"No one who does only cardio looks good"

RunChinni

I agree with the guy that made this statement.

With cardio only, I was skinny fat. I'd fit into a size 4 pair of jeans but still have a muffin top.

Then I started lifting and well, now my size 4 jeans fit perfectly, I weigh more than I did with cardio alone. And my curves are still in place.

A mix of both is good. I find a good short HIIT workout after lifting very beneficial...

delilah47

Looks good by who's standards? If you are talking about people obsessed with muscle definition, no, you won't look good with just cardio. "Just cardio" usually requires you use the largest muscle groups to get an oxygen debt, therefore building stamina. If you do aerobics, such as a step aerobic program, you are exercising other muscle groups as well. I say it is BS that you will be skinny fat just doing cardio. Skinny fat is when you are not overweight, but out of shape as well. If you are cardio healthy you usually DO have muscle tone, just (maybe) not muscle definition. And it depends on your body type, age, and how much weight you have lost as to what your body will look like when you reach your goal weight. Some people, such as myself, will never have muscle definition for one reason or another. People who go for the 5% body fat look are just as bad as media hype about thin model-type bodies being the only acceptable "look" for women. If want it and can achieve it, knock yourself out, then you might be acceptable to other people for which looks are the only qualification for acceptance.

rml_16

I agree with the guy that made this statement.

With cardio only, I was skinny fat. I'd fit into a size 4 pair of jeans but still have a muffin top.

Then I started lifting and well, now my size 4 jeans fit perfectly, I weigh more than I did with cardio alone. And my curves are still in place.

A mix of both is good. I find a good short HIIT workout after lifting very beneficial...

If someone had a muffin top wearing size 4, that person was not wearing the proper size. That person may have fit into a size 4, but probably should have been wearing a 6.

RunChinni

I agree with the guy that made this statement.

With cardio only, I was skinny fat. I'd fit into a size 4 pair of jeans but still have a muffin top.

Then I started lifting and well, now my size 4 jeans fit perfectly, I weigh more than I did with cardio alone. And my curves are still in place.

A mix of both is good. I find a good short HIIT workout after lifting very beneficial...

If someone had a muffin top wearing size 4, that person was not wearing the proper size. That person may have fit into a size 4, but probably should have been wearing a 6.

I would agree with the size 6 if the size 6 fit me without my needing to pull them up every other minute, thus making them uncomfortable.

It's all relative, really.

SergeantSunshine_reused

Yea I agree. Or you can get muffin top with pants that actually fit your legs. Pants are annoying. Sweats all the time!

albinogorilla

i think this is true for men, but not for women.....

women are not that different then men, except if they workout just as hard they will not get as big due to hormonal differences.

you missed the point, the point was that i feel women can look good only doing cardio, they can look good with very little muscle mass at all.............but a man with no muscle mass..............not so good. And before all the cardio only fellas chime in.........everyone's definition of good is different.............

delilah47

I do not lift weights and I think I look good.

I think you do too. But do you do body weight strength exercises? Honest question...I think people are misunderstanding (in general, not necessarily directed at you) what exactly strength training is. It doesn't have to involve lifting heavy weights or anything, pilates is considered strength training...I mean, google a Herschell Walker workout...

Strength training is a pretty broad term for anything that's not straight up cardio.

Anyway, I can't believe this thread is even still going considering it's pretty clear that there is NO right or wrong answer here and it's 100% opinion based.

I agree about opinion based. Opinion based on a specific "look", when in reality, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Has nothing to do with whether you are skinny or fat, muscle defined or not, old or young.. etc.

erickirb

I do mostly cardio just to burn off some of the outer layer of fat so when I do start to do alot of weight training the muscle will show thru.

^^^ this is my plan too. just started TRX and strength training along with my cardio regimen.

But, cardio only is not necessarily only cardio. Some would call swimming cardio - ever look at a swimmer's body? skinny fat my *kitten*.

99.9% of elite swimmers lift weights, a lot of weights, as part of their training routine.

ChitownFoodie

I would say its true. Doing cardio only makes me look skinny fat. Adding weights has stopped the weightloss (thankfully) and has made me look tighter and leaner.

Jeff92se

On the other hand, alot of elite women that lift do alot of running/cardio

marycmeadows

I do mostly cardio just to burn off some of the outer layer of fat so when I do start to do alot of weight training the muscle will show thru.

fyi, strength training NOW helps burn off MORE FAT.

I've never understood this idea. so many people say oh I'll do strength training when i lose more weight. NO -- DO IT NOW, do it always! muscle burns more calories than fat. period. Cardio is great, but you should strength trainin at least a couple days a week - no one wants to be skinny fat.

katysmelly

Saw someone on MFP write this as a reply to a different topic today. This can't be true..... right?

Of course it can't.

There are people who don't exercise at all who look good. And, anyway, everybody likes different body types. If you like very defined, big muscles, then you might think that.

twinlaced

Not true.. I do mostly cardio and ballet and I just look very skinny and toned. But ballet shapes the legs really well.

rml_16

Saw someone on MFP write this as a reply to a different topic today. This can't be true..... right?

Of course it can't.

There are people who don't exercise at all who look good. And, anyway, everybody likes different body types. If you like very defined, big muscles, then you might think that.

Exactly. I don't want an extreme amount of muscle definition. I don't think that women who have it look BAD, i just isn't the body type I want. I want to not jiggle anymore, but I also want to look soft. I don't think weights are counteractive to my goal, but I won't be lifting for hours and trying to cut my body fat way, way low. It just isn't my goal for myself.

Jeff92se

I do mostly cardio just to burn off some of the outer layer of fat so when I do start to do alot of weight training the muscle will show thru.

fyi, strength training NOW helps burn off MORE FAT.

I've never understood this idea. so many people say oh I'll do strength training when i lose more weight. NO -- DO IT NOW, do it always! muscle burns more calories than fat. period. Cardio is great, but you should strength trainin at least a couple days a week - no one wants to be skinny fat.

I have to agree. Why not do strength training now? Makes no sense to wait.

Jeff92se

Not true.. I do mostly cardio and ballet and I just look very skinny and toned. But ballet shapes the legs really well.

Ballet is pretty hardcore exercising though.

LorinaLynn

Lifestyle has to be taken into account, too. Two of my brothers don't lift weights, and when they exercise, it's cardio. But one is an EMT and the other works maintenance at a hospital and moonlights in construction, so they're lifting heavy things all the time even if they're not pumping iron. It'd be a world different if they had cushy desk jobs.

dogsmother

Whilst that does seem like a somewhat sweeping statement, I do kind of agree. Doing just cardio only will burn calories, but strength training really does help with the toning side. I do a mixture of running (well, jogging) circuit training and kettlercise. The kettle bells offer a great way to use and tone muscles without making them huge. I've recently discovered that for the first time ever, I seem to have the start of defined stomach muscles and thinner, more toned legs which is all from the kettle bells/circuits. Running without a doubt burns the most calories, but I couldn't do it without having done lots of strength training and squats at my classes as that helps to support my knee and leg muscles and reduces the damage that running can do.

My advice and I'm no expert I assure you - is mix it up a bit. Cardio can be very boring all the time (esp running) and you do still burn calories from weight training.

chachita7

I think that is you are doing cardio that involves every single bit of your body and with some resistance you can get away with it...

erickirb

Whilst that does seem like a somewhat sweeping statement, I do kind of agree. Doing just cardio only will burn calories, but strength training really does help with the toning side. I do a mixture of running (well, jogging) circuit training and kettlercise. The kettle bells offer a great way to use and tone muscles without making them huge. I've recently discovered that for the first time ever, I seem to have the start of defined stomach muscles and thinner, more toned legs which is all from the kettle bells/circuits. Running without a doubt burns the most calories, but I couldn't do it without having done lots of strength training and squats at my classes as that helps to support my knee and leg muscles and reduces the damage that running can do.

My advice and I'm no expert I assure you - is mix it up a bit. Cardio can be very boring all the time (esp running) and you do still burn calories from weight training.

even lifting extremely heavy weights will not make a woman huge as for one you will not gain muscle on a caloric deficit, and a woman does not have enough testosterone to bulk.