Ok lifters, I need some help!

amolina0810

Hello all :-) Thank you for taking the time to read my post. To start off, I will give you my stats. I am 23, 128lbs and 5'5". BMI- 20 and BFP- 20%. I just hit my goal weight of 130lbs about 2 weeks ago. I started my journey at 180lbs!! Currently, I am working out 5 days a week (Thursdays and Sundays are my rest), 30-45 mins of cardio and 30 mins of strength. Okay, now I have some questions. Obviously I am new to the whole fitness world so bear with me. Everything I know, I learned it from you awesome folks. So, my goal now is to continue to lift and build muscle, while reducing body fat. After losing over 50lb, I am still not really satisfied with my body. So, the question is: should I still continue to do cardio? Or can I just rely on my strength training. To be honest, cardio is getting tiring lately. I have been doing it consistently for the past 4 months and it would be nice to cut it down, or even take a break from it. Does anyone do just strength training? How did it work for you? What about diet for lifting? I have always had problems reaching my protein goal, and I just began drinking protein shakes this week. Now, I am getting around 100-110g daily! What are some recommendations for me? I am clueless LOL!

clee369

Read Starting Strength. But yes you can cut cardio out if you are still dieting correctly. And you can eat at a deficit while lifting I don't understand why you would think you wouldn't be able to. You diet the same way when you lift as you do when you aren't. If you want to lose fat you eat a deficit if you don't want to lose fat you hit maintenance. Just read Starting Strength

quietcoral

Well in my opinion everyone should be doing cardio to maintain and increase cardiovascular fitness. What good is eating healthy and trying to do good for your body without cardio to keep your heart healthy? Of course, that is just my feeling on the matter, and I am sure others will have their opinions.

amolina0810

SO cutting my cardio down to about 3x a week wouldn't be a bad idea?

Helloitsdan

Hello all :-) Thank you for taking the time to read my post. To start off, I will give you my stats. I am 23, 128lbs and 5'5". BMI- 20 and BFP- 20%. I just hit my goal weight of 130lbs about 2 weeks ago. I started my journey at 180lbs!! Currently, I am working out 5 days a week (Thursdays and Sundays are my rest), 30-45 mins of cardio and 30 mins of strength. Okay, now I have some questions. Obviously I am new to the whole fitness world so bear with me. Everything I know, I learned it from you awesome folks. So, my goal now is to continue to lift and build muscle, while reducing body fat. After losing over 50lb, I am still not really satisfied with my body. So, the question is: should I still continue to do cardio? Or can I just rely on my strength training. To be honest, cardio is getting tiring lately. I have been doing it consistently for the past 4 months and it would be nice to cut it down, or even take a break from it. Does anyone do just strength training? How did it work for you? What about diet for lifting? I have always had problems reaching my protein goal, and I just began drinking protein shakes this week. Now, I am getting around 100-110g daily! What are some recommendations for me? I am clueless LOL!

To gain lean mass youll need a surplus.
Some folks lose fat naturally once the gains start so youll need to play with numbers but heres my view of you from my calculator.


BMR 1339
TDEE 2075

Perfect weight 132lbs

Set MFP to 2400
Protein and fat 30% each.

Eating 2300 daily and lifting 3-4x a week on a 5x5 program youll gain appx 10lbs in about 12-15weeks.

By lifting heavy youll be effecting p-ratio and nutrients will go to muscle repair and overcompensation.
On off days if you take brisk walks at about a 5 pace youll keep any fat gains to a minimum.

www.stronglifts.com/report

Read this report and start asap.

In 12 weeks if you arent squatting close to 200lbs i'll retire.

Helloitsdan

Well in my opinion everyone should be doing cardio to maintain and increase cardiovascular fitness. What good is eating healthy and trying to do good for your body without cardio to keep your heart healthy? Of course, that is just my feeling on the matter, and I am sure others will have their opinions.

Matter of preference.

Have you ever felt someones pulse after they squat 280lbs 5 times?
No need for cardio IMO.

quietcoral

Yeah, 3X per week is pretty good for maintaining cardiovascular fitness. I am not really an expert on the strength training but I think most people would say you should be eating more than 100-110 grams of protein. You also need to make sure you are eating plenty in order to really gain muscle. If you eat in a deficit it makes it increasingly difficult to gain any muscle.

quietcoral

Well in my opinion everyone should be doing cardio to maintain and increase cardiovascular fitness. What good is eating healthy and trying to do good for your body without cardio to keep your heart healthy? Of course, that is just my feeling on the matter, and I am sure others will have their opinions.

Matter of preference.

Have you ever felt someones pulse after they squat 280lbs 5 times?
No need for cardio IMO.

Yeah it's true that you can get your HR up for short bursts but it is harder to keep it up for an extended period of time like with cardio. I suppose if you do your strength training right, like in a circuit, it can be pretty intense and pretty cardiovascular as well as strength. That is usually how I do it, but it really doesn't compare to running which keeps my HR in the 160s to 170's for the entire run

mfkn_Titanium

Dan has it on the money. I don't do cardio - I do Starting Strength (very similar to Stronglifts only it's based on 3x5 instead of 5x5, which seems to be a better setup for ladies who are still eating in a deficit) 3x a week. I'm eating in an overall small deficit, however, as I've still got quite a bit of fat I'd like to lose. I've already enjoyed my newbie gains so now I'm just focusing on some body recomp. I eat 1500-1600 a day during the week and then 2000-2400 on Fri and/or Sat. At this small of a deficit, for me, I am lucky to lose .5 lb a week (usually don't even see that). I have a fairly sedentary lifestyle since I'm not including cardio now.

Protein is UBER important in preserving lean mass as well as muscle growth if you are eating in a caloric surplus. I aim to get at least 130-140g a day.....would probably be better if I was hitting 150 though. Also watch your fat and be sure you are getting enough (I need 50-60g a day) as that is essential as well.

hesn92

I cut out cardio completely.. I really don't like cardio at all. lol. I was also eating a surplus (like 2300 calories) and lifting weights 3x a week. Last night I looked at my stomach and decided I'm getting a little too pudgy so I think I'm gonna cut my calories to 1900 (which is about a 100 cal deficit for me) I might also add in maybe one day of cardio if I have time. Which I probably wont, I work full time and I'd just rather not lol! I feel like lifting weights is enough of a workout. After doing my 3 sets of squats my heart rate is definitely up.

I also have a hard time getting enough protein. I pretty much have to have a protein shake/drink to make my goal. I find the only times I can really hit my protein goal on the money is if I just eat basically meat for lunch and dinner... (I'm not a big meat-eater) so I try to make lots of chicken at a time and eating it throughout the week. I also eat cottage cheese and greek yogurt daily for snacks. I try to get 140 grams a day (I weigh about 140lbs)

Tan43

I suppose it comes down to what you are happy for your body to be. Both strength training and cardio have positives. As you are at a weight you are happy with (Congrats on your success!) then concentrate on strength training with smaller amounts of cardio. Strength training can be a form of cardio with heart rates soaring with heavy lifting. Personally pure consistent calorie burn for me comes at a steady rate of cardio, for example my 10km run my heart rate is consistantly around 160/170 BPM. It takes me around 65 minutes to run 10 km and I burn 755 calories. My Gym sessions of 30 minutes strength and 30 minutes HIIT on the treadmill I burn 425 calories. As I need to lose more body fat I will focus on my runs/cardio but still include strength training as well as by the time my fat melts off I will be hoping to have some mighty fine muscle ready to show off!!!:happy:

wolfpack77

I rarely do cardio.

I just lift 5x5 very heavy 3 or 4x a week. On lift days, I eat ridiculous amounts of clean food. On rest days, I eat maintenance or slightly below and I limit carb intake. I combine this diet with intermittent fasting, which keeps me lean and in a surplus at the end of the week. This is how I am able to stay around 10% body fat all year round without doing cardio, even in a calorie surplus.

This kind of setup is great for recomposition, and staying lean while adding mass. But the gains will come a little slower than the traditional bulk/cut cycles. This of course varies by individual, but you get the idea.

Being lean and strong is more important to me than having big mass, so that's why I go this route. If you're looking to bulk up quickly, a traditional bulking diet might be better for you. But you'll have to cut later and up your cardio and all that.. ugh. Personally I hate it.

Good luck tho

blakhitman

Just do cardio if you need help being at a caloric deficit. I do it because that way I can eat more.

DavPul

1. Stop the cardio
2. Lift heavy(ier). Get some help with your routine if you don't feel you have a satisfactory one.
3. Keep drinking the protein drinks if that's the only way you can reliably get 100-130 grams per day.
4. Eat your maintenance amount or slightly more at first. As your strength increases, you'll need more. Your body will tell you when that time comes.

Contrary to popular MFP belief, there are other programs besides SL and SS and NROLFW. Those are good routines, but you have plenty more to choose from. Just like there are other ways to run besides C25K.

Cait_Sidhe

I do lifting to improve my fitness and physique. I only do cardio for the calorie burn.