Cardio vs. Strength training results (pic)

tuffytuffy1

You look fantastic!!! Great results in such a short time. I totally agree with the strength training, I have completely changed my body shape in the past 11 months

ThinUpGirl

Amazing results, your midsection looks great!! Keep it up girl!!

mmapags

Is 5X5 some sort of weight lifting program?

Stronglifts 5X5 is a strength training program aimed mostly at beginers with an aswesome iPhone app.

Cmonnowguys

WOW - thanks for sharing. I am starting to lift as well, and this was just the encouragement I needed. Thanks for sharing - those pictures mean alot to me (and probably alot of others as well). Also, congrats - you look amazing

Thank you! Seeing pictures of other women lifting made me realize I could change my body too. I figured other people could see my progress and see that there's hope, lol.

Cmonnowguys

Wow you look fantastic,,

I'm on Stage 1 of New rules of lifting for women now..

Hope to get lean like you.,

Let me know how you like it! I plan on doing that starting this fall. I loved the book.

amivox

That is awesome!!! Good job! I have been using resistance bands, but I am moving soon and the gym at my new place has free weights, so I will definitely be getting on that grind and working HARD. So inspiring.

Fit_SailorsWife

So motivational!

kylTKe

5% body fat on a person weighing 162lbs should be slightly over 8lbs. The numbers don't really add up, be careful of anecdotal evidence it may send you down the wrong path.

Cmonnowguys

5% body fat on a person weighing 162lbs should be slightly over 8lbs. The numbers don't really add up, be careful of anecdotal evidence it may send you down the wrong path.

I assume that while I lost body fat I I also put on a couple pounds of muscle (not much, but some). One offset the other. That is probably why the scale loss was only 3 lbs in the last month. I lost 2 inches off my chest, 2 off my hips, 5 off my waist, and .5 off my neck, so I'm pretty sure that is a moderate amount of fat loss.

kylTKe

5% body fat on a person weighing 162lbs should be slightly over 8lbs. The numbers don't really add up, be careful of anecdotal evidence it may send you down the wrong path.

I assume that while I lost body fat I I also put on a couple pounds of muscle (not much, but some). One offset the other. That is probably why the scale loss was only 3 lbs in the last month. I lost 2 inches off my chest, 2 off my hips, 5 off my waist, and .5 off my neck, so I'm pretty sure that is a moderate amount of fat loss.

You can only put on like 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month, even for a beginner.
In addition to that, you're really not going to be adding muscle mass while eating at a calorie deficit.

I think you're getting great results, just be careful about attributing them to the workout of the week. The human mind is very good at finding patterns, especially where they don't exist. Check out this little article http://blog.asmartbear.com/pattern-seeking-fallacy.html

Rae6503

You look awesome. What a difference in just a month and 3lbs!

addiograsso

I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind...

Had you lost any weight prior to starting this routine? DO you lift at home or a gym? where did you find the info on the 5x5 program? I have A LOT weight to lose - would this be beneficial for me now or do I need to lose some weight first (by dieting, etc)?

Thanks so much - you look great!

Cmonnowguys

I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind...

Had you lost any weight prior to starting this routine? DO you lift at home or a gym? where did you find the info on the 5x5 program? I have A LOT weight to lose - would this be beneficial for me now or do I need to lose some weight first (by dieting, etc)?

Thanks so much - you look great!

Thank you!

In January I was 176, and when I officially started MFP on February 26th, I was 172.2. Between those two points, I hadn't started counting calories, but I was doing more portion control so I lost about 4lbs in two months. I started taking pictures on March 5th, and by then I was 168.4 . Those 4lbs came off quickly in the first two weeks of starting MFP when I had a net calorie goal of 1200 calories. After that I continued netting 1200 for the next month. My exercise during that time was a mix of 3-4 mi runs, calisthenics with light dumbbells and zumba twice a week. So for the month of March I lost seven pounds.
I was scrolling through the success stories forums and I came across a post for results of women weight lifting. One woman in particular was about 160 at 5'5 in her before picture, and in her after picture she looked incredible at 135lb with 17%-17.5% body fat. I was completely sold and came across a couple groups that people had posted links to.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/771-women-strength-training


When I started Stronglifts on April 2nd 5x5 I was 161 lb. I upped my calories to 1400, and then to 1600, because once I started lifting 1200 just wasn't cutting it. Here is a group for women interested in 5x5. It explains everything in an easy to comprehend format.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
There is also an amazing iphone app to track your weights for you.

I don't have a home gym, but I'm in the military so I have access to free weights at the gym on base. I also have a gym membership because the base gym can be crowded and doesn't always fit my schedule.

Any one who does heavy lifting and lost a lot of weight will tell you that the sooner you start lifting, the better. You can lose weigfht faster if you do cardio, then lift once you're smaller, but without strength training, some of the weight you lose will inevitably be muscle. So you will be set back in that you will have to rebuild the muscle you lost doing cardio alone.
If you start weight lifting now, you may lose a little slower, but you will still lose as long as you are eating at a small deficit. With this method though, the weight you lose will primarily be fat, and once you're down to your goal you will already look how you want and not have to incorporate a "toning" phase. You can just continue maintaining your results!

I hope that helps, and congrats on your weight loss so far!!

crisanderson27

When I started Stronglifts on April 2nd 5x5 I was 161 lb. I upped my calories to 1400, and then to 1600, because once I started lifting 1200 just wasn't cutting it. Here is a group for women interested in 5x5. It explains everything in an easy to comprehend format.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
There is also an amazing iphone app to track your weights for you.

I don't have a home gym, but I'm in the military so I have access to free weights at the gym on base. I also have a gym membership because the base gym can be crowded and doesn't always fit my schedule.

Any one who does heavy lifting and lost a lot of weight will tell you that the sooner you start lifting, the better. You can lose weight faster if you do cardio, then lift once you're smaller, but without strength training, some of the weight you lose will inevitably be muscle. So you will be set back in that you will have to rebuild the muscle you lost doing cardio alone.
If you start weight lifting now, you may lose a little slower, but you will still lose as long as you are eating at a small deficit. With this method though, the weight you lose will primarily be fat, and once you're down to your goal you will already look how you want and not have to incorporate a "toning" phase. You can just continue maintaining your results!

That's the only thing I really disagree with that you've said, and not because it's necessarily untrue. You CAN lose weight quickly with cardio...but that weight isn't going to be the weight you want to lose. It's going to be primarily muscle loss (if you lose 50% fat, and 50% muscle...the majority of the WEIGHT lost, is still muscle). Strength training preserves lean mass, and promotes fat oxidation. The 'poundage' lost will be less, but it will be 90% FAT.

Weight loss should never be a goal. It should always be about FAT loss!

Anyhow, sorry for the slight correction...I just know that a lot of women will see 'cardio will make you lose weight more quickly'...and ignore the rest, because losing weight is their ONLY goal =(.

By the way, there's TONS of android apps for stronglifts too =D.

Cmonnowguys

5% body fat on a person weighing 162lbs should be slightly over 8lbs. The numbers don't really add up, be careful of anecdotal evidence it may send you down the wrong path.

I assume that while I lost body fat I I also put on a couple pounds of muscle (not much, but some). One offset the other. That is probably why the scale loss was only 3 lbs in the last month. I lost 2 inches off my chest, 2 off my hips, 5 off my waist, and .5 off my neck, so I'm pretty sure that is a moderate amount of fat loss.

You can only put on like 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month, even for a beginner.
In addition to that, you're really not going to be adding muscle mass while eating at a calorie deficit.

I think you're getting great results, just be careful about attributing them to the workout of the week. The human mind is very good at finding patterns, especially where they don't exist. Check out this little article http://blog.asmartbear.com/pattern-seeking-fallacy.html

I agree, and I know I can't have added on 10 lbs of muscle in a month. I simply described exactly what I did and the results I got. If the numbers don't add up I really wouldn't know why. For one month I did strength training 3x a week for 35-50 minutes per session, light cardio(elliptical/jog) 20-40 min 2x a week max, and I ate between 1800-2200 calories a day(netting 1600-2000.)
I wasn't so much finding a pattern, as comparing one month of a cardio-only approach with 1200 cals to one month of a heavy lifting focused approach with 1800-2200 calories. My post was just a summary of that comparison. I'm in the military and have always been cardio-focused (It was not unknown for me to run 3 mi a day, 5x a week) and never had results like this, so logically the weights had to be the missing link.

Thank you for your feedback!!

Cmonnowguys

When I started Stronglifts on April 2nd 5x5 I was 161 lb. I upped my calories to 1400, and then to 1600, because once I started lifting 1200 just wasn't cutting it. Here is a group for women interested in 5x5. It explains everything in an easy to comprehend format.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
There is also an amazing iphone app to track your weights for you.

I don't have a home gym, but I'm in the military so I have access to free weights at the gym on base. I also have a gym membership because the base gym can be crowded and doesn't always fit my schedule.

Any one who does heavy lifting and lost a lot of weight will tell you that the sooner you start lifting, the better. You can lose weight faster if you do cardio, then lift once you're smaller, but without strength training, some of the weight you lose will inevitably be muscle. So you will be set back in that you will have to rebuild the muscle you lost doing cardio alone.
If you start weight lifting now, you may lose a little slower, but you will still lose as long as you are eating at a small deficit. With this method though, the weight you lose will primarily be fat, and once you're down to your goal you will already look how you want and not have to incorporate a "toning" phase. You can just continue maintaining your results!

That's the only thing I really disagree with that you've said, and not because it's necessarily untrue. You CAN lose weight quickly with cardio...but that weight isn't going to be the weight you want to lose. It's going to be primarily muscle loss (if you lose 50% fat, and 50% muscle...the majority of the WEIGHT lost, is still muscle). Strength training preserves lean mass, and promotes fat oxidation. The 'poundage' lost will be less, but it will be 90% FAT.

Weight loss should never be a goal. It should always be about FAT loss!

Anyhow, sorry for the slight correction...I just know that a lot of women will see 'cardio will make you lose weight more quickly'...and ignore the rest, because losing weight is their ONLY goal =(.

By the way, there's TONS of android apps for stronglifts too =D.

I agree! Cardio weight loss doesn't equate to strict fat loss. I hope more women will understand that and realize how important it is to preserve the muscle while they still have it.

crisanderson27

When I started Stronglifts on April 2nd 5x5 I was 161 lb. I upped my calories to 1400, and then to 1600, because once I started lifting 1200 just wasn't cutting it. Here is a group for women interested in 5x5. It explains everything in an easy to comprehend format.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
There is also an amazing iphone app to track your weights for you.

I don't have a home gym, but I'm in the military so I have access to free weights at the gym on base. I also have a gym membership because the base gym can be crowded and doesn't always fit my schedule.

Any one who does heavy lifting and lost a lot of weight will tell you that the sooner you start lifting, the better. You can lose weight faster if you do cardio, then lift once you're smaller, but without strength training, some of the weight you lose will inevitably be muscle. So you will be set back in that you will have to rebuild the muscle you lost doing cardio alone.
If you start weight lifting now, you may lose a little slower, but you will still lose as long as you are eating at a small deficit. With this method though, the weight you lose will primarily be fat, and once you're down to your goal you will already look how you want and not have to incorporate a "toning" phase. You can just continue maintaining your results!

That's the only thing I really disagree with that you've said, and not because it's necessarily untrue. You CAN lose weight quickly with cardio...but that weight isn't going to be the weight you want to lose. It's going to be primarily muscle loss (if you lose 50% fat, and 50% muscle...the majority of the WEIGHT lost, is still muscle). Strength training preserves lean mass, and promotes fat oxidation. The 'poundage' lost will be less, but it will be 90% FAT.

Weight loss should never be a goal. It should always be about FAT loss!

Anyhow, sorry for the slight correction...I just know that a lot of women will see 'cardio will make you lose weight more quickly'...and ignore the rest, because losing weight is their ONLY goal =(.

By the way, there's TONS of android apps for stronglifts too =D.

I agree! Cardio weight loss doesn't equate to strict fat loss. I hope more women will understand that and realize how important it is to preserve the muscle while they still have it.

Exactly! And here's the real ticket to it...most women look at themselves, and say 'I need to lose 'X' amount of pounds to look slim and healthy'. What they don't realize, is often if they lost HALF that amount, in pure fat...they'd be at or beyond their initial goal 'look', and be more shapely and 'firm' on top of it. Heavy strength training and a healthy, ADEQUATE (not 1200cal/day) diet...are THE fastest route to that goal.

Definitely something to think about.

JL4987

Thanks so much for this! Your pics are amazing - not just your body cos it is looking perfect btw - but showing the change and information you have given - days you train, cals you eat and what you lift. I know Im ages away from it but once Ive used cardio to lose a bulk of the weight, this really gives me something to aim for. Thanks again!!

crisanderson27

Thanks so much for this! Your pics are amazing - not just your body cos it is looking perfect btw - but showing the change and information you have given - days you train, cals you eat and what you lift. I know Im ages away from it but once Ive used cardio to lose a bulk of the weight, this really gives me something to aim for. Thanks again!!

You're missing the point...don't wait until you lose ANY of the weight! You can start heavy strength training tomorrow, and see visible results in as little as two weeks. Believe me, even women who are very overweight are seeing real gains with strength training.

addiograsso

Thank you all for the feedback and advice. I REALLY appreciate it! I now just need to find the info - (which you gave me the link, thanks) and track down some weights! Thanks again to cmmonowguys for you post and to crisanderson2 for the advice!