No cardio, all resistance + Diet

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snaapz
snaapz Posts: 41 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Here I am again! In previous years I've combined cardio (running, stretching) with a diet and I always saw results (fat loss). I also loved the feeling of my heart pounding and sweat on my face.

This year I will be doing resistance/strength training (at home), in addition to diet.

I'm worried that sitting on a bench for 30 minutes will not give the same results that running did. (fat loss, lower resting heart rate, endurance etc...)

Any success stories for overweight people lifting weights and shedding fat? Any tips?

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Shedding fat is about your diet. Eat fewer calories in a day than your body uses.

    Exercise is for health and other goals. I lift heavy because I want a certain look, and I like it. Cardio makes me sad, so I don't do much of it.

    But I've lost all my weight due to diet.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    It all comes down to energy balance (calorie deficit)... which is going to be mostly about diet. Keep yourself in a deficit and you'll lose weight. Many will argue that swapping cardio for lifting will help increase the percentage of weight lost from fat, so you could actually be helping/improving your situation this year. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know for sure how true that is, but I've read it from sources I view as reputable.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I'm worried that sitting on a bench for 30 minutes will not give the same results that running did. (fat loss, lower resting heart rate, endurance etc...)
    Two completely different exercises - of course the results are different.

    Radical idea - it is permissible and possible (maybe even optimal...) to do both cardio and weights to get the benefits of both. Fit and strong feels good.

    Neither running or lifting "shed fat", they burn calories which may contribute to a calorie deficit.


  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Shedding fat is about your diet. Eat fewer calories in a day than your body uses.

    Exercise is for health and other goals. I lift heavy because I want a certain look, and I like it. Cardio makes me sad, so I don't do much of it.

    But I've lost all my weight due to diet.

    Yup this. I lost my baby weight with a deficit and lifting to help retain muscle..and my results were great the only cardio I did was walking and going up and down the stairs with my baby.
    Not that I would recommend not doing cardio since it is good for you and all that, but it is not necessary. Keep in mind your calorie intake will be different than it was in your previous years without the extra activity so just be sure to account for that.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    I've lost weight without cardiovascular exercise before but it's hard and miserable. I need to move more to be able to eat a satisfying amount. Our ancestors hunters and gathered, which means they spent their days moving, looking for food. I'm still like that, big appetite, need to move to make it work.

    But movement doesn't have to be running. I intersperse a lot of movement in my day. Park at the far edge of the lot, go talk to someone instead of sending an email, etc.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    edited January 2018
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    If you are lifting, you aren't "sitting on the bench." ...or at least you shouldn't be. After heavy squats or bench or deadlifts, my heart is usually pounding.

    I haven't done any significant cardio (maybe just 15-20 minutes a couple of times a week) for over a year. I've been able to lose weight by just manipulating calories while lifting heavy. The weight I've lost has been fat and not muscle.

    If you have a significant amount of fat to lose, you can add cardio to a lifting program and adjust as needed.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Lifting gives you different results than running, but you still get results. If cardio endurance and lower rhr are your goals running is better. If strength and muscular endurance are your goals, lifting is better. Of course, you could consider doing each 2-3 days per week to work towards both types of goals. If your goal is fat loss, weigh and log your food, which you can do regardless of the the type of exercises you choose,
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    snaapz wrote: »
    ...lower resting heart rate, endurance etc...

    If improved cardiovascular efficiency and effectiveness is a goal, then you're going to have to train for it.

    I'm not sure that I see CV work and resistance work as exclusive, you can easily do both.

    As highlighted, neither one is the key generator of weight loss, that's about your calorie deficit.

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