# Cardio vs lunges/squats



## Withnail42 (Jun 17, 2016)

I just posted this on a workout forum, but I'm also interested in opinions from people here.

I've been doing the 'Body Beast' workout for about a year now, and I'm very happy with the results. A couple of months ago I started cutting out the leg portion of the workout and just focusing on cardio on the elliptical. Besides the fact that I hate doing squats and lunges, my main problem with the leg workout is the recovery period afterwards. 

The second day after is always the worst, and my legs almost completely seize up. Even on the third day, there's still a lot of pain there, so essentially i can't do anything with my legs for 4 days. I do the warm up and cool down stretches, protein drink every day etc, but maybe I'm missing something else.

With the elliptical I can run 3 miles every other day, followed by the ab workout. I alternate this with the upper body rotation, so I'm working out everyday. I'm still happy, but I'm wondering what I'm losing from not doing the leg work out. Am I right in thinking that the cardio will build tone versus the bulk from the strength workout? I'm not looking to be 'Quadzilla' and I am happy with the way my legs are developing. My main goal now is losing the rest of my weight, not necessarily being huge.


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## 225985 (Dec 29, 2015)

How many squats and lunges are you doing each session?


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## Withnail42 (Jun 17, 2016)

It's a complete leg workout that takes 45 mins (takes me over an hour with breaks). Multiple exercises of 3-6 progressive sets with decreasing reps/increasing weight. I think I should probably start doing them again. 

Is there something else I should be doing, possibly the day after, to help reduce that second day-after agony, and the overall recovery time?


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## Kivlor (Oct 27, 2015)

What you miss out on by removing squats is several things, particularly the value of strength building. Squats--if you are doing full squats and not cheating--will work out your back and a little on the core as well.

Compound weight exercises--particularly squats & deadlifts build real-world strength; they also help increase your metabolism, and build more muscle mass than other forms of exercise. Cardio without weight lifting has been shown to actually cause the body to dump muscle mass in equal amounts to fat burned.

To sum up: You will be weaker and have a lower metabolism than if you had kept them in the regimen.

It sounds like you may be pushing a little harder than you should, if your legs seize up the next day. To avoid this, you may consider a workout routine that only has you exercising 3-4 times per week.


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## 225985 (Dec 29, 2015)

Withnail42 said:


> It's a complete leg workout that takes 45 mins (takes me over an hour with breaks). Multiple exercises of 3-6 progressive sets with decreasing reps/increasing weight. I think I should probably start doing them again.
> 
> 
> 
> Is there something else I should be doing, possibly the day after, to help reduce that second day-after agony, and the overall recovery time?




Copying @happy as a clam She seems to know her stuff.



Here is one thread that might help. 



http://talkaboutmarriage.com/mens-clubhouse/321617-building-lean-muscle-my-50s-3.html


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## Withnail42 (Jun 17, 2016)

Working out every day has been essential to my physical and mental rebuilding process, so I don't want to cut back unless I have too. The leg workout is the only one that has caused me these issues so far.

I did my regular shoulder workout earlier, and then just decided to go right into the leg routine. It really takes a lot out of you, but I made it through. I'm thinking maybe do 20-30 mins cardio tomorrow if I can, to see if that helps with the '2nd day after agony'.


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## jsmart (Mar 14, 2015)

The elliptical can provide an awesome leg workout especially when combined with the jogging you're doing on alternate days. But you also can do a shortened version of your leg workout. There is nothing written in stone that you must do the complete workout. Another great leg workout would be alternating kettle bell swings and goblet squats.


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## 225985 (Dec 29, 2015)

Withnail42 said:


> Working out every day has been essential to my physical and mental rebuilding process, so I don't want to cut back unless I have too. The leg workout is the only one that has caused me these issues so far.
> 
> I did my regular shoulder workout earlier, and then just decided to go right into the leg routine. It really takes a lot out of you, but I made it through. I'm thinking maybe do 20-30 mins cardio tomorrow if I can, to see if that helps with the '2nd day after agony'.


Just cut back on the legs.... because it hurts.:slap: Maybe it's your body saying too much lower body.

Switch from squats to thrusts....:smthumbup:


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## EllisRedding (Apr 10, 2015)

Your recovery time should be improving after your body adapts, not sure why it isn't. I work out legs 3x a week (Squats + Accessory Monday, Squats + Accessory Wed, Deadlifts + Accessory Saturday) and after the first few weeks or so my body adapted to the extra work.

To clarify, are your sore or in pain the next day or two after?

If you do cut back or give up on legs, make sure you replace with some HIIT cardio sessions to hopefully help maintain some muscle you will inevitably lose


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## KJ_Simmons (Jan 12, 2016)

1 - doing Body Beast or even a serious body building program still puts you light years away from becoming quadzilla or some muscle bound freak, so put that notion out of your head immediately.

2 - cardio should never be considered a leg workout. If that were so, why do top endurance runners look like $hit, IMO?

My suggestion - keep doing your leg workouts, your body will eventually begin to adapt to where it doesn't hurt as much. But know that the soreness you are experiencing is a good thing. I have the exact same timeline of DOMS as you. I equate sitting on the toilet during this time to landing on an aircraft carrier, I get 'er lined up and have one shot at a successful landing.

Having strong legs with a good range of motion (which you'll also develop if you're doing your squats and lunges properly) is so important to many aspects of life.

Did I mention weightlifting > steady state cardio for burning fat and overall body composition? You'll look a hell of a lot better if you keep up with your strength program.


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## Withnail42 (Jun 17, 2016)

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I LOL'd at the aircraft carrier comment....so true. I did do the full workout, but I dropped he weight down from what my chart said I did last time (2 months ago).

Quads and buttocks are definitely letting me know about it, which is good, but its tomorrow I'm worried about. I might try a little elliptical when I get home if I feel brave, to see if it loosens things up. If not, I might cut part of the workout next time.


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