what's wrong with cardio ?
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kiddiebqueen17 wrote: »What is HR Zone 4or 5???
Heart Rate zone 4 or 5.
4 is 80-90 Procent of your max heart rate.
5 is 90-100
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Nothing wrong with cardio. It gets you off the couch and gets your heart pumping. With an elliptical, I would be a little wary of the calorie burns the machine estimates. They are often wildly inaccurate, which will throw you off your goal for the day, especially if you're eating back your exercise calories. People tend to underestimate portions and overestimate exercise burns. Good luck!
Thanks for letting me know this about elyptical being "off" for calories lost. I am trying to stick to the 1200 calories the program has suggested.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »NOTHING. It's good for you. Weight training is also very good for you.
This is the reason I do both of these activities a few times a week.0 -
kiddiebqueen17 wrote: »SingingSingleTracker wrote: »Nothing wrong with cardio. Just that weight lifting is superior in terms of calories burned. I do both cause I like running and lifting weights
You need to run faster if you think weight lifting is superior in terms of burning calories. ;-)
Take it up to HR Zone 4 with a few dabbles in HR Zone 5 for an hour and see what the burn is.
What is HR Zone 4or 5???
Run Zones (LTHR = lactate threshold heart rate)
Zone 1 Less than 85% of LTHR
Zone 2 85% to 89% of LTHR
Zone 3 90% to 94% of LTHR
Zone 4 95% to 99% of LTHR
Zone 5a 100% to 102% of LTHR
Zone 5b 103% to 106% of LTHR
Zone 5c More than 106% of LTHR
Bike Zones
Zone 1 Less than 81% of LTHR
Zone 2 81% to 89% of LTHR
Zone 3 90% to 93% of LTHR
Zone 4 94% to 99% of LTHR
Zone 5a 100% to 102% of LTHR
Zone 5b 103% to 106% of LTHR
Zone 5c More than 106% of LTHR0 -
Depends on your goals. Is your goal body transformation or simply to lose fat? If its body transformation than I really think weight lifting is the best way for anyone to be lean and fit looking, couple that with a proper diet and some High interval cardio training (like sprinting, calisthenics), etc..you'll see a huge transformation in time.
I've seen this work a lot and I can tell you the difference between the Women that jog for an hour on the treadmill vs the women hitting the weights and the women hitting the weights to me look way better than those just on the treadmill, same for guys too. Look at a sprinter vs a marathon runner, the marathon runner looks almost sickly and the sprinter looks fit and healthy.
Really?
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SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
You need to run faster if you think weight lifting is superior in terms of burning calories. ;-)
Take it up to HR Zone 4 with a few dabbles in HR Zone 5 for an hour and see what the burn is.
Weight lifting (and I mean serious weight lifting not 20 reps stuff) is superior in terms of calories burned. You are thinking of calories burned through the duration of the exercise. A heavy lifting session will let your body in a recovery state and increased metabolism for around 2-3 days.
Let's say for the sake of your argument that a heavy lifting session "increases your metabolism" for 2-3 days. Are you saying that running or cycling at a race pace (Zone 4/5) wouldn't do the same?0 -
SingingSingleTracker wrote: »SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
You need to run faster if you think weight lifting is superior in terms of burning calories. ;-)
Take it up to HR Zone 4 with a few dabbles in HR Zone 5 for an hour and see what the burn is.
Weight lifting (and I mean serious weight lifting not 20 reps stuff) is superior in terms of calories burned. You are thinking of calories burned through the duration of the exercise. A heavy lifting session will let your body in a recovery state and increased metabolism for around 2-3 days.
Let's say for the sake of your argument that a heavy lifting session "increases your metabolism" for 2-3 days. Are you saying that running or cycling at a race pace (Zone 4/5) wouldn't do the same?
Pretty much yes. As few people can sustain zone 5 or 4 for longer periods of time. Ignoring the fact that they develop different adaptations. If you are talking about interval training that is another talk0 -
There's nothing wrong with cardio...it's like anything though (including weights), it has to be used appropriately. First and foremost, find something you enjoy doing or you won't sustain it...elliptical is as good a place to start as any...good luck.0
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SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
You need to run faster if you think weight lifting is superior in terms of burning calories. ;-)
Take it up to HR Zone 4 with a few dabbles in HR Zone 5 for an hour and see what the burn is.
Weight lifting (and I mean serious weight lifting not 20 reps stuff) is superior in terms of calories burned. You are thinking of calories burned through the duration of the exercise. A heavy lifting session will let your body in a recovery state and increased metabolism for around 2-3 days.
Wow. So one heavy lifting session more than doubles your BMR for days at a time? A typical bike ride for me is going to burn 2k-5k calories. Each day. No way any lifting session comes close to raising your metabolism such that you're burning thousands of calories more each day.
And that's completely ignoring the fact that there are usually several hard interval sessions on the bike each week that accomplish a similar EPOC.
If your goal is to add muscle/improve body composition a routine based on lifting is 100% the way to go. If you just want to burn calories, cardio blows lifting out of the water.
I've seen this work a lot and I can tell you the difference between the Women that jog for an hour on the treadmill vs the women hitting the weights and the women hitting the weights to me look way better than those just on the treadmill, same for guys too. Look at a sprinter vs a marathon runner, the marathon runner looks almost sickly and the sprinter looks fit and healthy.
Gotta love that sickly distance runner physique!
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SingingSingleTracker wrote: »SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
You need to run faster if you think weight lifting is superior in terms of burning calories. ;-)
Take it up to HR Zone 4 with a few dabbles in HR Zone 5 for an hour and see what the burn is.
Weight lifting (and I mean serious weight lifting not 20 reps stuff) is superior in terms of calories burned. You are thinking of calories burned through the duration of the exercise. A heavy lifting session will let your body in a recovery state and increased metabolism for around 2-3 days.
Let's say for the sake of your argument that a heavy lifting session "increases your metabolism" for 2-3 days. Are you saying that running or cycling at a race pace (Zone 4/5) wouldn't do the same?
Pretty much yes. As few people can sustain zone 5 or 4 for longer periods of time. Ignoring the fact that they develop different adaptations. If you are talking about interval training that is another talk
Everybody can sustain Z4/5 for the same amount of time...as that is the definition of the zones. Z4 is threshold, by definition that is one hour race pace.
More importantly, training in Z5/Z6, and a lesser extent Z4 IS interval training. Which is normally included in part of a longer ride/run/swim. So not only do you get the EPOC from interval/repeats you also get an extra 60-200+ minutes of aerobic training where you are burning 600-1000 kcal/hr.
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I've seen this work a lot and I can tell you the difference between the Women that jog for an hour on the treadmill vs the women hitting the weights and the women hitting the weights to me look way better than those just on the treadmill, same for guys too. Look at a sprinter vs a marathon runner, the marathon runner looks almost sickly and the sprinter looks fit and healthy.
What if you do both?0 -
Nothing is wrong with cardio. People have different goals/preferences.
Cardio is great for heart health, yes; but also for endurance and depending on what cardio at what rate could be prime activity for achieving maximum calorie deficits for weight loss.
Strength training/resistance training also adds value but doesn't necessarily void out the benefits of cardio.
Ideally, one should do both along with a healthy diet for optimum results.0 -
kiddiebqueen17 wrote: »I read some posts and it seemed people were not too keen on cardio. Just wondering if it was something they did not enjoy or an issue when trying to lose weight. I just started my weight loss mission and going on the elyptical a few times a week was going to be my exercise of choice.
So, as you've already seen you're going to get a lot of ONE TRUE WAY(tm) nonsense when you ask this question. A quick review of the forums for the wights or cardio discussions will show you that you're going to get a spread, selecting from:- Cardio is dull - If you're talking about doing it on a machine in a gym then I wouldn't disagree, but there are lots of ways to do CV work that don't involve paying through the nose to stay inside a room.
- Weights are superior because you get to burn MILLIONS OF CALORIES for days - Unmitigated nonsense
- High Intensity Interval Training is where it's at as it's magic and you'll burn millions of calories in ten minutes - Also unmitigated nonsense.
- Cardio burns up muscle - Just look at the pictures upthread for an example of that
What you'll spot is that the most credible people will advocate a balance of CV and resistance work, picking some form of either that you'll stick to.
To me, an elliptical would be hell, but I'll comfortably go out and run in the woods and trails for 2-3 hours at a time. Other people walk, some play tennis, or squash, swim or cycle. Find something that interests you.
As far as resistance training is concerned, I find gyms very dull and the process of lifting to be very tedious. I do bodyweight work as it suits my needs. Again, find something that works for you.0 -
kiddiebqueen17 wrote: »I read some posts and it seemed people were not too keen on cardio. Just wondering if it was something they did not enjoy or an issue when trying to lose weight. I just started my weight loss mission and going on the elyptical a few times a week was going to be my exercise of choice.
The best exercise - IMO, especially when first starting out - is the one you'll actually *do*, and (ideally) *enjoy*.
The things that (some) people are saying here are true, about different forms of exercise having different benefits. Over time, if you become more active generally, you'll probably find you want to branch out and try some different things for variety, or that you start understanding your body & its fitness better, and want some of the other exercises' benefits. Worry about the "perfect" exercise regime then.
For now, just start being more active in healthful way(s) you enjoy. That will help you on your way.0 -
SingingSingleTracker wrote: »SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
You need to run faster if you think weight lifting is superior in terms of burning calories. ;-)
Take it up to HR Zone 4 with a few dabbles in HR Zone 5 for an hour and see what the burn is.
Weight lifting (and I mean serious weight lifting not 20 reps stuff) is superior in terms of calories burned. You are thinking of calories burned through the duration of the exercise. A heavy lifting session will let your body in a recovery state and increased metabolism for around 2-3 days.
Let's say for the sake of your argument that a heavy lifting session "increases your metabolism" for 2-3 days. Are you saying that running or cycling at a race pace (Zone 4/5) wouldn't do the same?
Pretty much yes. As few people can sustain zone 5 or 4 for longer periods of time. Ignoring the fact that they develop different adaptations. If you are talking about interval training that is another talk
Anybody who is racing (and racing is filled with a lot of "average people" including me) sure can sustain Zone 4/5 for a race duration. Obviously, the longer the duration, the pace and Zones taper down to high end 3 all the way up to Zone 5.
I will just take data from one race I did last summer (out of many races). This race was actually rather short compared to others that I did.
The red line in that chart depicts my HR was pegged from the start all the way to the end.
This chart shows you that in a bike race I spent the majority of time in my Zone 5 with a solid 30 minutes in my Zone 4 as well....
Again - I'm an "average guy" on a bike when it comes to racing. Sure, I train, but so does everyone else that races.
The final chart shows the calorie burn, miles, speed, training stress, and HR info.
Throw in a typical 45 minute warm-up before the race that targets all the HR Zones, and a good 20 minute cool down ride - all makes for a 2000 kcal burn day on the bike.
I do lift weights as well - especially in the off season. Even lifting heavy (which I do during my periodization), I never burn the amount of calories I do during a bike race.
I think the myth of the furnace burning for 2-3 days needs to be backed up with real data which led to why I posted a response to your post in the first place. I think the residual burn - in terms of beyond the actual exercise time - is very minimal whether it is a big burn from cardio or weight lifting according to all of the data I have read. I certainly haven't read anything that confirms a 2-3 day burn based on a big effort (cardio or weights) session.0 -
A question that needs to be asked is, how old are you? I'm a senior citizen so in addition to keeping fat off, sarcopenia and mobility maintenance are issues that cardio does not address. Strength training and even a bit of hypertrophy does a better job of addressing that and is essential for quality of life as we age.0
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Nothing wrong with cardio. Personally I skip it, but my TDEE is low. It's a choice I was willing to make because I hate it so much.0
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Depends on your goals. Is your goal body transformation or simply to lose fat? If its body transformation than I really think weight lifting is the best way for anyone to be lean and fit looking, couple that with a proper diet and some High interval cardio training (like sprinting, calisthenics), etc..you'll see a huge transformation in time.
I've seen this work a lot and I can tell you the difference between the Women that jog for an hour on the treadmill vs the women hitting the weights and the women hitting the weights to me look way better than those just on the treadmill, same for guys too. Look at a sprinter vs a marathon runner, the marathon runner looks almost sickly and the sprinter looks fit and healthy.
Maybe if you are looking at the elite level. Marathon running does not make that type of marathon body alone. At the elite level, having less weight is advantageous so you get the extreme end of that. There are plenty of marathon runners who don't look like that, especially at the non-elite level.
As for the "I can tell the difference". Bull. In extreme cases on either end, sure. But for your average person, I doubt it.
OP - as others have said, nothing is wrong with it. It comes down to preference. And, mix of cardio and weight training is a good thing too.0 -
IMO it depends on your caloric balance. If you're sustaining, there is nothing inherently wrong with cardio. If you're trying to lose weight with a cut of 200-300 calories, probably fine. If you're cutting by, say, 800 calories, don't do cardio. You won't recover from it properly and it will have counterproductive effects.0
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