Is cardio good for me?

alehundrah

Ok so i'm happy with the progress i'm making as far as weigh loss. I've lost 8 lbs in less than 2 months. At first I didnt exercise however I've recently started to exercise more. I usually exercise for 30 minutes around 3 times a week (i do zumba or the threadmill or hike) I was talking to a friend and he said that i'm supposed to also do strenght training to gain muscle and his comment got me confused because I thought I had to lose the fat before focusing on gaining muscle. He says if I only do cardio that I'm going to lose weight but i'm going to be flabby. Is this true? Should I keep doing cardio or should I do something else? I currently weight 205 lbs, 5 ft. 4 in.

anemoneprose

when you lose weight, you lose both fat and lean mass.

if you strength train, and eat enough protein to fuel the muscles as you lose weight, you will keep more of the muscle you have, so you'll have more of a 'firm' look by the end of it.

i wish i did more strength training when i lost weight (by cardio and counting calories).

but you can still do cardio, obviously, yes that is good for your heart, will burn calories, and it helps some people keep their appetite down - just add strength training into your week

LJSmith1989

Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.

LeanneGoingThin

As far as I know, it is hard to gain muscle when you're eating a deficit. So I would focus on losing the fat. If you'll get flabby, which isn't necessarily true, then you can always start weight lifting afterwards.

allisonmrn

I do both cardio and strength train. I try to only do as much cardio as necessary but does not cause me to overeat. I prefer short sessions (15-20 min) of HIIT cardio vs steady state cardio. When I do hours and hours of cardio, I tend to overeat later. Then I get into this cycle where I am doing more and more cardio to compensate for the overeating. Burning thousands of calories a day at the gym, for me, is NOT SUSTAINABLE. I'm not saying this is true for everyone, just saying this is true for me. You must find your own path through this health and fitness journey. Take advice and try it for a couple weeks and see how you feel. If it doesnt work for you, don't continue. Take what works, and leave the rest!! Good luck

grimendale

Agree with the previous two posters. Cardio is ideal for increasing overall health, but you should add in some form of resistance exercise (weights, resistance band, body weight) to preserve muscle tissue during weight loss. I didn't start weights until about halfway through my major loss, and I saw a dramatic improvement in my overall appearance once I added it due to toning and increased calorie burn from increased demand from muscles. Both is going to be your best bet.

misuzu437

I agree with the previous posts. Cardio will always be your major calorie consumer which = weight loss (It will not make you look flabby). But if you want to have a wonderful lean look, you'll want to make sure to supplement with some core exercises and some strength training.

A suggestion would be doing arms every three days, the next day would be leg day and the next abs. Rinse and repeat.

Good luck on your work out journey and I hope this is helpful.

runningjen74

As far as I know, it is hard to gain muscle when you're eating a deficit. So I would focus on losing the fat. If you'll get flabby, which isn't necessarily true, then you can always start weight lifting afterwards.

The objective with lifting when losing weight is to maintain lean body mass. If you're not lifting, when you're losing you are losing fat and lean body mass. I'd like to hold on to any lean body mass I have.

I do both and the weights I am lifting are going up - clearly getting stronger. With strong muscles it's helping my running speeds/etc...

When lifting - I would focus on big compound moves.

I say do both.

alehundrah

Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.

My friend told me to do cardio but also incorporate strength training.

alehundrah

As far as I know, it is hard to gain muscle when you're eating a deficit. So I would focus on losing the fat. If you'll get flabby, which isn't necessarily true, then you can always start weight lifting afterwards.

This has always been my mentality. I always assumed that first a person needed to lose the fat before focusing on gaining muscle. But I really don't want to look flabby.

alehundrah

I agree with the previous posts. Cardio will always be your major calorie consumer which = weight loss (It will not make you look flabby). But if you want to have a wonderful lean look, you'll want to make sure to supplement with some core exercises and some strength training.

A suggestion would be doing arms every three days, the next day would be leg day and the next abs. Rinse and repeat.

Good luck on your work out journey and I hope this is helpful.

This has definitely been helpful. Thank you

LuckyFur

Cardio turns you into a big girly man.

tazzy2805

i do both as muscle gain also hlps weight loss muscles burns more cals;)

geebusuk

If you're new to it, you may find yourself gaining muscle despite losing fat.
However, more importantly, along with a good protein intake, weight training can help you stop losing muscle, so you don't look 'skinny fat' - it's all too easy to lose muscle along with the fat and end up still looking a bit pudgy when thinner.

PlayerHatinDogooder

i do both as muscle gain also hlps weight loss muscles burns more cals;)

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nrsblc

Cardio is essential! It is also the key to a flatter stomach, though most ppl think its all about ab workouts. Nooo. not really. It also helps burn the excess fat you have along with the other squats, plank poses, push ups and so on.

jamielynas

do HIIT training,long bouts of steady state makes you squishy

Biggipooh

I only did cardio for a while, I lost some weight but then it stopped. Then I added weight training and here we go.... losing again. So in my opinion, best to do both.

DavPul

Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.

My friend told me to do cardio but also incorporate strength training.

Your friend was correct. If you only do cardio, you'll lose muscle mass at almost the same ratio as fat. A lot of times you wind up with the same body, just smaller. Begin resistance training NOW in addition to your cardio so that your losses come primarily from your fat stores.

DavPul

do HIIT training,long bouts of steady state makes you squishy

No. Chick just started walking and doing Zumba. She's not even close to being ready for HIIT. High intensity intervals are great but incredibly over prescribed on this site.

alehundrah

Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.

My friend told me to do cardio but also incorporate strength training.

Your friend was correct. If you only do cardio, you'll lose muscle mass at almost the same ratio as fat. A lot of times you wind up with the same body, just smaller. Begin resistance training NOW in addition to your cardio so that your losses come primarily from your fat stores.

So what should I be doing exactly?