question about workout

tlapdx72

I usually do about five days of cardio at the gym. I do 20 minutes on three machines (treadmill, elliptical, cross trainer or bike). I know I should be doing more with strenghth training, However, I have been so focused on cardio, since I want to lose weight, but by the time I have done an hour of cardio I am too tired to do the strenth training. I am thinking about changing things a bit. I was thinking about doing my cardio every other day, and using dumbells on the other days for an hour. I am wondering if this will still be enough cardio to lose weight?

SHBoss1673

sure it will. Remember, exercise is only a suppliment, you lose weight by creating a deficit, exercise can increase that deficit, but to lose weight you really don't need exercise at all theoretically. Now I would NEVER recommend that unless you are physically unable to exercise, but still its there.

If you're worried, why not do anaerobic cardio (HIIT training), that encompasses both muscle building activity and high heart rate cardio into the same routine, you can do this for A) less time every day, 30 minutes of HIIT is equivalent to 60 minutes of moderate cardio (calorie wise). and it enhances muscle density, especially in the gluts, thighs, and calves. On top of that it also increases your anaerobic threshold (allowing you to work at higher sustained levels) and lung capacity (allowing you to reach maximum workout levels for longer periods).

VanessaC

I'm no expert but I do know that muscle helps you burn more calories overall, so strength training is definately useful. Interval training works well. A few minutes of intense cardio then right into weights for a a couple of minutes. Repeat. It gets your heart rate up to burn your calories while working out and builds muscle that will burn more calories the rest of the day.

sechebelem

I am no expert either, but I do know that the cardio is important to help you lose weight; however, strength training is what actually changes the shape of your body. It may be helpful to get the majority of your cardio done in the morning, and then you can do strength training at night. This breaks up your workout so that you can come into your strength training with some energy. Hope this helps!

tlapdx72

thanks everyone for your great tips:flowerforyou: