Cardio Only?

jenniferg83

I've been avoiding lifting and sticking to Cardio and so far I lost 8 lbs and keeping around a 1200 calorie diet. I understood that if I started lifting, I'd gain more weight in muscle that what I'd be losing. Does anyone know if this is true?
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you can only gain 1/2 pound a month on avg if youre a woman and a poundish (might be off slightly), if you're a man. muscle takes a while to build. dont let that discourage ya

silkysly

I only have time to run right now & I'm doing ok..., I think. I'm always under my calories for the day anyway. I will get back to P90X when they add more hours to the day. )

Katie3784

I checked out your exercise diary and saw that you do 50 minutes of cardio a day. Well, if you have an extra 10 minutes, I would highly, highly recommend doing 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training 4 times a week, and just cardio 2 times a week. I know you want to hear from people who are successful while only doing cardio, and while you can certainly lose weight with cardio, you will not gain tone or definition and will end up flabby. Plus, muscle burns so many calories, even at rest. Don't totally close your mind to starting strength training now. You will reach your fitness goals so much faster if you do.

Katie3784

I've been avoiding lifting and sticking to Cardio and so far I lost 8 lbs and keeping around a 1200 calorie diet. I understood that if I started lifting, I'd gain more weight in muscle that what I'd be losing. Does anyone know if this is true?

Not true at all. It takes a lot longer to gain muscle weight than it does to lose fat weight.

garlic7girl

I strongly encourage you my sister to start picking up weights. If you cannot afford a personal trainer then go to the library they have a great selection of beginner weight training books. Women also begin to lose muscle as we age so to do strength training (push-up and guess what no weights) help maintain the muscle and keep you trim. It is all about balance. Cardio some days and strenght/weight training other days.

ninerbuff

So i cant just start lifting when im in maintenance which is about 15 pounds away?

Sure you can. But understand that if you do it YOU WILL GAIN since muscle needs water and glycogen storage for workouts and recovery. And trust me, hearing everyday as a trainer, the last 10lbs are the hardest and if you're trying to reach it doing cardio only, you'll need to do longer durations which eats up more time which is what you didn't want to do in the first place. If you're bored lifting weights it's usually because you have no real program and probably don't know a variety of movements. Hook up with someone in that knows how to work out. Look for someone that looks like they work out. Better yet, get a couple of sessions with a trainer.

RosieGB33nz

Soooooooooo how does this sound............... 30 mins cardio 20 mins weights, 3 days a week and then just 50 mins cardio on the non rest days?

dshalbert

Try Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. It combines strength and cardio and the workout is less than 30 minutes,

ninerbuff

I only do cardio I won't start lifting till I'm under 200lbs... Hard to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time not impossible just alot harder then cutting then bulking

You don't lift on deficit to gain muscle. You do it so you don't lose it.

ninerbuff

Soooooooooo how does this sound............... 30 mins cardio 20 mins weights, 3 days a week and then just 50 mins cardio on the non rest days?

That's fine. Just make sure to lift first before cardio if you're doing them back to back.

martinah4

I only do cardio for now, specifically, high-intensity Zumba twice a week. My local Curves closed down, but I had good results with the circuit training. Unfortunaly, I'm in a small town, and the only gym now is just weights and treadmills. I quit my membership because it was just boring, and I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go. I have no trouble going to Zumba classes--it's the only excercise I've ever looked forward to! I'm losing weight, but I'm also showing some muscle definition. Perhaps when I'm closer to myn goal weight, I'll pick up a Zumba Toning class with weights. I should mention that I'm a low-carb dieter, and I'm in ketosis, so my body is burning fat, not muscle. Good luck to you!

ninerbuff

I only do cardio for now, specifically, high-intensity Zumba twice a week. My local Curves closed down, but I had good results with the circuit training. Unfortunaly, I'm in a small town, and the only gym now is just weights and treadmills. I quit my membership because it was just boring, and I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go. I have no trouble going to Zumba classes--it's the only excercise I've ever looked forward to! I'm losing weight, but I'm also showing some muscle definition. Perhaps when I'm closer to myn goal weight, I'll pick up a Zumba Toning class with weights. I should mention that I'm a low-carb dieter, and I'm in ketosis, so my body is burning fat, not muscle. Good luck to you!

You can be in ketosis and still burn muscle. Any significant weight loss will include lean muscle tissue loss regardless of what diet you do.
Like I tell others..........why wait?

sunyg

The 1st time I lost a lot of weight (50 pounds) I just ran and did work on my abs. I added weight lifting after I lost my weight. This time I'm doing both. We will see how it works lol.