So Why Is CARDIO Important

MiChaChelle

Was wondering if somebody can tell me about the importance of cardio in weight loss (besides helping the blood circulation and all that). I do cardio on a daily basis and burn a bunch of calories then eat them back as MFP users suggest.. what's the importance of cardio then if you burn the calories and end up eating them? can't you just strength train and get toned? I'm a med student so it's ok to use scientific terms. My questions usually don't get answered lol but i'm hoping somebody will inform me on this.

jshaps7

Just out of curiosity (and I really don't mean for this to sound snarky) but as a med student, shouldn't you already understand the benefits of doing cardio exercise?

I guess it depends on your specific goals for yourself and your fitness level, but I wanted to be able to do things like run a 5K, complete a triathlon, even just climb stairs without getting winded, do chores like mow the lawn without needing to lay down and catch my breath after.

I believe both cardio and strength training are important parts of overall, well balanced fitness since both put emphasis on different parts of your body: muscles, bones, lungs, heart etc.

chachadiva150

Your question isn't about the benefits of cardio. It sounds like your real question is why do you eat the calories back.

Since you're a med student, you can look up the benefits of cardio exercise and the need for heart health and cardio endurance.

As to eating back calories, some people eat them and some don't. It's up to you and how you design your weight loss program. The "whys" aren't important since there isn't any one way to lose weight. The most basic "why" is that you need to eat a certain NET amount of calories a day in order to prevent a metabolic slowdown. However, that idea is not hard fact.

AlyRoseNYC

From what I understand, it's mainly beneficial for heart health. That's the only reason I do it. My family has a long history of heart disease, and I want to live a long life.

MiChaChelle

I know the benefits of cardio in general.. wanted to know how it affects weight loss.

athensguy

Eating more is a nice benefit.

Also, cardiorespiratory fitness probably helps you live longer.
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/6/825

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/301/19/2024.short

Exercise combined with moderate alcohol intake reduces all-cause mortality even more.
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/2/204.abstract

ETA:
Don't know why those things aren't enough reason to do it, but it makes it easier to stay within range of your calorie goal if you're burning extra calories. It can also improve things like insulin resistance and reduce the effects of metabolic syndrome.
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/92/11/4230.short
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/164/10/1092

Cardio just seems to make your body work better all around.

jshaps7

Fair enough

For me personally it's not just about the calories burned but how your body continues to burn calories after you're done exercising. Studies have shown that the "after burn" effect lasts longer with weight training but it's still there for cardio exercise as well. I also don't eat back ALL my exercise calories regardless of whether they're cardio or strength training calories (mainly to account for some assumed inaccuracies in the calorie burn counts of HRMs but also just to keep a bit of an extra deficit running during the week for a cheat day).

But if you don't have any specific cardio goals like I mentioned in my previous post, there's certainly no reason to concentrate on cardio. Depending on your weights routine you may get enough from that in addition to any warm up or cool down cardio you may do as a part of that.

angie_sample

you burn a lot of calories so u lose weight. I started with only doing cardio and i lost 40 pounds just doing cardio. Now i've added strength training and i've lost 71 pounds.

I dont usually eat all my calories burned. I am set to eat 1200 cal a day and usually burn around 400 cal a day with exercise so my calories eaten usually r around 1350 or so. It works for me, but i think what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for someone else, u just have to try different things and find out what works.

mariacolumbus

I"m no expert, but in my experience, a combination of Cardio and Strength Training are essential. Cardio burns cals /fat and strength training tones (also burns cals...just not as much as cardio). You could just do cardio...but you wouldn't get as toned....you could do strength, but wouldn't burn as many calories nor exercise your heart and lungs as much.
good luck

MiChaChelle

Alright so for WEIGHT LOSS cardio is only important because it gives u the extra calories to eat, but in general it does improve overall health.. i wanted to know if there's more to it but i guess there isn't. Thank u for all ur replies, appreciate it.

mpizzle421

Alright so for WEIGHT LOSS cardio is only important because it gives u the extra calories to eat, but in general it does improve overall health.. i wanted to know if there's more to it but i guess there isn't. Thank u for all ur replies, appreciate it.

I don't know this for a fact, but in general my understanding is that it speeds up your metabolism. A faster metabolism burns more calories in a day, increasing your rate of fat loss.

Similar to the above, cardio also builds muscle (not as much as strength training of course). More muscle, faster metabolism, increased fat loss.

Google cardio metabolism and see if you find some articles of interest.

jshaps7

Alright so for WEIGHT LOSS cardio is only important because it gives u the extra calories to eat, but in general it does improve overall health.. i wanted to know if there's more to it but i guess there isn't. Thank u for all ur replies, appreciate it.

I don't know this for a fact, but in general my understanding is that it speeds up your metabolism. A faster metabolism burns more calories in a day, increasing your rate of fat loss.

Similar to the above, cardio also builds muscle (not as much as strength training of course). More muscle, faster metabolism, increased fat loss.

Google cardio metabolism and see if you find some articles of interest.

Actually weight lifting (assuming you're using challenging weights and doing so correctly) will increase your metabolism as you add lean muscle mass. Cardio only really builds muscle if you're doing extremely instense cardio such as sprints (not long distance running). And many people who are built for speed will tell you weight lifting is essential.

So again it comes down to what your specific goals are for your body. From the studies I've read cardio will burn more calories while you're exercising, but you have to do twice as much cardio exercise to get the kind of "after burn" or increased metabolism burn from a good, challenging weight lifting routine.

tigersword

I know the benefits of cardio in general.. wanted to know how it affects weight loss.

It doesn't. It raises your fitness level, but has zero to do with weight loss. You can do hours of cardio while maintaining weight, and you can lose weight with no cardio at all. One has nothing to do with the other.

mpizzle421

Cardio only really builds muscle if you're doing extremely instense cardio such as sprints (not long distance running). And many people who are built for speed will tell you weight lifting is essential.

Strongly disagree with you on that. I agree with the first part, that weight lifting adds lean muscle, but having been fortunate enough to get out in the weather lately on our local bike path, I can clearly see that dedicated have built decent amounts of muscle in their legs.

Again, I suggest using google and using the terms cardio and metabolism and read some articles.

A quote from one of those articles:

Cardio is essential for revving up your metabolism. In one study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, a group of men and women exercised for 3-5 days a week for 20-45 minutes per session, working at a moderate intensity. At the end of the 16-week study, the women increased their metabolism by an average of 129 calories, while the men went up by about 174 calories. Learn more about getting started with cardio.

They weren't referencing weight training either... it was in the cardio section of the article.

3dogsrunning

Was wondering if somebody can tell me about the importance of cardio in weight loss (besides helping the blood circulation and all that). I do cardio on a daily basis and burn a bunch of calories then eat them back as MFP users suggest.. what's the importance of cardio then if you burn the calories and end up eating them? can't you just strength train and get toned? I'm a med student so it's ok to use scientific terms. My questions usually don't get answered lol but i'm hoping somebody will inform me on this.

You aren't "eating them back". You have to understand how MFP works.

When you go to a trainer, or a nutritionist, and they create a calorie goal for you they figure it out but figuring your BMR (how many calories you need just to survive), then factor in your daily life (if you are at a desk job, or highly active one), then factor in active you plan to be - like how hard and how often you plan to work out. They then take that number, subtract a number from it depending on your goal to create an appropriate deficit.
MFP is set up to figure your BMR, and factors in your daily life. It does not account for exercise. It then subtracts the number to create the deficit you requested. If you exercise on top of that, you are creating a larger deficit. For a number of reasons, it is best to not create too large of a deficit unless under certain circumstances.

In both scenerios, you consume the calories burned through exercise. One is just already built in so you don't realize it.

You don't need cardio to lose weight. YOu can just strength train. You can do nothing but eat less and still lose weight. But cardio has a ton of other benefits as well.

lizziebeth1028

You get to eat more!!!
It's good for your heart, blood pressure and has many other health benefits
it releases endorphins and makes you feel awesome
you sweat!!