stop overdoing cardio and hit the damn weights!!!

tyraun_b

Thank you!!!!!

tyraun_b

To be fair, the OP said stop OVERdoing cardio, not stop altogether. And he was clearly referring to women who think running themselves ragged is the best way to lose fat.

Cardio is fine if that's what you enjoy, and cardio is fine for creating a bigger calorie deficit when kept to an appropriate level of intensity, duration, and frequency. But there is a positive correlation between women who claim they "just want to tone"/"don't want to bulk up" and women who create enormous daily calorie deficits. The effect of all that cardio and lack of food is losing a lot of lean mass, which is the opposite of what you want if your goal is to "tone."

Yeah, you should do things you enjoy. And if you don't have goals other than personal enjoyment, then go right ahead and do those things to the exclusion of everything else. But if you do have a performance goal or a body composition goal (if you're trying to "tone," you're in this category, whether you realize it or not) or a strength goal, you are very likely going to have to do some things you will find unpleasant. I don't know how anyone makes it to adulthood with the mindset that you can achieve your goals by only doing things you like to do.

Thank you!!!

Sarauk2sf

My apologies, I did not necessarily mean that I had more muscle on my calves, but it does make them appear more bulky, which is what I believed the issue to be. As far as testosterone, it is merely what I was told by doctors. I do not know if it is different for women than men, but that was just the info I was given. Regardless, the important thing is too be healthy and feel good in your own body. Everyone has different ideas on what they wish to look like and people do show muscle differently, regardless of the cause.

Not arguing with the comment re different preferences re aesthetics as I absolutely agree with it, however women have about 1/16th the testosterone than men. It would take an abnormally higher test level than usual in a woman to put on enough muscle to be 'bulky'.

Sarauk2sf

Personally I don't like weight training. It isn't that I don't enjoy it, I have done it in the past and it resulted in me gaining a substantial amount of muscle. For a woman I have a naturally muscular body. I didn't look huge and bulky by any means but I did look masculine from weight training. Instead of weight training now I use my own body weight to tone and strengthen. I get a much nicer lean toned body that way without the extra muscle mass.
Some ladies look great from using weights, some do not. On the other end of the spectrum it annoys me seeing men that just do weights and no cardio. They end up gigantic muscle freaks with no flexibility. A good balance of strength and cardio is the key to a healthy body.

1) It seems like you do not have a basic understanding of how one gains muscle mass. It is not from lifting weights alone.

2) Ditto what Sara said- Freaks? Wut? :huh: Body-shaming is not okay, even when you're referring to people who are extremely built.

1) I do understand that it also is due to what you consume. I said that I have natural muscle mass and doing weights makes that more obvious. ie I look really muscular and I would rather not.

2) Lol I didn't say everyone who has muscle are freaks. I was simply trying to say there is that some people who purely do weights and no cardio or flexibility training which can also not be good for you. I wasn't aiming at offending anyone or body-shaming.

I am only saying how my body works. This whole topic is about people over doing cardio. You can over do weights too. Like I said above though, I like strength training. I just don't personally think you need to involve weights. I have nothing against people that do.

Maybe you should word your posts more carefully as the way you wrote it, you were body shaming.

I only do weights also...I also know quite a few guys who do not do cardio. Some even have large muscles. Are we freaks?

MstngSammy

Bump

maxamus04473

If you incorporate some sort of lifting you wil llose more body fat faster because you are turning that fat into muscle. Which kicks your metabolism into over drive. You dont need a gym membership to do it, Use your own resistance. Saqme effect. And not all gym memberships will leave you broke. Got any Planet Fitness gyms near you?

MstngSammy

Umm, no. I will not hit the weights. And not because I think it'll make me bulky.
1. I don't want to.
2. I reeeaallly enjoy walking and jogging.
3. I have no intentions of paying for a full gym membership to have access to weights.
4. I'm still working on losing fat, toning is for when I'm closer to my goal. I can barely do many squats or lunges right now.

I don't get why so many people think everyone should lift. People are going to do what they enjoy.

I don't feel that anyone has to hit the weights (reasons 1-3 make sense), but your fourth reason for not doing it is that you're going to to do it eventually..? So why not start now if you're going to be doing it anyway? And not being able to do squats or lunges is more motivation to work on them so you can actually do a few.

I said I'm going to tone eventually. Not that I'm going to lift. I have no intentions of lifting. That would be a $62/month gym membership.
I am starting to do body weight excerises, I only started last week. Which is why I can't do much yet. And I'll do the 30 day shred. Lifting isn't the only way to tone.

If I'm not mistaken, 30 day shred incorporates weights. You have to lift those in order to use them. "lifting" weights isnt always about lifting heavy weight.

And if you ever do decide to incorporate strength training into your regimen, you don't need a gym membership. You can get weights inexpensively just about everywhere. The light dumbbells (and heavy) are even sold at target and Walmart if you would like to buy as you go (its nice to have at least a couple of different weights) or if you want to get a more varied set...garage sales...thrift stores.. Craig's list.

I'm really not trying to convert you at all. Just trying to let you know that there are other options besides the gym.

patrickfish7

My biggest annoyance to this myth. Hormonal differences between men and women mean women do not bulk nearly as much as men. Fact.

MelodyandBarbells

cardio has a purpose. so does lifting weights. i personally enjoy weights more.

Also to the ladies making cracks about my look good naked goal. That is one of MY goals. It doesnt have to be yours. I feel I personally look fine in clothes, I want to look good out of clothes as well (naked... bathing suit...) and be confident in myself. I as well spend most of my time clothed but look good naked = looking even better in clothes.

Well, it seemed you dished out your fair share with comments like "cardio is a waste in deficit" and "weak and looking good in clothes". Those are not compliments, but if you're clarifying that your were talking about yourself and your own results and not generalizing to others, then that makes sense

shauner03

If you incorporate some sort of lifting you wil llose more body fat faster because you are turning that fat into muscle. Which kicks your metabolism into over drive. You dont need a gym membership to do it, Use your own resistance. Saqme effect. And not all gym memberships will leave you broke. Got any Planet Fitness gyms near you?

Fat does not magically turn into muscle... lol

MelodyandBarbells

I love the way some people say the best way to burn more calories is to add more muscle, by lifting weights. Then others say, women don't bulk -- that is, they really do not put on much muscle when they lift.

Gah! I find myself wondering about this, too. Say if a woman wasn't aware of the impact nutrition could have on her results, decides to exercise by lifting heavy weights but not drop the calories, indeed you only build muscle in a surplus. Couldn't she then get bigger, more shapely muscles, but with the fat over them just appear bulkier? With cardio only they probably just wouldn't by smaller but the look of the muscles would not really change. But when some women say this is their experience they're told to shut up and only the ones who got sexy from lifting can speak. Also when people point out women who've indeed got muscly and ripped from lifting, they're told to shut up and leave those women alone.

Bulky or not has nothing to do with why I don't lift 140lbs, just thought the information out there can tend to be a bit one sided, and perhaps we let it be since lifting is, after all pretty great for your health

Manda_1986

Personally I don't like weight training. It isn't that I don't enjoy it, I have done it in the past and it resulted in me gaining a substantial amount of muscle. For a woman I have a naturally muscular body. I didn't look huge and bulky by any means but I did look masculine from weight training. Instead of weight training now I use my own body weight to tone and strengthen. I get a much nicer lean toned body that way without the extra muscle mass.
Some ladies look great from using weights, some do not. On the other end of the spectrum it annoys me seeing men that just do weights and no cardio. They end up gigantic muscle freaks with no flexibility. A good balance of strength and cardio is the key to a healthy body.

1) It seems like you do not have a basic understanding of how one gains muscle mass. It is not from lifting weights alone.

2) Ditto what Sara said- Freaks? Wut? :huh: Body-shaming is not okay, even when you're referring to people who are extremely built.

1) I do understand that it also is due to what you consume. I said that I have natural muscle mass and doing weights makes that more obvious. ie I look really muscular and I would rather not.

2) Lol I didn't say everyone who has muscle are freaks. I was simply trying to say there is that some people who purely do weights and no cardio or flexibility training which can also not be good for you. I wasn't aiming at offending anyone or body-shaming.

I am only saying how my body works. This whole topic is about people over doing cardio. You can over do weights too. Like I said above though, I like strength training. I just don't personally think you need to involve weights. I have nothing against people that do.

Maybe you should word your posts more carefully as the way you wrote it, you were body shaming.

I only do weights also...I also know quite a few guys who do not do cardio. Some even have large muscles. Are we freaks?

I apologies if what I said early offended anyone. I didn't mean for it to sound that way. So no I do not think you are freaks. Obviously I didn't take the time to work my post appropriately. I was just a little irritated by previous comments about cardio being pointless etc.
As I said above I don't have anything against anyone who chooses to just do weights. So people would just do weights shouldn't get so upset over people who just do cardio. At least both types of people are off their butts and doing something about their health. The way they enjoy most.

pavrg

The confusion is that a lot of people will pitch their own workout plan without listening to the poster's goals or desires. It's more of an ego thing that 'my workout is best.'

There are multiple ways to skin a cat when it comes to fitness. They all have advantages and disadvantages. The key is sticking to a plan that you will consistently execute and that will match with your fitness goals.

If your goal is weight loss, it makes little sense to attempt to bulk with weights. That doesn't mean there are no benefits to lifting weights while losing weight, it just means you have to decide which of the two goals you would prefer to achieve.

Lifting during weight loss allows you to retain more muscle while dropping fat. This gives you a better look at a heavier weight than you'd achieve with just diet or cardio alone. You may actually put on up to 5 lbs of muscle if you are completely untrained, which will (slightly) help your BMR get higher. But the act of traditional weight lifting doesn't burn many calories, particularly if you are a beginner starting with light weights (I'm talking about something like a starting strength or strong lift routine, not the aerobics class done with 5 or 10 lb dumbbells which will burn calories, but are ultimately ineffective at building strength). Your best bet is to not account for weight lifting at all until you have a few weeks of data on how it's affecting your weight loss, then adjust your TDEE accordingly.

Cardio burns more calories than lifting weights during a constant time period, provided you push yourself and aren't reading a magazine while walking on the treadmill. The benefits of cardio are that it burns more calories to contribute to weight loss, it improves muscle efficiency, and it improves blood circulation. But just like weight training routines, you need to select an effective cardio routine that will help you achieve your goals. Just hopping on a machine for 30 minutes (or even worse, 60 minutes)* with no plan is not going to get you from A to B effectively.

So, doing a very cardio-heavy routine will allow you to drop weight faster, assuming your workout time and diet remains constant. However, a higher percentage of that weight loss will be from lean body mass, which means you'll have to lose more total weight to get the body you desire. Doing a weight training routine means the weight will come off more slowly, but you will retain more muscle and thus have to lose less overall weight.

However, the two are not mutually exclusive. Many people like to say that you can't/shouldn't do cardio and strength training in the same day. I think that is hogwash, I have seen many people do it and do it myself.

* Why is it worse? Because a key point of fitness is intensity. Doing an activity for 60 minutes at an easy pace is not the same as doing it really hard for 20-30 minutes, and people don't have the endurance to do an intense 60 minute cardio workout as a beginner. But many people fall into the trap that 'longer is better' for weight loss, which isn't true. What's better for weight loss is to get into shape, and to do that you need to go all-out, even if it's only for 15 minutes.

DudeistPriest

Lift your weights. I'll do my cardio, but if the zombies start chasing us I'm tripping you.

LuLuChick78

Hey, buddy! :smooched:

It's just not something every damsel is cut out to do. Believe me when I say I've tried explaining the biz over and over to real life family and friends.

In this pic I look this way only because I'm flexin'. I'm otherwise, a very, extremely petite female with 6" wrists benching 115x5 when I weigh 118-120lbs. Squatting 135lbs 6-10x depending on whether or not my pinched nerve is buggin'. I still hope to progress.

Females still wanna spot train. That'll never change. Don't waste your breath more than once on the same person. Some girls goal really is to be stringy thin. That's their goal and we gotta repect it.

Eta: spelling

^^^I just want to start by saying that you are awesome!

Also, to the cardio bunnies in this thread that don't want to lift weights: That's great! More room in the weight section for those of us who do.

DamePiglet

The confusion is that a lot of people will pitch their own workout plan without listening to the poster's goals or desires. It's more of an ego thing that 'my workout is best.'

There are multiple ways to skin a cat when it comes to fitness. They all have advantages and disadvantages. The key is sticking to a plan that you will consistently execute and that will match with your fitness goals.

This. So this.

bepeejaye

I would rather "marry" the two, as I enjoy both!
I do Cardio on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and strength train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

I do Cardio for endurance...I can go longer without tiring....weight lifting has made me powerful - stronger...and of course a bit more defined.

Why give up any? I see no need to.

eric_sg61

If you incorporate some sort of lifting you wil llose more body fat faster because you are turning that fat into muscle. Which kicks your metabolism into over drive. You dont need a gym membership to do it, Use your own resistance. Saqme effect. And not all gym memberships will leave you broke. Got any Planet Fitness gyms near you?

jimmmer

Lift your weights. I'll do my cardio, but if the zombies start chasing us I'm tripping you.

Unfortunately, it's unlikely you'll be strong enough to put me down. Guess I'll stroll away leisurely-like whilst the zombies are feasting on your brains...

DamePiglet

Lift your weights. I'll do my cardio, but if the zombies start chasing us I'm tripping you.

Not really sure how being surrounded by bloodthirsty mindless sub-humans is any different than being in some of the gyms in my area.