Cardio vs. Weight Training...Here We Go Again :)

chiara999

hello - this is a really interesting topic and one i have been wondering about. i am hooked on cardio and want to add some strength training to my routine because it seems that i just have to struggle to lose a single pound.
will lifting small dumb bells or using resistance bands be of any use or does one have to lift very heavy weights? i am age 50 and female. thanks for any responses.

Chuckempire

I'd say start with your diet, re evaluate. Do you measure all your food and such? I know its a pain but it definitly makes a differance. Usually when your weight loss comes to a halt its your thyriod adjusting to your food intake. I've noticed when that happens you consume 500 cals above maintence for one day and that resets your leptin levels.

Try something like four days low carb and then the fifth day carb up then 6th & 7th taper your carbs down. Do your cardio on the low carb days, try 10-20 mins of intervals of 1 min run / 1 min walk. Then afterwards do alittle streching 5 mins then do a moderate 20-40 mins of cardio. This approach will mobilze the fat with the intervalls then with the moderate cardio it will burn the fat thats been broken down. Try to incorporate some light weight lifting on days 1 & 2 if possible light weights and high reps. Day 6 weight training low reps but as heavy as you can go safely a spotter is recomended + gives u extra motavation. I recomend Yohimbe HCL it wil linhibit aplha 2 recptors on a low carb diet. It will asist on mobalizing fat.

slowly_changing12

i personally like cardio better than weight training.....but from my experience with losing weight so far....i have noticed that it is essential to use both. i have always looked at cardio as melting fat and weight training as toning the fat (i could be wrong)...but they both play an important part in your body composition.

kiachu

I can sling around weights all day. I detest cardio. But you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. I'd rather be well fed and suffer my caloric deficit through extra energy expenditure.

hesn92

I think cardio is good for your heart and your health, and it allows you to eat more, but no it is not necessary for losing weight.

mustgetmuscles1

I am required to "cheat" once a week, something to do with shocking your system?

I can't say with total certainty myself but I think the "cheating" here and there makes it less likely for you to overindulge at other times - however, assuming the "cheat" also means a higher calorie consumption for the day, that does help because the body's metabolism will adjust somewhat to a hypocaloric diet over time, and that "cheat" day can boost it back up, so the next few days when you are back to hypocaloric, you burn even more fat.

Kind of off topic but here is a pretty good video that explains the theory behind scheduled cheat days. Sometimes called refeeds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsSzl4ecluk

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

While I'm an advocate for heavy weight lifting for women, consider weight training as my main workout & the very core of it but to be honest I don't see any reason to compare the importance of the two. The only problem is whenever we overdo cardio while overlooking weight training which unfortunately happens to many people especially women.

But both have their own place in fitness.

mmapags

I'd say start with your diet, re evaluate. Do you measure all your food and such? I know its a pain but it definitly makes a differance. Usually when your weight loss comes to a halt its your thyriod adjusting to your food intake. I've noticed when that happens you consume 500 cals above maintence for one day and that resets your leptin levels.

Try something like four days low carb and then the fifth day carb up then 6th & 7th taper your carbs down. Do your cardio on the low carb days, try 10-20 mins of intervals of 1 min run / 1 min walk. Then afterwards do alittle streching 5 mins then do a moderate 20-40 mins of cardio. This approach will mobilze the fat with the intervalls then with the moderate cardio it will burn the fat thats been broken down. Try to incorporate some light weight lifting on days 1 & 2 if possible light weights and high reps. Day 6 weight training low reps but as heavy as you can go safely a spotter is recomended + gives u extra motavation. I recomend Yohimbe HCL it wil linhibit aplha 2 recptors on a low carb diet. It will asist on mobalizing fat.

Honestly, this is all much more complicated than it needs to be.

Eat in a calorie deficit with nutrient dense foods.
Manange your macros.
Weight training a few times a week.
Cardio a couple of time a week.

That' it. Easy to follow. Easy to comply with.

rapat

Look at the extremes:
1. Only Cardio -- log distance runner, very skinny
2. Only Weight Training - professional bodybuilder -- huge muscles
3. Combination -- Professional Athlete -- especially hockey/football player

I'd personally take the Professional Athlete look & health level over the other two.
If I had to choose between the look of a cardio only person vs a weight training only person, I'd choose the cardio only look.
But since I don't have to choose, I'll pick both.

If your sole goal is to build muscle, then cardio hurts that goal. Most people don't have that goal -- and for most people cardio will help.

WendyTerry420

I export my food and exercise diaries into a spreadsheet. In my experience, doing both, in the form of circuit training (30DS), has been the most effective way to burn fat. It seems to have a synergistic effect.

WendyTerry420

f cardio....just saying......... Cardio is good for your heart......probably not a bad idea to do both. But you dont need to do cardio to lose weight.

My experience shows the opposite to be true. Mixing cardio with strength training is ideal.

Yogi_Carl

f cardio....just saying......... Cardio is good for your heart......probably not a bad idea to do both. But you dont need to do cardio to lose weight.

My experience shows the opposite to be true. Mixing cardio with strength training is ideal.

^^ I agree with this and would also throw in that you don't need to lift weights to do strength training. Your own body is sufficient. OK if you WANT to lift weights go ahead but it is not the only fruit in the salad bowl! I guess some folk are scared to think they have to join a gym and haul loads of weight around to maintain lean weight and I thought I would put it out there that you don't have to if you don't want to.

mmapags

Look at the extremes:
1. Only Cardio -- log distance runner, very skinny
2. Only Weight Training - professional bodybuilder -- huge muscles
3. Combination -- Professional Athlete -- especially hockey/football player

I'd personally take the Professional Athlete look & health level over the other two.
If I had to choose between the look of a cardio only person vs a weight training only person, I'd choose the cardio only look.
But since I don't have to choose, I'll pick both.

If your sole goal is to build muscle, then cardio hurts that goal. Most people don't have that goal -- and for most people cardio will help.

I would not agree with the idea that only 3)Only Weight Training -proffesional bodybuilder-huge muscles. In order to get the body builder look, it take very specific training. You can weight train only and not get huge muscles but improve in strength and fitness. There are many kinds of weight training and specifically low rep/ high weight strength training give only slight hypertrophy (muscle enlargement). You really get the same kind of look as the Proffesional Athlete category your define without the cardio endurance peice.

WendyTerry420

Sprints and intervals will help with your lactate threshold and V02 Max, not overall aerobic capacity or capillary or mitochondria propagation that support cardiovascular endurance that will push more blood to the muscles and increase your aerobic capacity and lower your resting heart rate.

We all have slow twitch muscle fibers, and two types of fast twitch fibers. If a fitness plan ignores one or more of these then it will atrophy. There is a place for resistance training, endurance training and speed training in every fitness program, and there are no shortcuts that are not also short changing something, somewhere. If you intend to only focus on resistance and speed, that is fine, obviously some people focus only on aerobic endurance and don't do any resistance or speed work, but don't mistake the benefits of speed work as the same as you would get by putting some time into endurance it is misleading to state otherwise.

^^^ Great post!!

:smokin:

WendyTerry420

f cardio....just saying......... Cardio is good for your heart......probably not a bad idea to do both. But you dont need to do cardio to lose weight.

My experience shows the opposite to be true. Mixing cardio with strength training is ideal.

^^ I agree with this and would also throw in that you don't need to lift weights to do strength training. Your own body is sufficient. OK if you WANT to lift weights go ahead but it is not the only fruit in the salad bowl! I guess some folk are scared to think they have to join a gym and haul loads of weight around to maintain lean weight and I thought I would put it out there that you don't have to if you don't want to.

"...not the only fruit in the salad bowl..." Love it!

And for some of us, a gym membership is as pricey as kiwi and mango! :laugh:

amy1612

I'd say start with your diet, re evaluate. Do you measure all your food and such? I know its a pain but it definitly makes a differance. Usually when your weight loss comes to a halt its your thyriod adjusting to your food intake. I've noticed when that happens you consume 500 cals above maintence for one day and that resets your leptin levels.

Try something like four days low carb and then the fifth day carb up then 6th & 7th taper your carbs down. Do your cardio on the low carb days, try 10-20 mins of intervals of 1 min run / 1 min walk. Then afterwards do alittle streching 5 mins then do a moderate 20-40 mins of cardio. This approach will mobilze the fat with the intervalls then with the moderate cardio it will burn the fat thats been broken down. Try to incorporate some light weight lifting on days 1 & 2 if possible light weights and high reps. Day 6 weight training low reps but as heavy as you can go safely a spotter is recomended + gives u extra motavation. I recomend Yohimbe HCL it wil linhibit aplha 2 recptors on a low carb diet. It will asist on mobalizing fat.

Do not do any of this....it does'nt, and should'nt need to be this complicated. Unless youre a body builder. Then maybe.

Heavy lifting is great for fat loss....yeah, bodyweight exercises are great for strength training, but a bodyweight squat is not equal to a squat plus bodyweight, its just not. Personally, Ive seen a huge shift in body composition through heavy lifting, doing simple 5x5.

Eat clean, lift heavy. Do some cardio if you want, but it isnt the be all and end all. Maybe try some 'metabolic conditioning' style exercises that incorporate lifting, such as farmers walks with weights, sled pushes (should you be lucky enough to have access...or fill a kids pushchair up with heavy stuff and use that).

strongerbytheday

This topic is if great interest to me!

Azdak

My good friend (who is also on MFP) and I got into this discussion today.

After losing about 30 pounds the first 4-5 months, I stopped losing weight and inches. I did a bunch of things and nothing worked. After 6 months of gaining and losing the same 5-7 pounds I gave up for a bit. Then I read New Rules of Lifting for Women, along with some other stuff, and created my current workout routine which consists of strength training 3 times per week (progressively increasing the amount I lift) and either Yoga, Ballet or Pilates 2-3 times per week. In essence, I flipped what I had been doing...doing less intense cardio and more (heavier) weights. After 4 weeks, I am losing lots of inches but my weight is still not budging.

My friend and I both agree that the cleaner we eat the better. My theory for not losing pounds is that I need to eat cleaner and cut out breads, rice, eating out...you know the more processed stuff. My friend, however, says my problem is that I am not doing enough cardio. She says I need to step it up on the cardio department to get my heart rate going and lose fat. I countered that cardio, although beneficial for overall health, is not necessary for fat loss.

So basically...we both agree that diet is primary, but she believes cardio is more important for weight loss and I think strength training gives you "more bang for your buck".

What are your thoughts? My friend and I are interested in an adult discussion (no attacks) and only opinions based on what has worked for you and/or any scientific knowledge you may have.

Thanks!

Yes.

No.

Maybe.

That's my expert, scientific opinion.

wild_wild_life

Well I haven't read all the replies, but just going back to basic principles . . .

Your body responds to the specific demands placed on it. So if you do cardio, you will become more cardiovascularly efficient. You will also burn calories. Burning calories is the way cardio helps with fat loss and this can be done with less effort (for most people) with a dietary deficit.

If you lift weights on a deficit, you will decrease the amount of muscle you lose in proportion to the amount of fat you lose as you lose weight. Of course you will also gain in strength, if not build muscle at a deficit.

The diet would seem to be a far more important factor than either of these in losing fat, because without a deficit, neither of the above will contribute to fat loss at all.

I also don't think eating "clean" should really impact weight loss, unless it makes it easier to eat at a deficit. When it comes to weight loss, it's all about the calories.

LOL, just realized this was from last August. I wonder who won the argument!