitness before i start bodyweight exercises otherwise i won’t do execute the execises properly.
Breakfast
yes, you really should…
You can do weights, not strength training at first, you can start with low weight, high reps, just so your body can get the feel and coordination of weight training.
It is like riding a bike. Practice, practice, practice and you can get hurt if you make a mistake.
Every movement will feel foreign to your body.
Find a mentor, if you can’t afford a personal trainer. Mine was Jane Fonda. I had asthma, never played sports as a kid. Bought her book. Six years later, I could perform a bench press equal to my own bodyweight and yes I do look feminine. Oh, I did pull a muscle, and I don’t feel the need to perform that again. Don’t even tell anybodywhat you are doing because they all want to give you their ‘expert’ advice. Just sit back when they say, ‘You are looking different these days, what are you doing?’
he might be right but you can also do strength training without losing weight. I have chosen to do both based on the recommendation of one of my docs. Unless you are severely obese you should be able to correctly do the exercises. I would recommend seeing a certified personal trainer to hlep you develop a strength training routine. It will help you also to lose weight as muscle continues to burn energy while fat does not.
What????? No way! Go ahead and start your program. Bodyweight exercises…especially hindu squats will increase your cardiovascular fitness. Do cardio and bodyweight exercise in the same program. Here’s one you could use.
Hindu Squats1×25 (goal 500)
Hindu Push-ups1×10 (goal 100)
Back Bridge1×30 sec. (goal 3min.)
Crunches3×50
Sit-ups2×20
Cardio
Body For Life- 20 Aerobic Solution at
Skipping Rope10 minutes
Go to and look at their Cardio program. You also might want to look at their nutrition and weight lifting program.
Try doing this program everyday. If that proves to be too strenuous the do it 3 days a week Mon,Wed,Fri or Tues,Thurs,Sat. If you need to see these exercises go to and input them into the seach engine. Hope this helps!
When you start any exercise program you should do it gradually. Unless you are training for a specific activity or rehabilitating a specific injury, you should also have a good balance of strength, flexibility, muscular endurance and aerobic exercises.
To maximise your overall health you want to work on all four areas together.
Your Chiropractor is an expert on the spine and may or may not be an expert in exercise physiology. Chiropractors often have good advice but they are not doctors.
He is right when he says that you shouldn’t start strength training too quickly. However there is no reason that I can think of that you have to delay strength training until you reach a certain cardiovascular goal.
Did he suggest how long to train cardio before getting on with the strength training? Do you have a specific goal for either the cardio or the strength training? These are things to think about.
If you are getting conflicting advice, I would talk to a real doctor and/or a fitness expert. However, even amongst experts you are going to find disagreement. Medicine is inexact and the body is very complicated. There are general principles that are true but each body is a little different.
In the end, you are your own most important health practitioner and you have to make the final decisions. Listen to different opinions and then decide what works best for yourself. Be patient though, fitness is a long road and if you try to rush it you end up going in the wrong direction.
Yes, it is best to learn the disciplines properly before executing weights cause it will lead to injuries. The most important thing to remember in all activity is to stabilise the core. This means turning on your stomach muscles whilst exercising. Also breathing is so important. You need to learn how to breath. When weight training there are many disciplines that must be followed to avoid injuries.
Pilates is a great exercise to do once per week to understand breathing and core techniques. Then there are many intense exercises that also assist like running, boxing and spin classes. Remember breath and lock in your core.
When you are ready refer to the website:
this is a great website that can help with isolating specific muscles/groups and provide programs/routines.
Good luck!