women trying to lean out with strength...how much cardio?

Options
12357

Replies

  • GettinMyLifeBck
    GettinMyLifeBck Posts: 201 Member
    Options
    bump
  • GettinMyLifeBck
    GettinMyLifeBck Posts: 201 Member
    Options
    Cardio has a slight advantage burning a bit more calories during an actual workout session...

    That being said, lifting weights gives your metabolism a spike for about an hour after a workout. During this time your body is trying hard to help your muscles recover. This means that on average you'll fry an additional 25 percent of the calories you just scorched during your strength session.

    For me....strength building wins, but just like your diet your workouts need to have a good balance.

    i actually disagree, lifting weights for 25 minutes i burn about 300 cals. this is from my HRM.

    biking for the same amount of time, about 200.

    i do lift very heavy, and make it so im sweating and hearts pumping.

    I agree I burn more calories lifting weights and even after my workout. I find that Im burning a higher number than after a cardio session.
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
    Options
    Hubby and I did our first workout today. We did 4 upper body exercises at our max weights for 6-8 reps. I am feeling it already! Tomorrow is lower body.
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,806 Member
    Options
    so , as a new memeber i just want to get this straight.

    I have a few pounds to lose (ABOUT 100). ( i dont look it, but I do) I am sedentary and only 3 weeks ago, started back at the gym 3-4 days a week faithfully. I have only seen a 8.5 pound loss, and i do recumbent bike and treadmill for 2 hours max (1 hour each) and only 15 minutes max of the strength training machines circuit.

    MFP has me at 1900 cals to use, and I am wondering if I should be doing more of the lifting, and weights? and less of the cardio?

    This would make total sense, because in 2010, I did 3 5Ks, and although I was fit enough to do them, i never really lost weight,which frustrated me..... and same with the year before when I would be on my treadmill as my only form of workout.

    since I go to the gym 3-4 days a week (i can up it if i need to) what should I start with in working out? how many reps, and how much strength (in time) vs cardio? I feel like I have wasted my time for years and struggled, even eating pretty clean for over a year.

    any help would be appreciated. :)

    Conditioning/cardio isn't a waste of time, and I really doubt it's the type of exercise which caused you to not be able to lose weight. Strength training helps build/retain muscle mass. More muscle mass = lower percentage of your weight is body fat. The thing about circuit training and low-weight/high-rep lifting is it isn't doing anything to make you stronger.

    All of us that like heavy lifting go ape**** for Starting Strength and Stronglifts (and New Rules of Lifting For Women, but I don't really know what that program is all about). None of these programs are magic. The reason they work (at least in terms of SS and SL) is that you're doing multi-joint, multi-muscle group compound lifts with heavy (heavy being relative to your strength level) weights which stresses your body as a whole and promote the best overall adaptation. You can do this with barbells, dumbbells, or even bodyweight exercises.

    thanks very much. I just dont know where to start and I do not want to waste more time on stuff that I may be doing wrong... I just want to be more productive in the gym....

    I'll be honest, I haven't even been able to stick with Starting Strength because keeping form was an issue for me. However, if you have the drive to get into weight lifting it's a great program. Stronglifts 5x5 is another good one. Just google either of them and you can find the gist of the programs. However the Starting Strength book is a great investment if you think the program interests you.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/beginning-workout-plan/ is a good simple routine as well to get started. It's under the "men's workouts", but don't let that deter you. Scooby has the unfortunate viewpoint that men and women need to train differently, when that's not really the case at all.

    I would maybe add some kind of overhead press to Scooby's workout, but I'm no expert.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
    Options
    Some good info here, I'll come back and read it all when I have more time.

    I spent last year concentrating on building my running endurance and losing weight.
    This year I'm aiming to go faster (no necessarily further) and get stronger.

    Currently I'm strenght training 2 -3 days a week (some bodyweight stuff and some machines) and running 3 times (2 x intervals and 1 long run). I've only been doing this for a month so I can't say how its going to go in the long term - but I do know that the skirt I put on today is looser round my middle :smile: and my running time hasn't suffered.

    I've bought and read New Rules of Lifting which sounds great, but as I don't have access to a gym, I'm just working with what I have at home for now and might look at getting more gear or joining a gym later in the year.
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,806 Member
    Options
    Some good info here, I'll come back and read it all when I have more time.

    I spent last year concentrating on building my running endurance and losing weight.
    This year I'm aiming to go faster (no necessarily further) and get stronger.

    Currently I'm strenght training 2 -3 days a week (some bodyweight stuff and some machines) and running 3 times (2 x intervals and 1 long run). I've only been doing this for a month so I can't say how its going to go in the long term - but I do know that the skirt I put on today is looser round my middle :smile: and my running time hasn't suffered.

    I've bought and read New Rules of Lifting which sounds great, but as I don't have access to a gym, I'm just working with what I have at home for now and might look at getting more gear or joining a gym later in the year.

    Pushups and weighted squats or lunges (if you have some sort of dumbbells/barbells or resistance gear) are two good exercises you can do without a gym.
  • Picola1984
    Picola1984 Posts: 1,133
    Options
    Well today I did what most people are recommending; heavy lfiting for longer periods of time

    I chose the weights that I could only manage about 6-8 reps of each at a time. I didn't have a prolapse, drop the dumbell or fart as I was a little scared of doing

    What also made me happy was the fact that my heart rate didn't drop as much as I thought over the 20 minutes i spent lifting (I usually do about 10 with lesser weights)

    I even used a new machine, pushed the boat out!
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
    Options
    Well today I did what most people are recommending; heavy lfiting for longer periods of time

    I chose the weights that I could only manage about 6-8 reps of each at a time. I didn't have a prolapse, drop the dumbell or fart as I was a little scared of doing

    What also made me happy was the fact that my heart rate didn't drop as much as I thought over the 20 minutes i spent lifting (I usually do about 10 with lesser weights)

    I even used a new machine, pushed the boat out!

    good job...careful, it's addictive :)
  • osorio1
    osorio1 Posts: 63
    Options
    bump
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    Options
    I did a little experiment. I only have 3days at the gym, all in a row. So I did heavy lifting Tues/Thursday and HIIT(REAL HIIT-2 minutes moderate, :30 As fast as humanly possible for a total of 16 minutes) on Wednesday. I stretched before and after these, but no cardio other than the HIIT and NO AB WORK. I wanted to see if what people said about heavy lifting was true.
    1/9/2012
    DSC00052-1.jpg
    DSC00053.jpg
    2/11/2012
    DSC00089-1.jpg
    DSC00090-1.jpg
    From the side you can tell how much it reduced my belly. I added cardio back in because I have to start training for a 1/2 marathon. I cannot do that without cardio, obviously. I now know that for ME, I need cardio at this time to burn more fat layers away. Once I'm done with my 1/2, I will probably go back to the strength training and HIIT and maybe do a 30-45 min run 1x a week. I continue to strength train now so I'm not losing muscle, but I know I probably won't be gaining any in the next several months.
  • pghsteph
    pghsteph Posts: 7
    Options
    bump for when I get home. Gotta take notes ;)
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
    Options
    Awesome, Bahacca!!!!!! Thanks for the inspiration!


    Love all the comments!
  • DorisR184
    DorisR184 Posts: 471 Member
    Options
    Bump!! :smile:
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    Options
    . Also do not do cardio too long,burning over 300 cal, this will make you lose muscle instead of fat. Split the cardio up, if needed or wanted to twice a day to make sure to stay under burning 300 cal.

    That is utter nonsense...I'm a medium distance runner (10-15km) and I run for up to 90 minutes or more....That's serious cardio, and I have a not too bad body composition... Definitely not without muscles....
    I also do a kettlebell workout (45-60 mins) and some weights two days a week and run 4, rest one...
    Oh, and I lost over 60lbs doing that....
  • quererespoder
    quererespoder Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    im following th NROL for abs/core program three times a week and doing light cardio once or twice a week , but in the program , you're supposed to do 12 reps of each excercise. the general opinion seems to be that you should use weights that you cant do more the 8 reps per set. should i up my weights and lower the reps to 8? oh and im aiming for BF% reduction btw.
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    Options
    im following th NROL for abs/core program three times a week and doing light cardio once or twice a week , but in the program , you're supposed to do 12 reps of each excercise. the general opinion seems to be that you should use weights that you cant do more the 8 reps per set. should i up my weights and lower the reps to 8? oh and im aiming for BF% reduction btw.

    My opinion... if you're following NROL program, then follow the reps it suggests. Otherwise, pick a program like Starting Strength or something... SS does 3x5 for its novice program, which is the one I chose to go with. I love it so far. You do warmup sets with lighter weight before you get to your working set. But, from what I hear, the people doing NROL like it as well... so, go with the one that interests you the most. I picked SS because it seemed simpler, and for me, simpler is always better.
  • Hardemanwifey
    Hardemanwifey Posts: 261 Member
    Options
    Bump gotta read this for sure.
  • brookelittle
    brookelittle Posts: 32
    Options
    Have you tried to P90X? There is a lean program to follow for women who don't want to become manly like... Just a thought
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    Options
    Have you tried to P90X? There is a lean program to follow for women who don't want to become manly like... Just a thought

    LOL... manly? I can't wait to post the manly pics of my body after six months of Starting Strength.
  • brookelittle
    brookelittle Posts: 32
    Options
    Have you tried to P90X? There is a lean program to follow for women who don't want to become manly like... Just a thought

    LOL... manly? I can't wait to post the manly pics of my body after six months of Starting Strength.

    I was looking for a way to express OVER MUSCULAR... for lack of a better expression.. I used the term manly... Sorry. We all know some people over do it... Its still better than being too fat!!! lol... I support anyone who is happy with themselves and would love to see your success pictures.

Categories