More cardio or strengthening for beginners?

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ACKlug
ACKlug Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am at a crossroads where I am seeing results but I'm not sure I am getting the maximum amount of results I can achieve. I've never been healthy or very active and at 25 I don't wanna weigh 200 pounds. I am eating clean and taking in about 100 oz of water a day. But when it comes to my exercise I am confused about exactly what I should be doing. I was told to drop weight before trying to tone so I should focus on cardio (running) but I don't feel as lean as I did when I was doing mostly strengthening exercises (crunches, situps, planks etc). Anybody have any input to my situation at hand?

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Short answer: either one works.

    Find what you like to do and what you will stick with. If crunches, situps, and planks make you feel better, which generally translates into "I like this so I will keep doing it" then do them. Cardio is great for your lung/hearts/endurance. Strength training is great for strength plus can give you some cardio benefits. Both are good for shaping/aesthetics/"looks" and both burn calories. It doesn't have to be an either/or thing.
  • branflakes1980
    branflakes1980 Posts: 2,516 Member
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    Do both. It is never too early to start lifting. Lifting = muscle, muscle = burn more calories even at rest.
  • derango1
    derango1 Posts: 1 Member
    edited March 2015
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    When I first started exercising again I almost exclusively did cardio. Now that I'm down a total of 36ish lbs, I've added in lifting 3 days a week to compliment my 5 days a week cardio because I felt flat. Like Jemhh said, it doesn't have to be an either or thing. But I do know from my past, when I was in great shape, that it can be challenging to build muscle and cut weight at the same time. Since you are looking to tone though, not build, and you have a clean diet it won't hurt.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Both.

    When you're in a deficit you lose water, fat, and muscle. Lifting in that deficit isn't necessarily about building muscle, but maintaining it. You can build a little bit early on, but what you're really looking for is maintaining as much muscle as possible while you lose mainly fat and water. This is where "tone" comes from. Strip the fat away from the muscle you're maintaining. Since you're not losing as much muscle, the scale may not move as fast, so be prepared for that. The best thing would be do measure and use the mirror test.
  • TheRoseRoss
    TheRoseRoss Posts: 112 Member
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    Something that I think women get tripped up on is the idea "I don't want to lift weights because it will make me look like a man." That isn't true. For women, "lifting weights AND using hormones to increase your testosterone" results in women "looking muscular like men." Don't be afraid to lift heavy/challenging weight.

    You don't have to choose between cardio and weight training. But if you only have time in your life for one of them, I highly suggest weight training. Weight training in itself is a form of cardio, your heart gets pumping when you're lifting challenging weight. Weight training also burns more fat calories than steady state cardio. Weight training also builds muscle, cardio does not. Compare the physique of a professional marathon runner, to that of a gymnast.
  • ACKlug
    ACKlug Posts: 26 Member
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    Thank you all for the replies! This is super helpful.
  • junebedson
    junebedson Posts: 6 Member
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    RGv2 wrote: »
    Both.

    When you're in a deficit you lose water, fat, and muscle. Lifting in that deficit isn't necessarily about building muscle, but maintaining it. You can build a little bit early on, but what you're really looking for is maintaining as much muscle as possible while you lose mainly fat and water. This is where "tone" comes from. Strip the fat away from the muscle you're maintaining. Since you're not losing as much muscle, the scale may not move as fast, so be prepared for that. The best thing would be do measure and use the mirror test.

  • junebedson
    junebedson Posts: 6 Member
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    That's the best explanation I've read .thanks,
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I would say get on a structured program - strong lifts, new rules of lifting, starting strength and then do cardio on your off days...
    -
    also, clean eating is a waste of time.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    Short answer: either one works.

    Find what you like to do and what you will stick with. If crunches, situps, and planks make you feel better, which generally translates into "I like this so I will keep doing it" then do them. Cardio is great for your lung/hearts/endurance. Strength training is great for strength plus can give you some cardio benefits. Both are good for shaping/aesthetics/"looks" and both burn calories. It doesn't have to be an either/or thing.

    This 100%. I wish someone told me this when I first started losing weight. It took me a long time to branch out and try lots of different things and figure out "HEY! I like this! I want to keep doing this!" instead of forcing myself to do types of exercise that I thought I had to do (and hated).

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