Kinda clueless...

sarahxallard

Right now I work out 6-7 days a week and I do a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio (elliptical, running, cycling) and then some weight training on my arms, back, and abs. I also take yoga 2-3 times a week and turbo kick on Saturdays.

I know weight loss is a slow and steady process. I feel good and I am happy with what the scale is telling me, but I don't feel like my body looks any different. My boyfriend (he's a marine) told me that I should do either weight training or cardio but not both in the same day because he says that I won't burn fat, I'll burn off muscle? Does that sound right? I guess I just feel like I have to do cardio to burn off the excess calories. I don't feel as guilty when I do cardio hahaha...

So I guess my question is, what are good weight loss workouts? Should I keep doing what I'm doing, or is my boyfriend right?

havingitall

I've never heard that doing both cardio and weight training in the same day will burn off muscle. Your body goes for the quickest energy that it can access.

I combine both cardio and weight training and so does my husband. We both have good muscle tone and are losing weight.

April0815

I have never heard of that. I work out with a personal trainer and sometimes we do intervals that burn calories and work the muscle.

SHBoss1673

It won't burn off muscle, but doing cardio and weight training together will inhibit your body from maximizing muscle growth. Your muscles need fuel to repair after weight training, doing cardio diverts those calories away from muscle building to fuel the depleted muscles used in the cardio activity.


Also, sounds to me like you're over training, if you're already at a good weight (which it looks like you are), and aren't training for a specific event, I would put a larger effort into muscle shaping activity like weight training or circuit training, and only divert 2 to 3 days to cardio activity. Yoga's great for flexibility and some very very light muscle building, but the only thing that will shape your body (I.E. tighten up and grow muscle) is anaerobic activity that forces muscles beyond their current capacity, and therefore triggering them to grow and become more dense.

Here's the thing, if you want to burn fat, do cardio, if you want to increase your athletic stamina and speed, do hard cardio, if you want to create definition and/or increase muscle size, do heavier weights, less repetition (google weight training to failure), if you are happy with the muscle size but not how firm and strong they are, do lighter weights with higher repetitions. Yoga is good if you would like to keep your muscle strength but increase flexibility or lengthen muscles and lower the "bulky" look of a muscle.

All these types of exercise have their place, but few of them are designed to work together very well, advanced techniques use multiple types, but they are for more of a heterogeneous type of goal (like an athlete that needs flexibility and agility along with strength and speed, say a tennis player).

These are VERY VERY generic rules of thumb, but they generally work for most people.

CasperO

Good stuff Banks - "sticky" material actually. Thanks.

34at35

Bump!

SHBoss1673

Good stuff Banks - "sticky" material actually. Thanks.

Welcome C! My pleasure. :happy:

LittleEva44

Right now I work out 6-7 days a week and I do a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio (elliptical, running, cycling) and then some weight training on my arms, back, and abs. I also take yoga 2-3 times a week and turbo kick on Saturdays.

I know weight loss is a slow and steady process. I feel good and I am happy with what the scale is telling me, but I don't feel like my body looks any different. My boyfriend (he's a marine) told me that I should do either weight training or cardio but not both in the same day because he says that I won't burn fat, I'll burn off muscle? Does that sound right? I guess I just feel like I have to do cardio to burn off the excess calories. I don't feel as guilty when I do cardio hahaha...

So I guess my question is, what are good weight loss workouts? Should I keep doing what I'm doing, or is my boyfriend right?

You don't feel as if your body looks different? If you're content w/what the scale is telling you are you talking about inches? You want to lose more inches? Is it that you pinch "an inch" instead of more than an inch and you want to lose that extra "inch"? I suggest you allow your clothes to do the talking for you. If you're not drinking 64 oz of water a day that may be one of the other reasons you feel your body looks/feels different. If you feel and look bloated that may be another thing. Bring more fiber, fruits, and veggies to your daily intake. If you eat foods that are healthy for you, but still have you feeling "gassy/bloated" just stay away from them. In my case, it's peanuts. I don't do well w/peanuts. Other "nuts" are okay for me; but I"ve got to make sure they are not "salted" (sea salt). Watch what you eat and read the label. Try the Activia yogurt. I have. And it does work. What about eating wheat products? Bring those into play instead of "white" grained products.

I hope this helps. Blessings!

Eva

Eva

sarahxallard

Thanks for all the info!