HOW DID YOU DO IT??CARDIO OR WEIGHTS??????

shabrick00
shabrick00 Posts: 141 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a question. I just read a thread about exercise regimen and it turned on a light bulb. What was the regimen for some of you when you first started? was it all cardio? was it some cardio and then weights? Cardio and weights at the same time? Just need some Ideas on how to work out effectively...my goal is to lose weight and be strong and toned
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Replies

  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
    Best success I had was when I would do weights for 60 minutes in the morning, go to work, then go back to the gym for cardio at night. This, plus a fairly clean diet helped me drop 40 lbs in 3 months.
  • shabrick00
    shabrick00 Posts: 141 Member
    Best success I had was when I would do weights for 60 minutes in the morning, go to work, then go back to the gym for cardio at night. This, plus a fairly clean diet helped me drop 40 lbs in 3 months.
    WOW Thats awesome, lots and lots of dedication
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
    dedication

    This is truly what did it. If you don't have this, it doesn't matter what you choose.
  • fxgs
    fxgs Posts: 41 Member
    I do both
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    Cardio and weights 25lb in 8 weeks
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I do both, but 80% cardio since I enjoy cycling.

    70lbs in 6 months.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Losing weight is at least 80% diet. Measure everything & eat at a deficit.

    Exercise is for fitness & health. To keep muscle (while on a diet) .....do strength training, eat enough protein, and keep the deficit moderate.

    Cardio is for endurance & keeps your heart strong. I recommend you do both.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Both.

    Right now I do 4 days cardio, 3 days weight lifting. But, that is because I am training for a Half Marathon.

    Next week (HM is sunday) I will be going back to my normal 3 days cardio, 3 day lifting. At least until my off road training begining in November.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    For weight control it's all about the calories. For fitness, stress relief and aesthetics, I do BOTH cardio and strength. :flowerforyou:
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    Wii Fit and Zumba. :tongue:

    Did cardio for a year, started weights a few months ago. I'd recommend starting weights immediately and doing both.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    Losing weight is at least 80% diet. Measure everything & eat at a deficit.

    Exercise is for fitness & health. To keep muscle (while on a diet) .....do strength training, eat enough protein, and keep the deficit moderate.

    Cardio is for endurance & keeps your heart strong. I recommend you do both.

    So true.

    Yes_zps995defdf.gif
  • thesifter
    thesifter Posts: 107 Member
    Cardio after weights, when your muscles are in fat burn mode. 20 kg 4 months.
  • jim9097
    jim9097 Posts: 341 Member
    I mix them. So my weight routines are often cardio routines as well. Now if you are talking about just riding a bike or jogging, yes I do that to. So ALL of the above....
  • SharonCMach
    SharonCMach Posts: 305 Member
    80% cardio 20% weights starting out to lose most of my weight. Now that Im close to my goal its more like 60% cardio & 40% weights.

    **Doing both is best!! :smile:
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    3 sessions weights, 3 sessions cardio and 1 rest day per week is typical for me.

    Cardio is predominantly cycling but I also mix it up with rowing, elliptical and a tiny bit of running. Weight training is mostly in a circuit training style using free weights, machines and body weight exercises.

    I do like a bit of variety to keep it fresh and challenging!
  • RunBrew
    RunBrew Posts: 220 Member
    90% Cardio. I *love* to run. I've loved it since high school, but the military almost ruined it for me and I took a few years off.
    the other 10% is body weight strength training- push-ups, pull-ups, dips, and planks.

    I'm lean but not ripped, and I didn't get there fast - 40 lbs in 6-ish months, but I never once felt like I was suffering for a cause like I would if I subjected myself to self-loathing while picking up heavy cra@p over and over at the gym. I literally cannot wait to get out the door for a run. It's bordering on addiction.

    Eating at a 3500/week calorie deficit didn't hurt either. *wink*
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I have a question. I just read a thread about exercise regimen and it turned on a light bulb. What was the regimen for some of you when you first started? was it all cardio? was it some cardio and then weights? Cardio and weights at the same time?

    Started as both - 3x a week cardio ("Learn to 10k" program) and 2x-3x a week lifting (StartingStrength/StrongLifts). I normally do the 60-90 minute workout first thing in the morning, before breakfast.

    My goal was to become fit - my definition of fit requires both good CV health and physical strength - so I do both.

    I'm out of the beginner stage, and now do 8 workouts a week, 5 cardio and 3 lifting. The cardio is also broken down into 80/20 steady-state and interval.

    It's a process...a long, long process...! :) One nice thing about the cardio is it requires you to eat a LOT more food. So, yeah, there are days when dinner is a half-tub of Ben & Jerrys. :)
  • Naomi0504
    Naomi0504 Posts: 964 Member
    I did only cardio in the beginning and lost most of it that way. Now I mostly do weights and I still lose :smile:
  • lockmand
    lockmand Posts: 90 Member
    I see Cardio and Weights mentioned, but no Flexibility or Stretch sessions? Are most of you who answered past the need for Flex/Stretch routines?
    I presently am doing 3 Cardio, 2 Strength (weights), and 2 Flex sessions per week. Am I overdoing it, or what?

    My classes are Boot Camp, Body Chisel, Kickboxing (3 cardios); Burn Out Extreme (women's weight class 2x wk); and Pilates/Yoga Stretch (2x wk). If for any reason I miss a class, I ride my bike for 14 miles in 60 min.

    Where I have my trouble is being sure that I get the right calories, or proteins in my eating. I work hard at it, but do not like to spend much time in the kitchen, cooking is not my thing.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Firstly, it doesn't really matter what you do if you don't have your diet sorted.

    You'll probably lose more WEIGHT doing just cardio but you'll definitely lose more FAT doing a combination. IT all depends what you want at the end of all this. If you just want to be able to say you weigh x amount then stick with the cardio. If you want to get to your goal weight and look dead sexy naked than do both. It'll probably take a bit longer the second way but it'll be worth it.

    P.s. my personal view is that you should exercise for fitness (the aesthetic benefits are a nice side effect)

    My current program is 4 weights, 2 cardio but I'll switch to 3 and 3 soon when my focus for pre-season changes
  • FrustratedYoYoer
    FrustratedYoYoer Posts: 274 Member
    I did cardio and weights to get back to a low weight. In Dec I started with couch to 5k so I did that 3 times per week and did weights once a week and then after a week or two of C25K when I was less sore and more used to that I did weights twice a week. I did the weights in the form of Body Pump classes and have done it religiously up until 3 weeks ago. I've started SL 5x5 (very loosely) and attending my weekly Body Pump class was too much so I dropped it because I reached the point where it wasn't safe or appropriate to use heavier weights anymore and I'm seeing more progress doing SL 5x5. I still run 3 times per week and do still do my weights twice per week. Sometimes three, but that's rare!
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    I did almost 20 & then added weights-:drinker:
  • retrobyte
    retrobyte Posts: 169 Member
    Done correctly, weights is cardio.
  • thesifter
    thesifter Posts: 107 Member
    Done correctly, weights is cardio.

    I have wondered about this too.
  • retrobyte
    retrobyte Posts: 169 Member
    Done correctly, weights is cardio.

    I have wondered about this too.

    It's just a matter of training at a high enough intensity for the entire session, minimising rest time between sets, and/or supersetting - two sets joined together involving different muscle groups - in effect, the second half of the set becomes your "rest" period for the first set. This keeps your heart rate up throughout the workout. Circuit training uses the same principle.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    No, that's not cardio. Steady state cardio results in very specific physiological changes inside your muscles, changes that do no occur with "stop/start" weight training.

    Could you design a weight-based exercise to mimic that? Sure thing. And it would look a lot like a mechanical treadmill.
  • retrobyte
    retrobyte Posts: 169 Member
    No, that's not cardio. Steady state cardio results in very specific physiological changes inside your muscles, changes that do no occur with "stop/start" weight training.

    Could you design a weight-based exercise to mimic that? Sure thing. And it would look a lot like a mechanical treadmill.

    Putting aside your scientific reply, which I can't really argue with, for me I've been able to lose body fat and increase cardiovascular efficiency from high intensity weight training coupled with hardly any "steady state cardio". It's been working well for me. YMMV.
  • hOw2lozeAgiN10dAze
    hOw2lozeAgiN10dAze Posts: 1,841 Member
    I'm a both-er.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Mainly weights. I do weights with no rests 4-5x a week, and I try for at least 15-20 minutes of cardio 6-7 days a week. I don't count walking, hiking with the dogs, etc. I do body weight work/yoga after the weights, so I definitely get my flexibility in there. I love that part :)

    It's one more day of weight training than I did a few years ago with great success, but I just threw in glutes on another day because if I have too many rest days I slack off too often switching them around. I can't do as much cardio as I'd like because my tendons/joints complain about it, but I'm trying to get so much muscle supporting things that it's less and less of a problem.

    Edit: I don't have to change my diet very much. I have to watch my protein intake to get it up, and I have to watch desserts. Mainly I just have to keep the muscle on/be active and it allows me the difference in calories that I tend to overeat when I'm not working out. For me, exercise is the biggest part of the equation.
  • thesifter
    thesifter Posts: 107 Member
    It is possible to train all three fuel systems in one workout, I think that is what Retro means.

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