Cardio and strength question

Jenni268

I absolutely HATE doing Cardio! HATE IT!! But I do love strength training. Here's my question. Is it okay to focus MORE on strength training than cardio? I had always heard when I was younger that you shouldn't do too much strength training because you'll look bigger since you're gaining muscle under all the fat. I don't think that's 100% correct, but I am not going to pretend to know a lot about something that I don't know anything about!

I want it to be known that I am not afraid of hard work and breaking a sweat! It's just that when it comes down to it, I'd rather lift weights than go out for a run (as an example.)

I am currently doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and supplement once or twice a week with P90X's Shoulders and Arms (as I don't really feel like I get much of an arm "burn" with 30DS.) I do it 6 days a week, allowing one day for rest.

I don't want to over think everything, but I just want to make sure I'm going all right. I have about 60 more pounds to lose and want to do it the "HEALTHIEST" way possible, not the "QUICKEST." If anyone has any insight, I'd appreciate it!

Mayor_West

You do need both, but if you have to choose one, strength training will give you more long-term benefits.

The notion that women who lift weights will "bulk up" and look "big" is flat-out laughable. Women do no naturally produce enough testosterone to build a lot of muscle and those women who DO have a lot of muscle (e.g. female bodybuilders) inject testosterone to enhance their muscle building. This explains why a lot of them have deep voices, breast loss and on rare occasions, facial hair.

So unless you have plans to follow suit, you should be fine.

Jenni268

Thanks! From your pic you certainly seem like someone who I can believe! I'll stick to what I'm doing for now! I just LOVE lifting weights. I'll try to add more cardio in as I can. . . even though I don't wanna

Thanks again!

baldzach

You can also make your strength training into a cardio routine. Go for long sets of light weight with little or no rest in between. For example, lift for 45 seconds, then do a 15 second rest (you'll need an interval timer for this). Pick 6 or 7 exercises and do them each one time through like this, then rest 2 minutes and do them again. You'll get the burn in your muscles and your heart will get the cardio benefit without dying of boredom on the treadmill. If you want to go all out, between the supersets do a 2 minute SPRINT on the treadmill. Not long enough to get bored, but it sure gets the heart pumping and gives you the interval training benefit. Good luck and have fun!

Mindful_Trent

In case you're interested - I wrote a blog awhile back about *why* cardio is important. I know it's not everyone's favorite - but cardiorespiratory health is critical to our overall long-term health outlook.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/accountant_boi/view/cardio-not-just-about-calorie-burn-82317

Hopefully you can figure out some cardio activities that work for you so that you can balance the strength and cardio workouts.

yyzdnl

It is hard to get the same level of cardi vascular fitness from just strength training. You may want to consider looking into "Tabata" training to balance your strength work outs. Where you basically go all out for 20 seconds rest for 10 seconds and repeat for 8 rounds for a total time of 4 minutes. Go with an exercise that engages most of your muscles like an elliptical on high resistance and you will get a good work out, painful but quick.

Jenni268

Thanks everyone! I'm definitely going to keep Cardio in my routine. It was never my intent to not do it or stop doing it, either. I'm going to finish up the 30 DS, which is a good combo of strength and cardio. Once that is over, I'll look into some of the things you guys suggested! I appreciate the adive and encouragement. I definitely just want to get/be/stay healthy! I'll try to add in some additional jogging in the evening to try to balance out my strength training!

Thanks!!