Been following the Fitness thread and decided to start my own on a topical area instead of posting on the other thread even though they are somewhat related.
I'm 51 and have lifted since my late teens. Lets just say I didn't start out as Arnold junior. I was fairly scrawny but discovered weights and protein while in college and never looked back. As such cardio has always been a weakness I never cared to work on beyond normal fitness. Once I started seriously elk hunting about 10-12 years ago, I discovered that one needs a good deal of cardio to wander long distances in the Rocky's at high elevation. I started doing much more cardio and am able to wander at will. I also started killing a few elk way back in which requires another level of fitness to get them out. Horses are wonderful but are not always available. Carrying elk quarters 2-3-4 miles plain sucks.
Long winded introduction to the topic at hand - what is the proper mix of cardio and strength training? You need both if you plan on Rocky mtn elk hunting and being successful. Or more cash than I care to lay out for an outfitted hunt. I'm not much on outfitted hunts because A. I like doing things on my own, B. I'm too cheap.
This year I've spent more time and effort doing cardio. Hell I even went on a low carb diet just for giggles to see what would happen. The only blood issue to address is my ratio between LDL/HDL cholesterol. Total levels are low but I have a tad too low HDL, ratio is still in the 'normal' range but I'm trying to raise it. My doctor said try a low carb diet - 100 grams total/day. So I tried it about 7-8 weeks ago as well.
Discovered a couple things. First, you will lose weight on a low carb diet, mainly because anything with any flavor also has carbs. Everything sucks so you eat less of it trying to get your body to switch from utilizing carbs to using fat as its main energy molecule. It seems to work. I lost 12-14 pounds without really wanting or needing to. I do have more than 1 ab now.
Second, low carb diets kill strength training. I've always been fairly strong and can hold my own in % body weight lifted in the various barbell exercises. I can multi rep 250 in squat and bench, 135 seated military, etc. Enter low carb diet. Its been a struggle to keep my normal weights, sets, reps. In fact, I started to go backwards.
So I'm pondering what is the correct ratio of strength training to cardio. I currently do 2 days full body strength training using 2-3 working sets for the main body parts, 1-2 sets for smaller muscle groups. I also jog 3 miles in 30 minutes twice per week. I hike 7-10 miles one day on the weekend. I find that doing cardio or strength training on back to back days is very difficult to maintain. I'm currently letting my body tell me when to workout. Every other day with 1 back-back day per week seems to be working. Plus my weekend hike. My strength is recovering and my cardio is staying consistent.
What are your thoughts as far as a mix of cardio to strength training?
