Who does weight-lifting only?

lissypriss

I'm not a fan of cardio...I believe the intense hatred of it keeps me from exercising all the time. I DO, however, love weight training! The feel of lifting, is awesome! To me, it's like stretching with purpose! I really want to focus on lifting, with minimal cardio, because I feel so much better after that than when I'm out of breath from whenever I do elliptical, aerobics, etc. The only issue I see with lifting is finding a close to accurate calorie burn. How could I log calories from weight lifting??

Rae6503

I do half-assed cardio a couple times a week (low-intensity-steady-state), but my main focus is weight training. For calories burned I just use the MFP cardio entry for strength training. It gives me like 160 calories for 45 minutes. I read once that lifting burns about as much as a walk.

dstalfire

i do mostly weight lifting, but i move fast and i keep my heart rate in the cardio zone. This allows me to get the best of both worlds!

maryjay51

my trainer had me do weight lifting only last year and told me cardio was incorporated in the way he had me lifting weights.. i didnt do a very good job of losing weight but gained muscle mass and loss body fat ..went down a size in clothing.. i have to do a mix of cardio and weights as well as a well rounded diet to lose weight or it just doesnt work for me .

lissypriss

I hear about how good people feel after an intense cardio workout, but I hate it! I don't feel great, I feel horrible, even hours after! I get headaches and sometimes even nausea. I even purchased a HRM to see if it was because I may have over-worked myself, and I may have peaked way over the target rate a few times, but not for long. After lifting, after a few hours, I get a second wind and have the energy to finish my day and enjoy life. Maybe I'm just weird..

superdrood

I've switched to mostly strength training for now. I think it's easier to calculate your tdee and just eat 20% above or below respectively if your trying to gain muscle or lose fat rather than worry about calories burned per exercise. I was missing seeing those "earned" calories at first but now that I'm used to it, I like eating a consistent amount much better.

gsager

Get a heart rate monitor.

Sublog

"I can’t really stand either one, to tell you the truth. Cardio is grossly overrated, and is not an absolute necessity for everyone who wants to lean down. For the most part, a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. Weight training can easily cause the cardiovascular adaptations that people seek through cardio, with the added benefit of supporting lean body mass & strength. I’m a strong proponent of doing the least amount of formal cardio as necessary to reach the goal, starting with zero."

This ^

http://www.simplyshredded.com/nutrition-expert-alan-aragon-talks-with-simplyshredded-com.html

Rae6503

Get a heart rate monitor.

Heart rate monitors aren't accurate for weight training. Your heart rate gets really high during strength training but it doesn't reflect the actual energy (calories) used. Mine will tell me 400+ calories during lifting and there's no way I've burned that much.

bizco

Get a heart rate monitor.

Heart rate monitors aren't accurate for weight training. Your heart rate gets really high during strength training but it doesn't reflect the actual energy (calories) used. Mine will tell me 400+ calories during lifting and there's no way I've burned that much.

Correct, they don't work for weight training. I log my lifting workouts under the Cardio section and use "Strength training (weight lifting)" from the database. You key in your minutes worked. Calorie burn from lifting is quite low.

gtwin

Get a heart rate monitor.

Heart rate monitors aren't accurate for weight training. Your heart rate gets really high during strength training but it doesn't reflect the actual energy (calories) used. Mine will tell me 400+ calories during lifting and there's no way I've burned that much.

I think for a heavy leg day...400 calories in 1.5 hours could easily be burned. My HRM is usually at 350-400 on a leg day, 250-300 on chest or shoulder day, and 250-350 on a back day. Besides leg day, I usually spend 30-40 minutes lifting...very short rest breaks, sometimes supersets and dropsets. So for me...I think the HRM is fairly accurate. There's no way the MFP calculation for calories burned while lifting is close to accurate unless someone is lifting very light and taking longer rest breaks.

To answer the OP's question...last year I was doing only lifting, no cardio whatsoever. I managed to lose inches but my weight pretty much stayed the same. I've definitely tightened up and reshaped my body..however I started incorporting cardio again to help with dropping fat.

MotorCityFemmeFatale

I do half-assed cardio a couple times a week (low-intensity-steady-state), but my main focus is weight training. For calories burned I just use the MFP cardio entry for strength training.

this

I'm afraid I'll never be a cardio bunny

Rae6503

While spark people isn't the best source, this article explains it:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75

RainbootsToBikinis

Why not try adding in circuit training? For example 2 minutes of jumping jacks, bicep curls, tricep pulls, repeat 2-3x. Gets your heart rate up and your still doing the strength training.

Also maybe you just need to find a cardio you like more.

smpaselk

Before, I gained weight due to health issues, I worked with a personal trainer who was a beautiful, health and strong woman. She told me that a woman can work with weights just as hard as a man and still look like a woman. She told me that building muscle can burn fat more calories than cardio can...here are some great books that I love and refer to often for weight training.
Strength Training for for Women by Lori Incledon,
Muscle and fitness hers 101 body sculpting workouts and nutrition plans has an assoertment of work out plans which helps me cause I can never decide what to do
I am also a subscriber to oxygen magazine which I love, muscle and fitness hers and cooking light magazine..