Cardiovascular vs Weights

tomhurst

So everyone says to lose weight do cardiovascular.
Just curious - How well does doing weights help you lose weight?
Thanks!

TeaBea

Calorie deficit is the only way you lose weight. Eating less is the most efficient way of losing weight.

Cardio burns more calories than weights.......BUT many people trying to lose weight do both. Strength training while eating at a deficit helps you hang on to more existing lean muscle, thus lowering your body fat percentage.

Both have good health benefits.

gaelicstorm26

I do both. I hit the gym 3-4 times a week and I do a cardio session (30-45 minutes) and then I'll either do arms or legs and just rotate. Yesterday I did 40 minutes of cardio and then did legs. Tomorrow morning it will be cardio and then arms.

But really, you don't HAVE to do cardio or weights to lose weight. You just need a caloric deficit. The exercise is to help shape your body and for your overall fitness level. In the past 8 weeks I've noticed a huge change in my fitness level just by going 3 or 4 times a week.

appleseeds

Depends what you like to spend your time doing! Personally, I have solely been working on getting strong this year and seeing that progress is whaylt motivates me generally, where when I included more cardio, eventually I didn't look forward to my sessions so much, and I was a lot less consistent. Do you have a preference? Do that.

arditarose

I lost all my weight lifting heavy, eating at a deficit, and doing very minimal cardio.

Stoshew71

Weight loss = eat less calories than what my body needs to do whatever i make it do in a day. (period)

Weight lifting = making tiny tears into my muscle (exercise stress) so that if I eat enough protein + small calorie surplus, I will grow more muscle cells in time. If I grow more muscle cells, my body will require more energy (calories) in a day without adding any more activity.

Weight lifting = making tiny tears into my muscle (exercise stress) so that if I eat enough protein +calorie deficit, then I can retain my muscle mass. Retaining muscle mass is a good thing. Loosing muscle mass is a bad thing. Less muscle mass I have, then the less calories my body needs (less I am allowed to eat).

Weight lifting can burn a little stored energy while performing, but not a lot since it is not consistent. You perform a very anaerobic stress for a short period of time, then rest a lot, then repeat. You will use some energy as well after you workout to help with the recovery, but you will want to eat a lot soon after you workout to get the most out of your recovery.

Cardio = doing a consistent intensity level of exercise that requires lots of metabolic processing (burning stored energy). This means you get to eat a bit more that day to make up for the energy required in performing this exercise.

How all of this relates to weight loss and which is better depends on how much activity you are doing in relationship to how much you are eating. So it all depends.

The best exercise to promote weight loss is the type of exercise that you personally feel you can sustain over a long period of time. Consistency is the answer. Why do something you don't enjoy and will give up on very easily?

socioseguro

arditarose wrote: »

I lost all my weight lifting heavy, eating at a deficit, and doing very minimal cardio.

+1

Marcus_2015

I find both to be very necessary. Cardio to burn more calories, and lifting to build lean body mass which will help increase your daily burn rate - not to mention it makes you look and feel better.

As people noted, you can lose weight without either, but then you have to more severely restrict your daily caloric intake.

All up to you.

R

buzzcockgirl

I've heard this before: Do cardio to look good in clothes, lift weights to look good naked!! hahah! (I do both!)

kmoyes9

I do both -- I enjoy listening to music during cardio - that helps.
My body looks and feels stronger since I added weights.
I also do core strengthening as well .
All fits together to make me feel and look my best.

RoseTheWarrior

"Everyone" does not say that, OP! The only real reason to do "cardio" is to improve endurance. If you're talking strictly loss of fat, that can be done with NO exercise. However, you would likely lose whatever muscle you have in the process. The reason why lifting weights is (I feel) optimum, is that you will keep the muscle you have while losing (and those who are just starting out will actually see an increase in muscle - though not a lot); it also helps burn some calories. I think you'll find many do a combination, since weight training should usually be done every other day, i.e. if you are doing a full body routine, etc. Your muscles need time to rest between workouts, so it's not advisable to work the same muscle group every day. Then you could do some endurance training (i.e. cardio) on "off" days. This is what I do. My week looks like this:

Sunday - Weights workout A (I do an upper/lower split; A = upper day; B = lower day)
Monday - Cardio, no more than 40 mins, just to increase endurance and create an extra calorie deficit
Tuesday - Weights workout B
Wednesday - Cardio
Thursday - Weights workout A
Friday - Cardio
Saturday - off (meaning I'll do housework, grocery shopping, go for a walk, etc, but no gym and no intentional workout)

In summary, losing weight in itself can be done with diet, but that will include loss of fat AND muscle unless you maintain that muscle with some weightlifting

gdyment

Alternatively you can do nothing but cardio, eat moderately like a pig, and still be shredded. Many ways to skin a cat.

sijomial

arditarose wrote: »

I lost all my weight lifting heavy, eating at a deficit, and doing very minimal cardio.

Just as a contrast.....
I lost all my weight lifting heavy, eating at a deficit, and doing loads and loads of cardio.

The constant for weight loss is "eating at a deficit".

Align your exercise with your health, fitness, sporting, body composition goals. That way it's a long term commitment not a short term diet fix.

Yi5hedr3

Weights create more muscle, more muscle burns more calories 24/7. Do the math....

SuesNewImage

Weights also help with toning whilst loosing weight. Makes your core stronger for older age. Builds muscle so more efficient for fat burning.
Both are the yin & yang going hand in hand for weight loss.