Cardio for weight loss is a waste of time??

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  • DonnaLFitz
    DonnaLFitz Posts: 270 Member
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    Wow! What a stimulating discussion thread.

    But there is some implied belief that cardio doesn't improve your muscles.

    If you walk, jog, dance, step, or do jumping jacks, the muscles in your legs (and back) are lifting your body weight with each and every step.
    With every beat of your heart, your heart muscle is flexed and worked.
    With every breath, your diaphragm, rib, and back muscles are worked.

    I think explicit strength training is a good thing, but to imply that cardio doesn't provide strength benefits is baloney.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
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    Well - while I'm thrilled with losing what I have.....it was done strictly with diet alone. I went by that philospohy of Diet being 80% of it for so long that I didn't exercise like I should have I now have a skinnier but equally as out of shape version of myself from losing fat as well as muscle along the way. So I'm focusing on a good fitness plan to lose the last 50. That's why I went to them for guidance on building back the muslce I've lost and really wanted a good strength training routine for those days I do that.

    So it sounds like he was right in what he was saying....his presentation could have just been better. Had he said for me to still do the cardio AND work in some days of strength training I would have been like "makes sense" but he really dismissed the cardio entirely for the results I wanted. I could have understood that if I was close to goal and looking to really tone up and get lean. But this chica has 50 lbs of fat to burn first!!!

    Thanks for all the feedback.
  • free2beme1120
    free2beme1120 Posts: 3
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    so then if i keep doing cardio ie treadmill exercises 30-60 minutes a day everyday I will not lose as much as a person who has cardio and strength training. that doesnt make sense. I would think that as the muscles build then they will eat away the fats in your body and make you more toned. I dont get this concept either. I say to if you have any pointers please let us know. Thank you and good luck to all trying to lose weight. I have 6.4 pounds gone and have 99. to lose before next summer.
  • kevin3344
    kevin3344 Posts: 702 Member
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    Yeah, whatever works for you go with it. I was 165lbs in high school. I'm maybe 171lbs now. I'm 44. I've been a runner all my life. I like the way I look.

    Sometimes I do weight training, but not often. I'm just getting into P90X and all that stuff (as a challenge of course).

    I'm part of a run club and love running. Only the marathon runners become the skinny, lean no muscle types. I would rather ride my motorcycle than work out all the time, that's just me lol.

    Looks like you're doing well, I say keep doing what you're doing.
  • free2beme1120
    free2beme1120 Posts: 3
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    so then if i keep doing cardio ie treadmill exercises 30-60 minutes a day everyday I will not lose as much as a person who has cardio and strength training. that doesnt make sense. I would think that as the muscles build then they will eat away the fats in your body and make you more toned. I dont get this concept either. I say to if you have any pointers please let us know. Thank you and good luck to all trying to lose weight. I have 6.4 pounds gone and have 99. to lose before next summer.
  • free2beme1120
    free2beme1120 Posts: 3
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    how do you guys add the ticker. i tried and all it shows is garble. help please! thank you.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
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    He also did tell me to stay off the machines. I work a desk job so he said the last thing I want to do is sit while working out. THAT did make alot of sense to me. So it's free weights and kettlbell for me.
  • CrystalFlury
    CrystalFlury Posts: 400 Member
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    Wow what a dumb--butt-- :-). Yeah, I think cardio is REALLY important. I know strength training is as well but what that guy told you I totally don't agree with. I agree he was trying to get you to sign up so he could get his money. I personally think if you want help in the area of strength training you should continue looking for a DIFFERENT personal trainer. You're paying them for their services and you should share the same views as them, as well as TRUST them. This guy didn't seem trustworthy.
  • marz31
    marz31 Posts: 159 Member
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    cardio works on the most important muscle in your body.....yes, you probably raise your heart rate during strength training, but any personal training session I've witnessed has included a stint on some sort of cardio machine. Oh and I might not have lost a ton of weight while only doing cardio for the last 2 months, but my body sure is liking it, MAJOR changes I can see with my own two eyes and can tell in the fit of my clothes. I'll work in some strength training in a few more months, but right now, my heart gets the focus.
  • khagans
    khagans Posts: 2 Member
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    How my doctor explained it to me was the building muscle increases metabolism, which burns fat. The older you get the more muscle mass you lose. I lost 120 lbs in 2004 and have kept it off. I have had relapses in going up and down, but for now it is down. I cannot keep my weight off without strength training. My doctor specializes in weight management and I totally trust her. She has never led me the wrong way. Another way to look at it is that strength training cannot hurt you.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    No offense to any of the trainers out there on MFP, but a lot of "certified personal trainers" out there are not experts in the field of fitness and nutrition. I agree that strength training is important, but if the cardio is working for you, by all means, keep it up! Eating good and moving your body more is always a positive thing.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    "The average beginner/overweight individual simply can’t burn enough calories in realistic amounts of exercise to have much of an impact. Reducing caloric intake through various means (discussed in detail in other articles on the site) will almost always have a larger impact on overall energy balance.

    However, that doesn’t make exercise useless and there are other ways that activity can positively (and negatively) impact on the overall goal of weight/fat loss. The first of those is in shifting the quality of weight lost; even if exercise doesn’t affect the total magnitude of scale change, proper activity (with resistance training coupled with sufficient protein intake being superior to aerobic work/low protein) can decrease the loss of lean body mass and increase the total loss of fat.

    There are also potential benefits to adherence/accountability with some people essentially coupling daily activity with adhering to their diet. Anything that makes someone stick to their diet in the long-term can only be beneficial. As noted, this can sometimes backfire, where the person then loses all good dietary habits if their exercise program is interrupted for whatever reason.

    In terms of hunger and appetite, exercise seems to have an overall beneficial impact but interactions with the individual psychology of the dieter can affect this greatly; some people will rationalize the consumption of food based on a misunderstanding of their actual calorie burn. This can completely overcome any benefit of the exercise in terms of energy expenditure.

    Finally, exercise appears to have the greatest potential benefit in terms of long-term weight loss maintenance; here studies have shown that regular exercise improves long-term weight loss maintenance. However, it takes quite a bit with upwards of an hour or more of daily activity required to completely offset post-diet weight gains."

    www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/exercise-and-weightfat-loss-part-2.html
  • Lisa__Michelle
    Lisa__Michelle Posts: 845 Member
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    He actually knew what he was talking about. If you only do cardio you will lose fat AND muscle! If you incorporate strength in with your cardio you will be building muscle instead of losing it.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Wow! What a stimulating discussion thread.

    But there is some implied belief that cardio doesn't improve your muscles.

    If you walk, jog, dance, step, or do jumping jacks, the muscles in your legs (and back) are lifting your body weight with each and every step.
    With every beat of your heart, your heart muscle is flexed and worked.
    With every breath, your diaphragm, rib, and back muscles are worked.

    I think explicit strength training is a good thing, but to imply that cardio doesn't provide strength benefits is baloney.

    Cardio does not build muscle at all, you need to overload the muscle to tear the muscle fiber then feed and rest them, it is during the rest and from the feeding that they grow, to overload a muscle you need strength training, the heavier the better.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    so then if i keep doing cardio ie treadmill exercises 30-60 minutes a day everyday I will not lose as much as a person who has cardio and strength training. that doesnt make sense. I would think that as the muscles build then they will eat away the fats in your body and make you more toned. I dont get this concept either. I say to if you have any pointers please let us know. Thank you and good luck to all trying to lose weight. I have 6.4 pounds gone and have 99. to lose before next summer.

    You will probably lose more weight, but a lot of that weight would come from muscle, so you may reach your goal weight earlier but would be that weight with a higher % Body Fat than if you did strength training.
  • NOLA_Meg
    NOLA_Meg Posts: 194 Member
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    He is somewhat right.

    Strength training, lets you get more muscle which in turn would burn more calories over the day.

    But what he should of sold you on was the intensity of the cardio, because you can build muscle with cardio.

    Look up HIIT cardio exercises.

    When you do cardio you will burn calories during that time and perhaps for a couple hours after that. When you do strength training (like kettlebells, etc) you can have a calorie burn that lasts for the rest of the day. Strength training is definitely important and you can burn just as many calories, oftentimes in shorter sessions.
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
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    Cardio is important but so is weight training. Cardio of course is good for the heart but it also burns through calories but you have to add strength training for lasting effects. Weight training will buld muscle and building muscle will help your body burn more calories on it's own during the day.

    I love running, I do it 6 days a week for a minimum of 5k and on top of that I do 4 hours a week of weights, I like mine in the form of a body pump class but I try to mix it up with free weights and machines.

    Besides, not all trainers are created equally, if you are going to hire a trainer get info and references and take a look around at the trainers in the gym, choose one that you see working out at they gym on occassion or one that you have seen transform their own physique you are likely to get better training out of those trainers.

    My gym offers free monthly fitness assessments, I schedule my assessment with one of three trainers at the gym that I think look like they walk the walk and talk the talk, they know I'm not going to buy any sessions and they will give me advice on how to break through plateaus etc or how to switch up my routine and I continue to get results without pricey training sessions.
  • starboardzor
    starboardzor Posts: 312
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    I have been following the New Rules of Lifting as my workout since November... it preaches that same exact thing. I did very minimal cardio for the first probably 8 months of the program. One day a week I would get a HIIT session in on the cross trainer.

    The biggest thing I have taken away from the book is to never do carido and strength on the same day. Pick one and focus all of your energy on doing just that... go all out. It has been working very well for me.

    I have started to do some running, and do enjoy it but I think it does take a little away from my workouts.

    I'm really interested in the New Rules of Lifting.. I looked it up on Amazon and I see a couple different books. Where should I start? I've been doing P90X on and off for about a year and I'm ready to progress from there. Thanks!
  • chedges9090
    chedges9090 Posts: 208 Member
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    GREAT Post and string of replies. Cardio and weight training are both essential. Your heart rate, while you do each, is very important also. (I didn't read the whole string, so someone may have already mentioned that.) Also, remember to do what you like.. within reason.. to get your results. It is important to enjoy !
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    After having been on both extremes of the fence, I would pick lifting weights over cardio when it comes to losing weight. Granted I've never been in a situation where I wanted to lose a lot of weight, but when i was lifting hard & heavy, I could eat anything and everything in sight. I did no cardio, just lifting, and if I did want to drop a few pounds when my eating habits put on a few, all it took was a couple weeks & a little bit of watching and it was gone.

    Now I primarily run for all my exercise, doing minimal upper body workouts (push ups & pull ups) so as not to totally lose all muscle, and i have to be MUCH more strict on diet to lose or maintain weight.

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