I am a pretty healthy 27 yr old 5’4″ 133 lb. female. I try to change up my workout routines pretty frequently, for instance pilates one day, aerobics another, yoga another and weight/ cardio combos on others.
During my weight/ cardio days this is my schedule:
-cardio 20 mins. (either eliptical, stairsmaster, bicycle, or treadmill)
-upper body weight training 20 mins.(various Nautilus machines)
-cardio 10-15 mins.(either eliptical, stairsmaster, bicycle, or treadmill)
-lower body weight training 20 mins.(various Nautilus machines)
-cardio 10-15 mins. (either eliptical, stairsmaster, bicycle, or treadmill)
-abs occasionally for 10 mins. (pilates & yoga take care of that area ?)
Now, what i’m curious to know is, do you think it is better or more effective to focus on one muscle group each workout session? Is the full body not as effective, more effective, or does it really make a difference?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. I think what you’re doing is an amazing mix already. Training your entire body each session is fine for overall toning. And mixing up what you do stops muscles “remembering” workouts and becoming undertrained. Focussing on one (or 2) body parts during a session is usually something body builders do, to completely overtrain an area. I’m guessing you aren’t after the big bodybuilder look, so I would stick to what you already do. It certainly looks very effective.
For the most part, it would be more effective to concentrate on specific body parts on different days. Work out upper body one day, lower the next, etc. Giving the muscle groups a better, harder workout, then a day or two to recover is more effective by far.