Cardio vs lifting while trying to lose weight
briislovely
Posts: 92 Member
Before you say it, I understand that a calorie deficit equals weightloss.
I hit my calorie goals on here everyday, so I wanted to see what the differences were going to be between doing cardio or weights. In the past I have stuck to cardio for like an hour. For the past 2 weeks I lift for 35-45 min and do cardio 15-20.
Just curious how they would effect me in the long haul.
Back ground info, I'm 23 and I need to lose around 30 lbs. I've lost 25 a while ago.
I hit my calorie goals on here everyday, so I wanted to see what the differences were going to be between doing cardio or weights. In the past I have stuck to cardio for like an hour. For the past 2 weeks I lift for 35-45 min and do cardio 15-20.
Just curious how they would effect me in the long haul.
Back ground info, I'm 23 and I need to lose around 30 lbs. I've lost 25 a while ago.
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Replies
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Cardio should be a supplement to wieght loss in my eyes. Weights should be priority. If you are a girl who doesn't want to be particularly muscular than lift heavier and just gain mostly strength. Focus on big compound movements. Squats, bench, deadlifted and rows. To really get your heart pumping super set ( start immediately after ) those exercises with smaller ones. Like curls, triceps isolation or calves and abs. Stuff like that.
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Cardio workout definitely for burn fat. For toning your body shape weightlifting or strengthening workout you should do.1
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Cardio doesn't burn fat exclusively. It burn calories. Calories of fat burned by cardio isn't as much as many think it is.drmohdnazari wrote: »Cardio workout definitely for burn fat. For toning your body shape weightlifting or strengthening workout you should do.
What burns the most fat is being in a calorie deficit.
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My argument against cardio for weight loss (and I LOVE cardio) is that you spend an hour or sometimes a lot more doing cardio in an effort to lose weight then reach goal weight and stop. Now you've just dropped your TDEE.
Lifting preserves muscle mass. Cardio has health benefits as well.
My POV has always been do what you enjoy, watch calories for weight loss, exercise for health. Do what you will continue to do after you've reached goal.
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Lifting, for sure. Don't wait until you lose weight to lift, lift now.
Cardio if you want s few extra calories to eat, and of course, for cardiovascular health.
^This!
Cardio doesn't burn fat exclusively. It burn calories. Calories of fat burned by cardio isn't as much as many think it is.drmohdnazari wrote: »Cardio workout definitely for burn fat. For toning your body shape weightlifting or strengthening workout you should do.
What burns the most fat is being in a calorie deficit.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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briislovely wrote: »In the past I have stuck to cardio for like an hour. For the past 2 weeks I lift for 35-45 min and do cardio 15-20.
Just curious how they would effect me in the long haul.
What you are doing is a good mix. I do both weights and cardio, which is ideal. If you can only do one - lift. But both is better for sure.2 -
You just have to realize you won't be burning as many calories when you lift. If you're using the MFP NEAT method, enter minimal amount of time spent lifting. If you're using TDEE, figure out the best way to add it in. I lift heavy, 4x per week, two hour sessions, and it fits nicely into my lightly active option. I've never added calories for it.
That said, you're going to look better for it. So just do it.1 -
I do both- look for app like 5x5 takes 25-30 minutes- you don't have to spend hours in gym- kettle bells do great cardio & strength- watch exercise video on utube- read strong lift for women- do a few days a week running too- I did see more change measurements when I added weight lifting- but less scale going down... Go by how you fit clothes rather than just scale0
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Agree. Exercise should be for fitness and health and not just a means to try to lose weight. Weight loss/gain/maintenance starts first with how much you consume versus how much you burn.3dogsrunning wrote: »My argument against cardio for weight loss (and I LOVE cardio) is that you spend an hour or sometimes a lot more doing cardio in an effort to lose weight then reach goal weight and stop. Now you've just dropped your TDEE.
Lifting preserves muscle mass. Cardio has health benefits as well.
My POV has always been do what you enjoy, watch calories for weight loss, exercise for health. Do what you will continue to do after you've reached goal.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I do both. (Have a look on suppversity I found their reviews of the scientific evidence helpful - http://suppversity.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1 )
Having looked at this I think weights and interval training are the most beneficial for fat loss - I do cardio intervals in running and cycling. (I can run faster and further from mixing up with shorter intervals than consistent long slogs)
However there's no doubt in my mind that cardio is good for you, whether it burns calories or fat or not.0 -
Weights and interval training are great for training muscle and improving fitness and conditioning, but again, it comes down to CICO. I can promise you that if you consume your TDEE or more, not much fat loss is going to happen even if you trained this way.berolcolour wrote: »I do both. (Have a look on suppversity I found their reviews of the scientific evidence helpful - http://suppversity.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1 )
Having looked at this I think weights and interval training are the most beneficial for fat loss - I do cardio intervals in running and cycling. (I can run faster and further from mixing up with shorter intervals than consistent long slogs)
However there's no doubt in my mind that cardio is good for you, whether it burns calories or fat or not.
Just a note if you didn't know: one burns the most fat calories at rest (100% fuel source). So rest and sleeping is where one will burn the majority fat and the most efficiently at that.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Weights and interval training are great for training muscle and improving fitness and conditioning, but again, it comes down to CICO. I can promise you that if you consume your TDEE or more, not much fat loss is going to happen even if you trained this way.berolcolour wrote: »I do both. (Have a look on suppversity I found their reviews of the scientific evidence helpful - http://suppversity.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1 )
Having looked at this I think weights and interval training are the most beneficial for fat loss - I do cardio intervals in running and cycling. (I can run faster and further from mixing up with shorter intervals than consistent long slogs)
However there's no doubt in my mind that cardio is good for you, whether it burns calories or fat or not.
Just a note if you didn't know: one burns the most fat calories at rest (100% fuel source). So rest and sleeping is where one will burn the majority fat and the most efficiently at that.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Sorry I was making an assumption on calorie deficit in addition to exercise! I know I can't lose weight purely through exercise - experience has taught me that!0 -
Someone wise once said "losing weight makes you look good in clothes, lifting heavy makes you look good naked"15
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3dogsrunning wrote: »
My POV has always been do what you enjoy, watch calories for weight loss, exercise for health. Do what you will continue to do after you've reached goal.
this!
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They may be new. Or haven't gotten to where they want to be yet. Or not so good at CICO.0 -
They may be new. Or haven't gotten to where they want to be yet. Or not so good at CICO.
Or they're power lifters......
OP, my vote is for both but with the emphasis on the one that supports your long term goals.0 -
OP, (or to whom it may concern), you don't need to worry about getting bulky or too muscular on accident, no matter how you're training, especially if you're in a calorie deficit. It doesn't work like that. You will not get huge. I could go on... but just... no.
To reiterate, CICO is # 1.
Lifting while working toward fat loss can help to preserve lean muscle, which will make you look better when you hit your target weight. Look into some kind of programming if you haven't already.
When calories are in check, cardio can give you a little more wiggle room, and also it's good for you! I find it relaxing to do a little after my lift.0 -
The one thing that I don't think has been mentioned here (unless I missed it) is that while muscle does weigh more than fat, the more muscle you have the more fat it will burn with metabolism. It is important to have enough protein and water even 24 hours after using weights for your muscles to repair themselves. That's also why a rest day between is important. The comment about looking good naked is certainly a good one!
While I may not be any shining example, I have worked with and been coached on weights since I began in 1981. I like the way I feel. Weights also help to support you so it's a health benefit to you as well. Cardio can certainly burn calories and make your cardio system stronger and healthier. If you want to get more out of cardio, do intervals where you spend a certain amount of time going hell bent and then a more comfortable speed. You should be able to look up some good info on the internet about this.
Hope this helps.3 -
TannedTiger wrote: »CICO is BS, I did it for 8 months, didn't work.
And now all the experts are going to tell me how I did it all wrong.
Do you have a metabolic disorder? No? Then you did it wrong....you either underestimated your caloric intake or overestimated your caloric expenditure (or a combination of the two) unless you're a special flower exempt from the laws of physics.
CICO works, it's worked in the past and it will work in the future. Individuals, with the exception of those with metabolic disorders or taking meds that imitate metabolic disorders, are remarkably homogeneous. We get fat by eating too much, we lose weight by eating at a deficit. It may take some fine tuning but if you're accurately tracking your intake and accurately estimating your expenditure it works ver the long run.2 -
TannedTiger wrote: »CICO is BS, I did it for 8 months, didn't work.
And now all the experts are going to tell me how I did it all wrong.
0/10 troll attempt0 -
You need both. If you're in a caloric deficit on a daily basis, over-training on cardio can do some damage to your metabolism. You also run the risk of ending up in the "skinny fat" territory and no one, that I know of - at least, likes that look. Honestly, you need to find a good balance of both. I'm a total cardio junkie but once I started including a caloric deficit into my life, it quickly turned against me. Once I started implementing a strength routine, as well...things fell into place. Cardio will help you burn fat, but if you aren't building that muscle up underneath...it's not pretty. To give you an example of what I'm doing: I have a week where I focus more on cardio so each day I do about 30-35 minutes of straight high impact, high intensity cardio and follow that up with 20-30 minutes of strength training while incorporating short cardio bursts to keep the heart rate elevated. On alternating weeks, I do a 30-40 minute strength routine that still has short cardio bursts thrown in and then tack on a 20-minute circuit training routine that includes both strength and cardio and top off the whole workout with a PiYo workout (higher intensity yoga/pilates routine). Working for me so far. My body doesn't respond well when I don't have at least a little bit of cardio in daily, but you can't overdo it. It'll take some trial and error to determine what your body needs more of, but you do need both...and over-training with cardio will only lead to a negative result. Hope that helped on some level.0
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TannedTiger wrote: »CICO is BS, I did it for 8 months, didn't work.
And now all the experts are going to tell me how I did it all wrong.
You didn't do it wrong, but you don't understand what it is. CICO is an oversimplication of the energy balance equation which is made up of several components (basal metabolic rate + non exercise activity thermogenesis, thermal effect of food + thermal effect of activity). The end results is Total daily energy expended.
Many people assume calorie counting is CICO, but it's not. Calorie counting is merely a tool that estimates caloric intake. In the end, when people fail, they think CICO is disproved. But in reality, it's the estimates of expenditure or intake that wasn't done correctly.
OP, do both. Both benefit different parts of your body (skeletal system vs cardiovascular system). And while you are at it, throw in some flexibility to address overall fitness.2 -
As already stated really, a good weight lifting routine that covers your entire body, supplemented with cardio is the best in my opinion and experience.2
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Here was my experience between incorporating and not incorporating lifting. Years ago I was ~240lbs and really had never weight trained with any consistency. I lost 35lbs primarily just on lowering my caloric intact and no exercise. I started with a size 42waist jean XXL shirts and finished with a 38 jean XL shirt. Flash forward a couple years and like many I gained the weight back. This time I included some weight training and lots of HIIT cardio.. Started at 245 with tight size 42 jeans and xxl shirts. Got to 205 36 jeans and XL shirt. I then switched to powerlifting for about a year. My scale weight increased but my clothing sizes didn't.
So again life happens (divorce), stop lifting, start eating way too much, gain back +some to 270. But weird thing, at 265-270 wearing the size 42 jeans I used to wear at 240-245lbs. Started powerlifting in may with no cardio other than a 30min brisk walk everyday and getting a handle on my caloric intake. Down to 235lb but wearing the 36 jeans and large tops I wore previously at 205-210lbs. I have a suit I bought 11 years ago when I was 215ish lbs that is too big on me now around the waist even though my scale weight is 20 lbs heavier.
If pure "weight loss" is your goal, all you need is to eat less than you burn. If you want to recomp your body and change how you look, weight training is the way to do it.
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angelwowings23 wrote: »You need both. If you're in a caloric deficit on a daily basis, over-training on cardio can do some damage to your metabolism. You also run the risk of ending up in the "skinny fat" territory and no one, that I know of - at least, likes that look. Honestly, you need to find a good balance of both. I'm a total cardio junkie but once I started including a caloric deficit into my life, it quickly turned against me. Once I started implementing a strength routine, as well...things fell into place. Cardio will help you burn fat, but if you aren't building that muscle up underneath...it's not pretty. To give you an example of what I'm doing: I have a week where I focus more on cardio so each day I do about 30-35 minutes of straight high impact, high intensity cardio and follow that up with 20-30 minutes of strength training while incorporating short cardio bursts to keep the heart rate elevated. On alternating weeks, I do a 30-40 minute strength routine that still has short cardio bursts thrown in and then tack on a 20-minute circuit training routine that includes both strength and cardio and top off the whole workout with a PiYo workout (higher intensity yoga/pilates routine). Working for me so far. My body doesn't respond well when I don't have at least a little bit of cardio in daily, but you can't overdo it. It'll take some trial and error to determine what your body needs more of, but you do need both...and over-training with cardio will only lead to a negative result. Hope that helped on some level.
if you are in a deficit and lifting weights you arent going to be building much muscle. you need to be in a surplus for that. you may build up some but its not going to be enough to burn a lot of calories. there is also no proof that doing just cardio will lead to negative results or damage your metabolism(it either works or it doesnt),sure you may not strengthen up the muscle and you will lose some while losing weight that is normal,but what negative effects are you talking about? what works for you may not work for everyone else. some never do cardio and just lift weights. YMMV2 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »angelwowings23 wrote: »You need both. If you're in a caloric deficit on a daily basis, over-training on cardio can do some damage to your metabolism. You also run the risk of ending up in the "skinny fat" territory and no one, that I know of - at least, likes that look. Honestly, you need to find a good balance of both. I'm a total cardio junkie but once I started including a caloric deficit into my life, it quickly turned against me. Once I started implementing a strength routine, as well...things fell into place. Cardio will help you burn fat, but if you aren't building that muscle up underneath...it's not pretty. To give you an example of what I'm doing: I have a week where I focus more on cardio so each day I do about 30-35 minutes of straight high impact, high intensity cardio and follow that up with 20-30 minutes of strength training while incorporating short cardio bursts to keep the heart rate elevated. On alternating weeks, I do a 30-40 minute strength routine that still has short cardio bursts thrown in and then tack on a 20-minute circuit training routine that includes both strength and cardio and top off the whole workout with a PiYo workout (higher intensity yoga/pilates routine). Working for me so far. My body doesn't respond well when I don't have at least a little bit of cardio in daily, but you can't overdo it. It'll take some trial and error to determine what your body needs more of, but you do need both...and over-training with cardio will only lead to a negative result. Hope that helped on some level.
if you are in a deficit and lifting weights you arent going to be building much muscle. you need to be in a surplus for that. you may build up some but its not going to be enough to burn a lot of calories.
Sorry, but that is not true. If you are 7%BF and ripped, ya you are not going to put on muscle in a deficit situation. You have no reserves to fuel growth. If you are 35%BF and embark upon a consistent program of resistance training with linear progression, you can and will build muscle while in a caloric deficit. If you have never done resistance training before you can see some nice "newbie" growth of muscle for the first 3-6 months. Now, keep in mind realistic muscle growth depends on age, sex, diet and training. We are talking 1lb a month for women and 1-2lbs a month for men.
The whole point of the caloric deficit is to force your body to burn internal energy reserves (ie: fat) to operate your body, and repair and grow muscle if you add in the external stimuli of resistance training. Resistance training backed by sufficient levels of protein during caloric deficit is also key to maintaining the muscle mass you have while losing weight. Losing that muscle mass while shedding lbs can adversely affect your BMR down the line, especially on a super low cal diets people seem to love going on.
Eventually as your BF drops and you have less and less reserves it becomes harder and harder to gain muscle while in deficit. Which is why you see bodybuilders and physique competitors going through bulk and cut cycles. Bulk to gain, then cut and try and hold on to as much of the gains as you can while getting comp ready.4 -
It's a nutty place some days.
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