Adding cardio question?

alliebeth88

I'm currently lifting heavy 3 days per week and do about a 10 minute stint on the elliptical at the end of my workout. I was lifting at home for a month, and now I've been using the gym for a couple weeks.

I seem to be stalled. I'm not losing any weight, and barely any inches as far as I can tell.

Have any of you had boosted success with weight/inch loss with adding in cardio on non-lifting days? If so, how much and when?

Thanks

JenCatwalk

Bump I'd like to knw also.

bumblebums

Cardio is a somewhat controversial topic among lifters. Many people don't bother with it, and lose weight (if they are indeed trying to lose) by eating at a deficit while closely monitoring macronutrients such as carbs and protein. Some people add cardio to increase their energy expenditure, too, which allows them to eat a bit more on non-lifting days while on a caloric deficit. Arnold Schwarzenegger used to jog for cutting when he was a bodybuilder (see the Reddit Ask Me Anything--I am too lazy to dig up the link now). So if you really like cardio or are after some specific fitness goal such as increasing your VO2 Max, knock yourself out.

Many believe that endurance cardio is counterproductive if you are trying to make gains in lifting. Endurance training has the potential of eating away at your LBM, which you need to lift weights. But endurance is along the lines of 40 min to an hour, or more. You might not be doing that much. Some people end up doing a lot of cardio between lifting days and do not leave enough time for their bodies to recover from lifting, which is an activity that kind of beats your body up. This is the reason why I do not do much cardio anymore.

jstout365

^^^This.

I still do some cardio on non-SL days, but it is usually the first thing I dump when I need extra recovery days. I keep my cardio in the shorter time of 20 min or so or do intervals or circuit style high-rep lifting with some plyo.

I'm maintaining weight right now, but I use cardio for heart health more than anything else. I saw my best reduction of BF% with lifting and moderate cardio (no more than 30 min and often an interval style), but I was not doing the heavy lifting, I was following a more hypertrophy-isometric lifting plan that kept the weight lower.

Also, remember that lifting plays games with the scale and unless you measure every point on your body, you can't be sure that you are not losing inches. It may just be somewhere you wouldn't expect at first.

kirabob

I found that there was a period of about 2 months where nothing changed for me - no scale movement, no measurement movement. All while just lifting and very little cardio, maybe 10-15 minutes after lifting. But then I hit the 3 month mark, and inches started falling off everywhere. Clothes and pictures are your best measuring sticks of progress. I lost a lot of fat off my upper back, of all places - didn't show up on any measuring tape or scale, but all of a sudden shirts that I used to not be able to button were too big! I have found that my stomach fat is the slowest and last to go - but right now I look like a Botticelli when I'm nekkid. He painted girls who did lots of heavy lifting (every non-aristocratic girl did pre-Industrial revolution). Those girls, with their soft bellies that show ab muscle dents? That's what I look like right now - and it's pretty awesome. Hubby likes it, I like it. But I digress. . .

I have also found that as I get farther along in my lifting journey, I have to adjust my caloric needs a lot. As in up! If I stick to 1900 calories (TDEE - 15%), I end up eating everything in sight by the end of the week. But if I stick to 2000-2150 each day, things go much more smoothly, and I lift better. I realized that I needed to do this when I took a maintenance week (ate at 2300-2450) and LOST 3 pounds. Seriously. My body just needed more food, plain and simple. I haven't lost any scale weight in 2 months, but I am still losing inches and seeing lots of body recomposition. Every body is different, of course, but that might be something to consider - that you aren't eating enough, and that your body needs some extra fuel.