Cardio Vs strength training

eringrace95_

Has anyone had success with weight loss with a heavier lean on cardio and minimal to no strength training?

Courtscan2

Probably? Cardio generally burns more calories during your workout than strength training, and ultimately weight loss determined by calories in vs calories out. HOWEVER it generally doesn't burn as many calories as people think - for me personally, if I am balls to the wall running for an hour I only burn about 400 calories in that hour, so your main tool for weight loss has to be eating in a calorie deficit. So while cardio can increase your deficit a little bit....don't rely on it.

sijomial

People lose weight successfully while only strength training, only cardio training, a blend of both (optimal IMHO) or no exercise at all.

Broad brush.....
Cardio for CV fitness and health and to get a higher eating allowance while losing. To get a much higher allowance you have to dedicate quite a bit of time to your cardio of choice.
(I'm curently averaging about 12 hours a week of cycling and eating like a horse to maintain my weight!)

Strength training for retention of muscle mass, health and functionality, body composition. Low calorie burns but that's not the point.

There are also cardio exercises that have a variable element of resistance too - e.g. swimming, rowing, cycling....

Eating a bit less than you need for weight loss.

Sinisterbarbie1

Totally agree with the above. I have lost most if not all of the 50+ lbs of weight i’ve shed on managing the calories in side of the equation properly. That can be done without any exercise whatsoever but the benefit of exercise is ensuring you maintain bone strength and muscle mass. I generally rely on things like hiking/walking, aerobic exercises involving water, pilates, and lifestyle stuff like gardening, housework, and eldercare to get my exercise. These are all weight bearing exercises where my own body weight and the weight of water or use of springs on pilates equipment get me what I need strength wise.

A sidenote: From earlier personal experience I have found that I gained weight when training for marathons btw. Whether I let up on calculating calories and rewarded myself too much, or thought I needed too much energy for training (you don’t need all those gels and sugary drinks for the most part even on longish runs) or I miscalculated burn rates or just felt tired and craved more food as a result, IDK but calories in count a lot!!

hesn92

You need to be using more energy than you're taking in to lose weight, you don't necessarily need ANY exercise to do that. Strength training has many benefits, "burning calories" isnt realy one of them

corinasue1143

Yes. I once lost 40 pounds (post baby weight) just walking while my then husband and 2 year old ate supper and watched the baby. By the time I cleaned the 2-year old and the kitchen, I was too tired and turned off by the mess to eat much supper. That’s all I did.

cwolfman13

eringrace95_ wrote: »

Has anyone had success with weight loss with a heavier lean on cardio and minimal to no strength training?

I think it's highly beneficial to start thinking about these things outside of the weight loss box and start thinking in terms of overall health. Ideally, one would want to meet the minimum criteria for general health and well-being set forth by the AHA and other health bodies of 150 minutes of light to moderate cardiovascular exercise for cardiovascular health and 2x per week full body resistance training to preserve muscle mass and bone density and maintain functional strength. Beyond that, more specific fitness goals would be your guide.

People lose weight with only cardio or only resistance training or a combination of the two or neither. To lose weight you just have to be in a calorie deficit. Regular exercise can add to that and/or allow you to eat more while still accomplishing your same weight loss goals, but in general, for most people, the energy expenditure required for regular exercise is a pretty small piece of one's calorie requirement pie. There are numerous health benefits for both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training beyond the scale. One major downside to losing weight without doing some form of resistance training is loss of muscle mass. Muscle is energy expensive and a use it or lose it kind of thing. When you restricting energy, your body is going to do things to also conserve energy...and if you're not using something energy expensive like muscle mass there isn't any reason for your body to hold onto it in a catabolic state.

My exercise is variable throughout the year. I spent a good 5-6 years pretty heavy into endurance cycling and participating in endurance cycling events which required me to spend a significant amount of time training my cardiovascular system. During cycling season, most of my exercise was cardiovascular with typically 1x per week strength training, due in large part to time constraints as well as recovery time. During the offseason that would change to spending significantly more time strength training and less time on the bike. I'm slated for my first triathlon in August and currently training for that, which again there is a big emphasis on cardiovascular exercise with swim, bike, run and I'm only strength training once per week to be able to fit all of my other training into my schedule. Come September my cardio work will drop to about 3x per week and strength training will go up to 3x per week which will continue through until my next training season starts.

AnnPT77

I lost weight without changing my exercise routine at all.

Sure, I was already active (mostly at things folks would call "cardio", as if cardio were all one single homogenous thing 😆 completely distinct from strength training). I'd been that active for over a decade, while staying right around the border between overweight and class 1 obese (usually on the obese side of that border, BTW). For a couple of years early in that decade, I strength trained pretty regularly. The whole time, I did a bunch of so-called "cardio", even competing at a short-endurance "cardio" sport. I stayed overweight/obese, right around the same bodyweight, the whole time.

Then I lost 50-some pounds in less than a year, doing the same exercise stuff. How? Ate less.

Paleo? Vegan? Keto? Intermittent Fasting? Low fat? Bright Line Eating? Whole 30? Carnivore? No white foods? Whole foods plant based? . . . etc.?

Nope. I ate the same range of foods I'd been eating for decades, just calorie-appropriate portions, somewhat different proportions on the plate, frequencies of some calorie-dense foods, while trying to maintain decent-ish overall nutrition, and choose foods that kept me feeling mostly full and happy.

Now I do the same exercise, eat the same general way - but with a few more calories than during weight loss - in order to maintain a healthy weight (as I've done for 6+ years since the loss). At age 66. While menopausal. While severely hypothyroid (properly medicated).

It's almost as if there isn't a direct link between exercise volume/type and weight loss, or between eating style and weight loss. It's almost as if age, stage, some metabolic issues are not insurmountable barriers.

Calorie balance for weight management (deficit for loss). Exercise for strength, body composition, health, energy. Food choices for satiation, good overall nutrition, energy, enjoyment, practicality, affordability.

teamgiff4

I love to dance so I did dance workouts. Kept me motivated to workout every day. Lost a few pounds and the squats lifted my butt I had to take a TRX class and really loved how it toned up my jiggly arms. I’m 4 months into exercising daily.
A week of daily movement for at least 40 min of something:
Yoga
Walk/run
Strength (squats, push-ups, plank)
Dance workouts
Pilates
I mix it up based on what I feel I need and because I am comfortable in daily exercise.
I would start with something you love, develop a daily habit and as you get stronger branch out to challenge yourself.

pcrozier99

Sure. As long as you are in calorie deficit you will lose weight whether you do cardio, strength or no exercise at all. However, if you want to minimize muscle loss and help guard against regaining the weight due to a much lowered BMR, you will want to do your fair share of strength training to keep as much muscle mass as possible. .

Xellercin

I barely exercised at all when I lost from obese to healthy weight.

I've always primarily lost weight through modifying my eating, not by doing more exercise than I enjoy.

gpanda103

Ideally you should do a mix of both. The lower muscle mass you have, the higher your body fat is, which is objectively not a good thing (to a certain extent). IMO cardio should be used as a way to maintain overall health and conditioning rather than something to just burn calories. They end up going hand in hand. Consistent cardio will make your heart stronger, so you can perform better at resistance training.

mrmota70

Myself personally have become and continue to work on a healthier me by leaning more towards cardio to complement my caloric choices and overall intake. As some have stated it’s a matter of adjustment of how much you take in that you’ll benefit over time as weight loss is one of your goals, but you should not let a # on the scale dictate success. Health and being healthy to exercise should be a big part of your lifestyle. Especially as you’ll sometimes loose weight in form of water, fat and yes a certain amount of muscle that with some strength training will help minimize it and have the additional associated benefits. Sure we all can over indulge and gain some, but it’s all part of life. You can’t toss out all your efforts because you gained. Just do better to find/continue what works. Remember muscle has weight and while the scale may not move down all the time, fast enough, or even go up even with cardio you may add some lean muscle. I do plan on adding some more weight muscle with strength training, but cardio in particular running is my thing. I loved it throughout my 20s and now over 50 I realize how much I miss it and all the time I let go by. So I get the benefit and the high of getting on occasion a PB on a run. Just take it easy find your rhythm and make it common place like brushing your teeth to keep working on your health lifestyle.

ChickenKillerPuppy

I will say I always trended towards cardio for weight loss because I wanted those burned calories to count! But I listened to a podcast with a professor from Harvard school of health who said the number one thing he would recommend for weight loss is strength training, because if you build your muscles they will take more calories to maintain, so strength training can burn more calories in the long haul.

As I get older, I appreciate the value that both cardio and strength bring to my overall well-being. Cardio is good for my blood pressure and for stress relief. Strength building is good for my bones and helps me burn more calories even is a resting state. For the first time in my life I started balancing the two. I do barre classes for strength because I like it and I will stick with it, and I run for cardio. Several years ago I would have only done the cardio, but I am much more balanced and happier with the balance between the two.

sijomial

ChickenKillerPuppy wrote: »

I will say I always trended towards cardio for weight loss because I wanted those burned calories to count! But I listened to a podcast with a professor from Harvard school of health who said the number one thing he would recommend for weight loss is strength training, because if you build your muscles they will take more calories to maintain, so strength training can burn more calories in the long haul.

As I get older, I appreciate the value that both cardio and strength bring to my overall well-being. Cardio is good for my blood pressure and for stress relief. Strength building is good for my bones and helps me burn more calories even is a resting state. For the first time in my life I started balancing the two. I do barre classes for strength because I like it and I will stick with it, and I run for cardio. Several years ago I would have only done the cardio, but I am much more balanced and happier with the balance between the two.

While true the number of calories burned per pound of muscle is very low - about 6 cals per pound per day at rest. It's such a trivial amount with the low amount of muscle mass most people can/will add that it is one of those "dieting truths" that takes a fact and exaggerates its impact out of all proportion to reality.

The real long haul and significant increase in calorie expenditure is changing habits to make actually using your muscles in general activity and regular exercise a part of someone's life.

ninerbuff

You can lose weight with neither. All you need is a calorie deficit. But what kind of weight are you losing? Muscle weight? The scale can't determine WHAT weight you lose. Water, fat, muscle...........it can all be lost just on diet alone.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition