Only 30mins today...Cardio vs Weight lifting
JstTheWayIam
Posts: 6,357 Member
I personally say Cardio...
While weight training is important, if you only have 30mins.. I say do your cardio.
Heart and lungs are far too important and the best barometer of health is not strength or explosiveness even.... But endurance.
The great debate rages on!
While weight training is important, if you only have 30mins.. I say do your cardio.
Heart and lungs are far too important and the best barometer of health is not strength or explosiveness even.... But endurance.
The great debate rages on!
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Replies
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Honestly it really depends on your goals, what you're doing other days, the type of cardio or resistance training you're doing, etc.
Of course what works for one person doesn't work for everyone, so it's really up to you. Personally I wouldn't go for cardio, but I generally don't do a lot of cardio as I struggle to keep my weight up where it should be as it is. If I was short on time I'd be most likely to go for some kind of resistance circuit. Really I think the most important thing is that you're exercising in some shape or form!
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Only 30 minutes per day won't do much for endurance.2
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Circuit training.2
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Lifting is great for cardiovascular health.4
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Kinda silly to look at it in isolation like that, IMO.
"Today" should be looked at within the context of what's around it. I lift three days a week and do some kind of cardio on 2-3 of the other days. So if it's a scheduled lifting day, I'll spend those 30 minutes lifting. If it's not, I'll go for a run, bike ride, walk, etc.
If you only have one day per week to work out, I guess it doesn't matter much which one you do - because neither one is going to make much of a difference.10 -
I would do some sort of HIIT or kettle bell program so weights and cardio, I assume that 30min cardio u meant in orginal oostbis steady state cardio which I rarely see the point in doing3
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Kinda silly to look at it in isolation like that, IMO.
"Today" should be looked at within the context of what's around it. I lift three days a week and do some kind of cardio on 2-3 of the other days. So if it's a scheduled lifting day, I'll spend those 30 minutes lifting. If it's not, I'll go for a run, bike ride, walk, etc.
If you only have one day per week to work out, I guess it doesn't matter much which one you do - because neither one is going to make much of a difference.
Good point it does depend on what I've done last but I'm sure you get the question.
Great op though0 -
Believe me, you can get your heart rate up in 30 minutes weight training.3
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It would depend on the day and what was scheduled...I don't really just do whatever, it's laid out and scheduled.
I pretty much ride 5 days per week...sometimes 6, and I lift two days per week. Thursday is a lifting day, so I would opt to lift for that 30 minutes...I'd focus solely on my Oly lifts for that 30 minutes and scrap the rest of my program for the day...same if it were a Saturday.
Any other day and I would do cardio because that's what's on the schedule...I'd likely pop in a a 30 minute indoor cycling sprint DVD or find one on YouTube and go to town hard for 30...1 -
^Completely agree with this.cwolfman13 wrote: »It would depend on the day and what was scheduled...I don't really just do whatever, it's laid out and scheduled.
I would never do a serious weight lifting workout on the fly. IME, consistent progress is made with a plan.
Its interesting to see what people consider "barometers" of health, since there's no real definition. After all, ultra-endurance athletes have their own share of health challenges. I also think its pretty weird when lifters celebrate lifting beyond control of their pelvic floor muscles. There's definitely balance and situational awareness to consider that makes either/or discussions like this kinda silly.
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Okay rephrasing the question...
Say you do cardio and lift for 30ea, everyday.
But today, you only have 30mins.
Which will you do?0 -
Weight training has similar health benefits to cardio so by not doing cardio doesn't mean that you're neglecting your heart and lungs. You can have endurance in the weight room just like how runners have endurance to run long distances.1
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Many people train toward a goal. Many choose proven programs to help them consistently make progress. So it really depends on the goal.
I would circuit train everyday for maintenance of strength and/or endurance. --or-- I would progressively lift heavier 2-4 days a week for strength/power and add some light circuits or cardio on rest days.
And, why do you think endurance is more important than strength training? What are you training for?1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »
And this.
ETA: I was strength training with little cardio. Played soccer. Kicked and threw the ball powerfully but lungs killed me.1 -
i feel like cardio is really better in terms of time management due to the fact that you only need atleast 10 minutes to perform intensive workouts. (if you are only interested in maintaining health and not getting ripped )0
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For me, lifting.. hands down.
When I was a few months postpartum I didn't have a lot of time to workout. So I lifted for 30 min, 3x a week while my kids napped. The result? Body composition and muscle retention while I lost the baby weight.
Now I am bulking. Doing cardio over weight lifting would not be in line with my goals. I would just have to eat more. And on top of that because I am not strength training whatever I gain would probably be fat unless the cardio involved some resistance work, but even then it wouldn't be optimal to be honest.
In the end it really just depends on your goals.2 -
JstTheWayIam wrote: »Okay rephrasing the question...
Say you do cardio and lift for 30ea, everyday.
But today, you only have 30mins.
Which will you do?
Depends. Is it a lifting day or not? (Recurring calendar appointment sets off my watch so I don't even have to remember.)
If the sun is out, I'll probably go for a bike ride. If it's an especially nice day, I'll be late. Send you a tracking link, though. Why? Because I'll enjoy it more (and get better pictures).0 -
Its interesting to see what people consider "barometers" of health, since there's no real definition.
Functional definitions are awesome! If you lift, fitness is defined by how much you can lift. If you run, it's how fast you can run a mile. If you ride a bike, it's your VAM (vertical ascent rate) or FTP (functional threshold, or maximum 60-minute power average). When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. My hunch is people don't really do it intentionally, they're just proud of the results of their hard work, and internally define health and fitness in a way that goes along with that. I agree, it's fascinating to watch.0 -
JstTheWayIam wrote: »Okay rephrasing the question...
Say you do cardio and lift for 30ea, everyday.
But today, you only have 30mins.
Which will you do?
I would do my Olympic lifts and get the best of both worlds.0 -
As many have said it's totally up to you. I am a runner, and while I was lifting a couple years ago, my goals right now are focused on running achievements. I rarely lift currently - it just isn't my goal right now. So for me it would be a run, but it would probably be a speed work out to work on endurance. That is just my personal preference, and others may feel differently.
Edited because spelling is hard for me today
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hansonmedical2 wrote: »Weight training has similar health benefits to cardio so by not doing cardio doesn't mean that you're neglecting your heart and lungs. You can have endurance in the weight room just like how runners have endurance to run long distances.
Great point, I've recently traded some of my running hours every week for hours lifting. While I have likely lost speed and stamina, I have increased my pull ups, bench, overhead press, push ups to name a few.
Just not sure if that decision will cost me days at the end of my life or not... However I can always pick up running regularly again.
Searching for balance I guess0 -
Can you do resistance cardio like rowing machine or bike on a hard resistance?
Or HIIT to change it up some?1 -
happymom221 wrote: »Can you do resistance cardio like rowing machine or bike on a hard resistance?
Or HIIT to change it up some?
That sounds like a great option, for me though nothing burns more calories then running.
Other exercises might burn more per minute... But you will not be able to jump rope (for example) as long as you can run.
But burpee style exercises are great!0 -
Lift. Cardio doesn't fit my goals. I can create a caloric deficit through work if that is what I'm aiming for, though the majority of the time I'm aiming for a surplus0
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I've incorporated body weight exercises into my routine, which is roughly 20% cardio, and 40% each strength and body weight. If body weight fits your definition of lifting, I would do that. With about a minute between sets and doing each set to fatigue, my heart rate certainly gets going.
Great topic for me as I still feel like a beginner and am learning what I can about this.1 -
Both.
On those days when I'm short on time I would do:
- Circuits of 2 strength moves like squats to shoulder press.
- Followed by 2 minutes of hard jogging in place with high knees.
- Followed by another 2 in 1 move like lunges to bicep curls.
- Repeat or do some body weight stuff like burpees or push ups etc.
- Ending with 5 minutes of static stretching.
Best of both worlds.
Functional fitness, maintaining my strength and doing some cardio everyday is very important to me. With this routine I get my heart rate high and I get a total body strength workout in.
No excuses!3 -
IF I only had 30 mins I would choose cardio because I get a kick out of it and it leaves me energised for the whole day
BUT... I workout every day for 60 mins, including 3 days for lifting so its only an hypothetical answer.
Technically if I only ever had 30 mins every day to work out I'd do cardio, something like HIIT x 3 or 4 days and lifting x 3 days.0 -
I wouldn't ever do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength if I had an hour to train.JstTheWayIam wrote: »Okay rephrasing the question...
Say you do cardio and lift for 30ea, everyday.
But today, you only have 30mins.
Which will you do?
Doesn't fit my goals or training preferences. It would be one or the other for the hour.
If I was at work and only had 30 minutes and really wanted to train then I'd walk up and down the 14 floors of my office block a few times. More likely just to go for a walk though and call it a rest day.
If I was at home with only 30 minutes to spare I would do a dumbbell and bodyweight circuit.
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If I only had 30 min probably cardio ....... for weights I have to hop in the car & drive the gym which would cut into my 30 min, for cardio I could just head out the door for a run, use my rowing machine or hop on the bike (which is already mounted on my trainer for the winter).....0
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