strength training vs. cardio

If you're like I am, the only way you enjoy strength training is in a group setting with loud music... or a coach and some competition. I'd like to see a gender breakdown of preferences towards different types of workouts. I'd think women would own yoga and aerobic classes and guys weight lifting. I'm not sure about cardio, but I think women would have the edge.

I became a believer in weight lifting in college. It was amazing to watch my splits go down as I got stronger. And, I didn't get bigger, which is a lot of women's fear about lifting. Well, I liked my shoulders getting bigger-- I thought it made my hips and thighs look smaller. I always remember sitting with my novice coach on a spring day, watching a class change. She simply said, "Muscle is beautiful." One of my teammates asked, "Are you talking about the guys or girls?" My coach responded, "It doesn't matter."

That logic really stuck with me. I tried to get my students on the band wagon-- the healthy girls wanted to lose weight so they could look like magazine chicks.

I hate abs and arms workouts. They are miserable pain. However, they make me faster and less flabby. Classes are the best way, but a close second is mixing strength and cardio. For instance, burpees. Burpee article that you can read (and source of picture). But, I leave out the push up because I'm a wimp. I always do burpees in sets of ten in a considerably less sexy outfit (although that outfit would be incredibly less sexy if I were wearing it).

In high school, my Cross Country coach had us do frog jump/mountain climber combos. The one difference with the frog jump-- we jumped up not forward, so we remained stationary. We'd do the combo:
15 frog jumps/1 mountain climber
14 frog jumps/ 2 mountain climbers
etc. until
1 frog jump/15 mountain climbers.

We'd do these kind of workouts after an easy to medium run. To state the obvious: these kind of workouts are more fun outside with a friend.

Also, the other key take away from this blog article. Youtube is a brilliant, free resource for working out. Granted, there's a lot of crap, but you can find ideas that will spark your interest.