Not getting winded anymore, good or bad?

[tjn4681]

Hey again, been playing DDR Max for 2-3 months now. Started off in workout mode at about 30 min. Now I juggle between 30-45 min depending on how much spare time I have (30-45 min can = an hour - hour and a half for me in workout mode due to the pauses between songs and the selecting of a new song) Originally when i first started I used to be out of breath and gasping for air, but now I'm not even breathing heavier (Unless i'm going through Break Down! on heavy, that song kills me.) I work up quite a sweat, and I check to ensure my heart rate is between 20-24 beats per 10 seconds after every other song (and usually it is.)

Should I be pushing myself harder or be content that my heart is now strong enough to keep oxygen going into me at a steady rate for 45 min of high impact aerobics? The only time I notice myself out of breath and my legs fatiguing now are if i turn workout step off, since 1/8th steps are a pain for me to do.

Also I noticed in other threads people doing DDR typically 6 days a week. I alternate doing DDR every other day + doing weight lifting on the days I don't do DDR, so on average from mon-sun with the two being alternated I'll end up doing DDR 3-4 times a week (with the other 3-4 days being weight lifting, depending on the week) is that appropriate or should I be doing more? I'm also lifting heavy to build muslce to help burn more fat. Went through some threads to see if this question came up, trying to not be redundant, apoligizes if this has already been addressed

[orangina]

Well I think its great that you are not getting winded cus it shows you have improved your aerobic capacity..that said you continually want to challenge yourself.
I wear a heart rate monitor occasionally and I make sure my heart stays elevated by moving BETWEEN the songs and doing a lot of arm movements also. Like raising my arms above my head which gets the heartrate up.
I start up with a few warm up tunes and then launch into the heavy duty ones..then cool down tunes.

[abrannan]

Sounds like you're rocking out. As long as your heart rate is there, you're golden. The alternating DDR/lifting program is a good one. I would still recommend taking a day off each week to let your body recuperate a bit.

[Laura Moncur]

I would still recommend taking a day off each week to let your body recuperate a bit.

abrannan is right. Your body builds muscle when you're at rest, not when you're working out. When you work out, you make tiny tears in the muscle. When they heal, your muscles are stronger than before. That's how you build muscle. Rest is just as important as working out.

[abrannan]

Oh, I just re-read your post, and you say you're lifting heavy. In that case, if you really are lifting heavy, you may want to drop back to only 2 lifting days a week, and splitting your body between those two days (i.e. Legs/back day 1, arms chest day 2). Very heavy lifting causes larger microtears, which take longer to heal.