Why is weight training not considered cardio??

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  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    I love watching MissFitandNerdy on YouTube. She is passionate about lifting heavy, and that you don't need to do cardio to lose weight/get healthy.
    STOP DOING CARDIO

    You don’t need cardio to lose weight. You don’t need exercise at all. You can me comatose and lose weight. All that matters for losing weight is that you consume fewer calories than your body burns.

    A “healthy” level of activity involves both aerobic and resistance training. The world health organization (not sure if they have a YouTube channel) has recommendations for both. Your heart is a muscle too.

    I would rather gouge my eyes out than use an elliptical (or pretty much anything inside a gym). But I enjoy hiking, biking, playing, running, a whole multitude of activities that are considered aerobic activity.
  • LittleQuelie
    LittleQuelie Posts: 37 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your input. I find these message boards a bit confusing to use from your phone - I can’t see how to reply to specific people?

    Are you using the app, or the website through Chrome on your phone? If in the app there should be a button that says "quote below each post on the left, above the row of insightful, inspiring, etc.

    Ah! Thank you! I’m using the app.
  • LittleQuelie
    LittleQuelie Posts: 37 Member
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    edited August 2019
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?

    You could, of course, also do "cardio" that you actually like on occasion given that a. for general health cardiovascular and strength training are important and b. you mentioned how much joy you find in volleyball. That would also just be fun would it not?

    At the end of the day, weightlifting is not cardio. It might be useful from a "killing to birds with one stone" standpoint if it was, but it's not.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    edited August 2019
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?

    Check out BitGym and similar apps that take you on a hiking, walking or cycling journey through cities and countrysides across the US and in Europe as you watch on your tablet while doing cardio. Saved me last winter when I couldn’t get out to snowshoe or cross-country ski. There is a subscription fee, but it’s not a lot.

  • LittleQuelie
    LittleQuelie Posts: 37 Member
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?


    Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.
  • MikeRobi81
    MikeRobi81 Posts: 15 Member
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    You can add a form of cardio within you strenght training. If you add box jumps, jumping jacks or burpees in between sets will keep that heart pumping.
  • LittleQuelie
    LittleQuelie Posts: 37 Member
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?


    Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.

    Well you can consider anything anything. But nobody ever trained for a marathon by doing squats and bench presses.

    Good thing I’m not interested in running a marathon, I suppose.

  • LittleQuelie
    LittleQuelie Posts: 37 Member
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    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    Does it really matter though, that is the main question.

    As in - you like to do your intensive strength training, you like to do your volleyball.

    Keep doing them!

    You dislike the "traditional" cardio machines (so do I!!!) and HIIT (me too!!!) - so why do them????

    Do what you like, and you will be happier for it. Regardless if it's "cardio" or not (which your volleball IS).

    Excellent points!!
  • LittleQuelie
    LittleQuelie Posts: 37 Member
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?


    Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.

    Well you can consider anything anything. But nobody ever trained for a marathon by doing squats and bench presses.

    Good thing I’m not interested in running a marathon, I suppose.

    Neither am I. And that's ok. There's no rule that says you have to run ever, unless zombies are chasing you. And marathons would be less awesome for people who do them if everyone did.

    So why does it bother you that there's this cardio thing, if you're not interested in it? It's ok for other people to do exercise that isn't weights, too.

    🙂

    I’m not saying it bothers me, I really just wanted to know why weight training can’t be considered cardio exercise. I know cardio is necessary, but I was hoping what I was already doing was enough to hit two birds with one stone, so to speak.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?


    Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.

    Well you can consider anything anything. But nobody ever trained for a marathon by doing squats and bench presses.

    Good thing I’m not interested in running a marathon, I suppose.

    Neither am I. And that's ok. There's no rule that says you have to run ever, unless zombies are chasing you. And marathons would be less awesome for people who do them if everyone did.

    So why does it bother you that there's this cardio thing, if you're not interested in it? It's ok for other people to do exercise that isn't weights, too.

    🙂

    I’m not saying it bothers me, I really just wanted to know why weight training can’t be considered cardio exercise. I know cardio is necessary, but I was hoping what I was already doing was enough to hit two birds with one stone, so to speak.

    Volleyball is cardio, so you're good.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!

    For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.

    The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.

    I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?


    Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.

    Well you can consider anything anything. But nobody ever trained for a marathon by doing squats and bench presses.

    Good thing I’m not interested in running a marathon, I suppose.

    Neither am I. And that's ok. There's no rule that says you have to run ever, unless zombies are chasing you. And marathons would be less awesome for people who do them if everyone did.

    So why does it bother you that there's this cardio thing, if you're not interested in it? It's ok for other people to do exercise that isn't weights, too.

    🙂

    I’m not saying it bothers me, I really just wanted to know why weight training can’t be considered cardio exercise. I know cardio is necessary, but I was hoping what I was already doing was enough to hit two birds with one stone, so to speak.

    Give that you play vollyball and you like it, it sounds like you don't need to hit two birds with one stone.
  • AZTeri2016
    AZTeri2016 Posts: 77 Member
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    Quickly reading through these and I have a question (I'll finish reading later this afternoon after I get home from my bike ride). I work out with my trainer 3 days a week. I'm usually burning between 300-400 calories on those days. I count them as cardio, mostly for the calories. On the alternate days I am on either the elliptical or stationary bike, and once a week (Saturdays) my husband and I go for a longer ride. I'm not putting my training down as strength training even though that is because the system doesn't allow for calories for that. Am I in error by logging it as HIIT, when that's what it feels like, or does it not matter?
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Strength training is not HIIT. That would not be an accurate way to log it. There is a strength training exercise in the cardio section that would at least be slightly more accurate.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    AZTeri2016 wrote: »
    Quickly reading through these and I have a question (I'll finish reading later this afternoon after I get home from my bike ride). I work out with my trainer 3 days a week. I'm usually burning between 300-400 calories on those days. I count them as cardio, mostly for the calories. On the alternate days I am on either the elliptical or stationary bike, and once a week (Saturdays) my husband and I go for a longer ride. I'm not putting my training down as strength training even though that is because the system doesn't allow for calories for that. Am I in error by logging it as HIIT, when that's what it feels like, or does it not matter?

    It’s not what you call it, it’s the number logged that is significant. The 300-400 calories in a hour is probably a little high, but not enough to make a big difference.

    From an education standpoint, as the previous poster stated, weight training is not HIIT. But for logging calories, you can pick a set number for each workout and call it whatever you want.

  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    AZTeri2016 wrote: »
    Quickly reading through these and I have a question (I'll finish reading later this afternoon after I get home from my bike ride). I work out with my trainer 3 days a week. I'm usually burning between 300-400 calories on those days. I count them as cardio, mostly for the calories. On the alternate days I am on either the elliptical or stationary bike, and once a week (Saturdays) my husband and I go for a longer ride. I'm not putting my training down as strength training even though that is because the system doesn't allow for calories for that. Am I in error by logging it as HIIT, when that's what it feels like, or does it not matter?

    What are you doing when you're working out with your trainer? If it's primarily strength training exercises then no, it's not cardio which means yes, you are logging in error when when you're putting it down as HIIT. Where is the 300-400 calorie number coming from?