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Can I skip cardio and just strength train?

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  • Posts: 955 Member
    spartan_d wrote: »
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    Leg strength is certainly an important component.

    But unless you are sprinting, not that important. Running a 4 minute mile doesn't need strong legs. Needs a very strong heart though ;)
    Running a 21 second 200 does require a lot of leg muscle!
  • Posts: 24 Member
    would a boxing class be considered "cardio" or "strength" or neither? Please be nice in your answers LOL! I signed up for this class for one year and I need to go 3 times a week to get my money's worth. I find it hard to weight train right now because I am so freaking sore. So I am wondering what I call this? TIA
  • Posts: 727 Member
    scorpio516 wrote: »
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    But unless you are sprinting, not that important. Running a 4 minute mile doesn't need strong legs. Needs a very strong heart though ;)
    Running a 21 second 200 does require a lot of leg muscle!
    Well, I'd add that running uphill or up stairs does benefit from greater leg strength. And of course, more strength does produce greater acceleration. You're right, though. There are more important factors, such as lactate threshold, muscular endurance, hip flexibility, cadence, and just generally developing good body dynamics.
  • Posts: 2,862 Member
    edited February 2018
    spartan_d wrote: »
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    I completely agree. Try running up a steep hill and see how much help those deadlifts and squats will be. They'll help with leg strength, but they won't give you much cardiovascular endurance -- and in the real world, there will most likely be times when you'll need it.

    As a runner, I have to point out how much of an incredibly massive difference deadlifts make for preparing you for this exact scenario. But yeah- you'd need the aerobic endurance too.

    This is probably not the most likely scenario for a non-cardio-person to find themselves bemoaning their lack of aerobic endurance, however. (walking up that hill, yes; climbing a flight of stairs -yes; running anywhere-probably not happening).

    ETA- as far as the OP's question goes: no, cardio is not required.
  • Posts: 727 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
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    As a runner, I have to point out how much of an incredibly massive difference deadlifts make for preparing you for this exact scenario. But yeah- you'd need the aerobic endurance too.
    You're right. It would be more accurate to say that deadlifting will develop a lot of valuable posterior chain strength. The glutes are important in tackling an incline, and the hamstrings are needed in that all-important leg pull. For most people though, I daresay that cardio endurance will be their limiting factor.
  • Posts: 7,865 Member
    Okiludy wrote: »
    https://startingstrength.com/article/why-you-should-not-be-running

    https://youtu.be/Ty5zJdPrqys

    Pretty much sums up my opinion.

    So I'm 2:10 in and he's already talking bollocks. Do I have to waste any more time?
  • Posts: 558 Member
    edited February 2018
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
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    So I'm 2:10 in and he's already talking bollocks. Do I have to waste any more time?

    Nope but at same time I don’t feel the need to waste my time doing cadio.

    This is one of those push button topics like functional fitness. Some believe in it enough to shout it’s glory from the mountain. Others think it’s crap or just don’t have time for it.
  • Posts: 4,571 Member
    spartan_d wrote: »
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    These situations come up all the time. One gym owner told me about how she had to run several miles after learning that there was no shuttle to take her back to her car. She had to run FAST as well to make it to this class. She wasn't a runner though, and if not for a bit of occasional treadmill work, she probably wouldn't have made it.

    I once had to run through an airport carrying someone else's luggage to help her reach her flight. If I hadn't been properly conditioned, she might not have made it.

    Just because these situations haven't occurred to someone yet doesn't mean that they won't. It's always best to be ready.
    show previous quotes
    Nobody said it has to be daily. Very few runners do that. Some occasional running is invaluable, though.

    I'm saying I NEED to lift something every day. I never need to run.
  • Posts: 393 Member
    Rule number one of the Zombie Apocalypse: CARDIO :)
  • Posts: 69 Member
    I never said cardio didn’t have a benefit I just wanted to know if I could accomplish my goals without making sure I always fit it in to my gym time.
  • Posts: 727 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
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    So I'm 2:10 in and he's already talking bollocks. Do I have to waste any more time?

    He certainly is talking bollocks. His whole spiel is about sacrificing cardio on the holy altar of strength, as opposed to seeking to be well-rounded and functionally fit.

    I train for speed, strength, endurance, plyometric ability, and a whole lot more. It's all about balance. The notion that strength trumps everything else is indeed bollocks.
  • Posts: 558 Member
    Marykaylady2010 wrote: »
    I never said cardio didn’t have a benefit I just wanted to know if I could accomplish my goals without making sure I always fit it in to my gym time.

    Diet and strength training did a lot for me. I lost 54 lbs. I am off hypertension medicine. I have a resting heart rate of 58 on average. I can walk up 5 flights of stairs carrying 6 bags of groceries without getting winded. I can run a 5km in less than 30min. While not great it's also not bad for a 45-year-old guy that has only trained for 10months in last 15 years.

    I do not train cardio. I do go for walks occasionally on weekend and swim a bit in summer but I do that for fun and never for training. I just do not have time for this "balance". I would lose strength by lowering training to do something I don't like doing and I am not convinced would help me as much for the time invested. Not that it's bad. I just believe for myself, and many others, it not worth my time.

    The only downside is I get asked by friends to help move stuff more often.

  • Posts: 7 Member
    The only cardio I do is walking/biking to the gym to lift ;)
  • Posts: 7,865 Member
    Marykaylady2010 wrote: »
    I never said cardio didn’t have a benefit I just wanted to know if I could accomplish my goals without making sure I always fit it in to my gym time.

    As upthread, it's a hot-button. You always get some crawling out of the woodwork claiming to never do any cardio, then explaining the cardio that they do that's not cardio...

    I'm the same way that there are lots of ways to do resistance training, there are lots of ways to get CV benefits that don't involve droning away on a machine in the gym.
  • Posts: 7,865 Member
    Okiludy wrote: »
    show previous quotes

    Nope but at same time I don’t feel the need to waste my time doing cadio.

    This is one of those push button topics like functional fitness. Some believe in it enough to shout it’s glory from the mountain. Others think it’s crap or just don’t have time for it.

    Oh indeed, is that aspect of life around being equipped to function within ones needs.

    Personally, enough all round fitness to hold my own with the troops in my unit.

    Every time this debate comes around I reflect on the training that Royal Marines concentrate on; endurance runs, bodyweight resistance training.

    The commando tests are the benchmark, culminating in the 30 mile speedmarch carrying about 60lbs.
  • Posts: 1,262 Member
    southerngirl1966 wrote: »
    would a boxing class be considered "cardio" or "strength" or neither? Please be nice in your answers LOL! I signed up for this class for one year and I need to go 3 times a week to get my money's worth. I find it hard to weight train right now because I am so freaking sore. So I am wondering what I call this? TIA

    I go to 9Rounds and my trainer told me to consider that as my cardio. I can be sore after the class also, but generally I go to get my heart rate up. I am in the boat of hating every minute of being on a stationary bike or a treadmill or whatever is available, so this is my favorite option
  • Posts: 24 Member
    @Alidecker thanks so much! I joined Title Boxing and I definitely love it more than the treadmill or bike but I like the Stair Master a few time a week.
    Good luck to you and thank you for the response!
  • Posts: 727 Member
    Okiludy wrote: »
    I do not train cardio. I do go for walks occasionally on weekend and swim a bit in summer but I do that for fun and never for training. I just do not have time for this "balance". I would lose strength by lowering training to do something I don't like doing and I am not convinced would help me as much for the time invested. Not that it's bad. I just believe for myself, and many others, it not worth my time.
    Y'know what? Even though I think that your approach is misguided, I kinda have to respect what you said. I say that because you're honest about the fact that you simply hate cardio. You've performed a cost-benefit analysis, and while I disagree with your judgment on this matter, I can see that you're treating this as a strategic decision.
    This is in contrast to others on MFP who try to convince themselves that they don't need to do cardio (or running, or whatever). I've mentioned the people who try to argue that adrenaline is all they need to deal with a life-threatening emergency, for example. (Yeah. Good luck with that.)

    Not to argue, but I don't buy this notion of not having time for balance. Limited time simply means that we give up some of the stuff we'd rather do for the sake of things we dislike. I don't like stretching or running at an uncomfortable pace, for example, but I do these things anyway. Why? For the sake of overall functional fitness.

    The real issue isn't that we don't have time for balance. Rather, the reality is that all-too-often, we don't want to give up some of the things we'd need to sacrifice for the sake of this balance.
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