Cardio vs. Weight Training

logg1e

I am an exception to the rule. I started weight-lifting and my weight loss stalled (after a previously steady rate of 2lb loss per week). I was unhappy and demotivated. I wasn't making good progress with the weights because I was at a calorie deficit. I felt I had two goals and they were conflicting.

So, I quit the weight-lifting and went back to cardio and weight loss, reached my goal and felt great.

I'm now focusing on my weight-lifting at a weight, body size and body shape I'm happy with.

cosmichvoyager

I get so bored doing cardio so instead of plodding along on a machine for 30 minutes, I space out cardio bursts throughout my workout. I always start with 7-10 minutes on the bike or treadmill while doing bicep curls with free weights every other minute. It's sort of like interval-type training style. Then I go stretch, do abs, weights for a bit--then jump back on the bike or treadmill to get my heart rate up or I'll do a sprint or two on the elliptical or some step-ups, then back to weights, squats, pushups etc.

I get super bored doing one thing for too long and far prefer weights and calisthenics to cardio but I definitely want to maintain my heart health via aerobic activity.

JoshD8705

Lift first, and then do cardio. 45mins - 1 hour of lifting uses up glycogen storage. Wrap up with 15-30mins of cardio to burn fat energy.

1lbs of muscle burns roughly twice as many calories as fat in rest. 7-10 calories for 1lbs of muscle, and 2-4 per 1lbs of fat.

Omanya

In no case absent a bizarre medical condition does muscle exist over fat. Muscle is attached to bone and (subcutaneous) fat is stored under the skin. Otherwise, you'll either lose, maintain, or gain muscle mass - all of which depends on your diet and exercise regimen.

First things first, you're not going to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, as they consider opposite calorie goals. Ever noticed a bodybuilder's caloric intake? Yeah. At just 160 lb you'd need an estimated 3,500-3,700 calories and 270 g of protein on lifting days. That's because, in addition to a lot of lifting work, it takes a lot of energy to repair and build muscle tissue. Thus, you need to maintain a calorie surplus to build and maintain muscle, but a calorie deficit to lose fat. That's why you should concentrate on fat loss first and muscle growth second.

However! That doesn't mean that you shouldn't weight train and that you should focus only on cardio. In fact, too much cardio could be sabbotaging your fat loss goals, particularly if you aren't monitoring your fitness. Our bodies adapt well to walking, jogging, and running - meaning they become more efficient at doing them - so you'll quickly get to the point at which you'll burn much fewer calories doing it if you don't keep your heartbeat up. Your body will also decrease your muscle mass in an effort to increase its efficiency, which you don't want. Anyway, though, strength training burns more calories over time because of the energy it takes to repair and/or build muscle. In addition, muscle requires more energy to run then fat, so increasing muscle mass increases basal metabolic rate.

Now, when I say strength training, I mean legit strength training and not cardio with resistance, i.e., high reps, low weight. You should shoot for whatever weight enables you to do 8-12 reps to failure, meaning that you physically can not do more without a 30-90 second rest period. If you can do more after 8-12 reps, the weight is too low. Conversely, if you can't get to 8-12, the weight is too high. You can work at extremely high weight with low (maybe four) reps, but that's how you build muscle, which isn't going to happen at a calorie deficit. The two sets of 8-12 reps to failure is strength training mode, which is what you want at this stage. What that does in this context, as someone else explained, is ensure that you don't lose too much muscle while losing fat - and you're going to lose some muscle on a calorie deficit.

But that's only part of it. Your nutrition is key. Not in itself, because the only thing that matters is achieving a deficit. And this us where I stress that healthy =! fat loss. "Eating clean" does not ensure fat loss, nor does "eating dirty" ensure fat gain. Hell, you can lose fat eating only big macs, soda, and sugar out of the bag as long as you stay under your deficit. Do I recommend that? No. Is that the path to health? No. But fat loss/maintenance/gain is a survival mechanism, period, and is based on calories, period. You're not going to lose fat with a 3,000 calorie diet of "clean" food, period. I highly recommend that you eat mostly "clean" food, however; my point is only that you can't expect fat loss simply because you switch to "clean" food.

Anyway.

There is no overall "cardio vs weight training." Ideally you should do both with an emphasis on strength training unless cardio is your passion. Either way, fuel up. Do your best to achieve your deficit with food, not exercise, and make up your calories up to your deficit. For examples, don't eat 1,500 calories and then burn 500. Attempt to maintain your deficit, especially on lifting days.

Ultimately, you're just going to have to track your results with multiple criteria and see what works for you. If you would like more info, nust ask.

Omanya

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