i know its more than just cardio, buuuuut.....

Fight2bFiT

ok, so i've been on and off with working out. i love working out. and i LOVE LOVE LOVE to lift. but i am honestly sick and tired of lifting heavy or lifting at all with no results. i m going to eat LOW cals and ONLY do cardio for a month and see where it takes me. i really want to reach goal and then really focus on bulking and defining my mucles. i dont want to be one of those overweight/thick girls who are bulky yet have fat still. i need a change up. so thats what i am going to do.....thoughts? i know cardio is not really whats helps you loose weight, its really the calorie deficent and cardio just helps, but isnt necessary. i want to be fit, ripped and HOT, not just "Small" and NEVER "Skinny", so i would like suggestions to my madness. lol.

i've been working out for almost 2 years, on and off of course, mainly with strength training in my routine more than cardio. never had a consistant schedule or eating pattern. i like the results i get with weights rather than just cardio conditioning like turbo fire or insanity, but i never really LOST what needs to be gone. i have 35 pounds to loose, maybe more, we'll see when i get there.......

Fight2bFiT

and with no results, i mean as far as weight goe. the mirror doesnt lie, this i understand, but i HATE weighing the same!!!!

SergeantSunshine_reused

Not lifting is a really bad idea. Remember we lift to maintain muscle mass. You are going to be losing more precious muscle if you just stick with the cardio

Larius

never had a consistant schedule or eating pattern.

Consistency is key.

breezad

never had a consistant schedule or eating pattern.

try this first with your current lifting program!!!
find a good program on
www.bodybuilding.com and stick with it, along with a strict following diet eating clean and just see wat happenes!!

questionablemethods

i want to be fit, ripped and HOT, not just "Small" and NEVER "Skinny", so i would like suggestions to my madness.

Then don't cut the weight lifting!

Cathleenr

never had a consistant schedule or eating pattern.

try this first with your current lifting program!!!
find a good program on
www.bodybuilding.com and stick with it, along with a strict following diet eating clean and just see wat happenes!!

yep.

kln83

You can always try some sort of circuit training program that uses resistance, but incorporates the cardio so it gets your heart pumping, your body sweating, and still mailtains and builds muscle. Also, do a variety of different things. It's easy to get burnt out on anything if that's all you do. Change it up and that will keep your body guessing as well. Good luck!

calderst

Try HIIT training with your cardio.... Full intensity intervals followed by easy/recovery intervals. I like to do this with running and see how fast I can go but you can do it on a spin bike or elliptical too. The key is to go all out-- and then recover-- and then do it again, and again, and again for 20-30 minutes.
Depending on how long you typically work out, that could still leave you some time for some circuits to keep your muscles happy. And if you just need a break from "lifting"-- maybe try body weight circuits. Push-ups, lunges, pull-ups, etc. Would change it up from the weights and keep your heart rate going while maintaining your strength.

Fight2bFiT

Try HIIT training with your cardio.... Full intensity intervals followed by easy/recovery intervals. I like to do this with running and see how fast I can go but you can do it on a spin bike or elliptical too. The key is to go all out-- and then recover-- and then do it again, and again, and again for 20-30 minutes.
Depending on how long you typically work out, that could still leave you some time for some circuits to keep your muscles happy. And if you just need a break from "lifting"-- maybe try body weight circuits. Push-ups, lunges, pull-ups, etc. Would change it up from the weights and keep your heart rate going while maintaining your strength.

funny that you said this because thats what i was going to do. i wrote it on here but i guess it didnt post. i was going to just do this cardio thing for about a month and with it i was going to do "10min challenges", such as pushups or squats. do them for full 10 minutes as many as i could and the followin week make sure i am beating my previous.
i know weight training gives you the best "looking" results. but i just hate not loosing. i dont think a month is going to have me loose all my muscle mass. just a kick start, a new thing bc its not something my body is used to. and then add my 3x a week strength training in a month. i am still having body exercises to target each muscle group to strengthen, but my main focus isnt to build, but rather try to maintain while loosing all this fat! i have 27% body fat. need to lose it!!!

ninerbuff

Your issue isn't weights, it's your eating.

rachmaree

Your issue isn't weights, it's your eating.

^^this^^

Fight2bFiT

Your issue isn't weights, it's your eating.

thank you.
so if i was to add in weights, this wouldnt be to build, just to maintain until i decide to "bulk/build", what would the significate difference be? the calorie intake? the # of days lifting? the lbs lifted? i want ANYTHING but to maintain or gain in WEIGHT right now

calderst

i know weight training gives you the best "looking" results. but i just hate not loosing. i dont think a month is going to have me loose all my muscle mass. just a kick start, a new thing bc its not something my body is used to. and then add my 3x a week strength training in a month. i am still having body exercises to target each muscle group to strengthen, but my main focus isnt to build, but rather try to maintain while loosing all this fat! i have 27% body fat. need to lose it!!!

This is what I've been doing over the last several weeks as I'm in the late stages of marathon training. I'm trying to hit the weights 1-2 times a week (normally I try for 3-4) because I'm spending so much time running. This summer when I was training for my first tri, I only really did body weight work in addition to my "cardio" because so much of my work out time was devoted to running/biking/swimming. I actually lost a little during the tri training without changing up my normal eating. Unfortunately with the marathon training, I'm eating more (I'm just so hungry!!) so I haven't lost. Diet plays a large part, of course, but changing things up for your body and burning calories will give you results.
And if you notice your muscles/strength disappearing, you can always switch back to the other routine early.

Gunff

Your issue isn't weights, it's your eating.

thank you.
so if i was to add in weights, this wouldnt be to build, just to maintain until i decide to "bulk/build", what would the significate difference be? the calorie intake? the # of days lifting? the lbs lifted? i want ANYTHING but to maintain or gain in WEIGHT right now

It is all about the calorie deficit. Cardio burns more calories per minute which allows you to eat more during the day and still maintain your deficit. If you are doing weights, you just have to have a lower calorie intake. If you log your weight trainnig(There is an option under cardio for this) compared to elliptical for the same amount of time you will notice that cardio burns around 3x the calories for the same time period. So if your diet doesn't change you will notice results in weight.

Just be very careful not to overestimate the # of calories your workouts burn. If you overestimate when entering and then eat your workout calories it'll keep you from losing. Also be sure to hit the recomended areas like not going over in carbs or fats and making sure you get plenty of protien.