What You Love vs. What is Most Effective
Good morning everyone!
I'm almost at the end of my journey when it comes to "weight loss" and my primary focus has now been fitness. I am trying to work toward getting a sculpted body, and so far, I have seen some great results.
I am about 40% through the P90X program and it has done wonders for my body and overall fitness level. While the scale hasn't moved too much (I am down between 3-4 lbs on average, since starting) everything is tightening up and I am seeing some really nice muscle growth. I am very happy so far in this respect.
However, I am getting very bored with the program itself. It's repetitive, and slow moving and it eats up 75-90 minutes of my day every day. It's not that I don't like working out that long... I just don't like doing P90X for that long. I could run for 2 hours and be happy.
And this is where I am struggling. My fitness passion is running. Plain old steady state cardio. Lacing up my sneakers and feeling my feet hit the pavement (or treadmill, or elliptical) is like therapy to me. After the first mile or two, my brain and my body switch to autopilot and I start to feel that runner's high. When I run, I feel free, and relaxed, and meditative. Running is my yoga (though, I do yoga also.)
And yet, everything I am reading about fitness these days is pointing to long runs being unnecessary and/or frowned upon, and counter-productive to muscle building. I have read experts saying to avoid cardio all together, or if need be, do no more than a 20 minute HIIT workout and lift really heavy to achieve that beautiful, strong, sculpted body.
I want that body. But I also want to love my workouts. And I feel as though what works and what I love are counter-productive to each other.
I don't hate lifting. I actually really enjoy it (more than I thought) - but I don't want to do it for an hour a day. And so, my question is, can I do my five mile runs, and lift a few days a week, and still achieve the sculpting and definition I am looking for? Or is running like that just going to defeat my gains?
Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer!
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