after several months of regular cardio and running I’m now starting to train my upper body, basically planks and working out with a dumbbell. I’m tall and skinny, so I never had much fat or muscle mass in my arms.
I’ve trained my arms for 3 days in a row, nothing fancy: upright rows, bent-over rows and triceps kickbacks, 10 repetitions each, 2 rounds.
After that I’m so sore I cannot do more, so I turn to cardio and do planks (front and side) and some yoga.
Today, fourth day, I’m not in the mood to tone up my arms because they burn, but should I keep exercising? Doesn’t the burn mean muscle is being built?
I also don’t know if I should work with my arms less than with my legs, should I do cardio and running 5 times a week and arm toning only 3? Would it be better to do both in the same session or to alternate (odd days cardio and running, even days arm toning and yoga)?
Look to the way bodybuilders train; do only 1-2 days each week, max, per general body part. I would suggest something like doing back and biceps on one day, chest and triceps on another. (Back exercises usually involve pulling, and that uses the biceps, so you would start with large compound movements–like bent over barbell rows–and progress to more isolating movements, like preacher curls.)
The general concept of ‘toning’ is a serious misnomer; you need to either add muscle mass or cut fat; both of those will make the muscles more prominent. You can’t realistically do both at the same time without significant chemical enhancement, and I’d recommend against that.
As far as cardio goes, I think that 5-6 days/week of cardio is fine, depending on your intensity. LISS cardio can def. be done daily, but you should have at least a day between any HIIT sessions to allow your body time to recover. If your running is all at a conversational pace (you can talk fairly easily; I’ve never been able to achieve that, even when I was bicycling 30 miles/day), then daily is great. If your heart rate is >75% of your maximum, then every other day. You might want to add in other forms of cardio as well, like rowing, which is going to also involve upper body.
Soemthign else to consider is getting a personal trainer. If you do that, look for one that has a certificagtion from the American College of Sports Medicine or National Strength and Conditioning Association, in addition to at least a BS in a degree like exercise science of kinesiology. Most PT certifications are absolute bullshit, and in the US, none of them other than ACSM or NSCA are worth a damn. If you choose to hire a personal trainer, be very, very specific in your goals, and make sure you get programming for all the days you aren’t working with them. Most PTs will try to sell you as many sessions as possible, which is great for them, and not so great for your wallet, so set your expectations accordingly.