Cardio or weights?
Replies
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Haven't read all the replies, but you need to do what works for you. It may involve some trial and error. I needed to lose about the same when I started MFP and first just started walking, then jogging, with some swimming and tennis here and there. Last month I decided to start serious strength training. I have always been a cardio person, but the past month, I've done 3 days/week weight lifting and MAYBE 1-2 days cardio and I'm losing steadily and getting stronger. I do think ultimately you need to do both. I just never before realized the importance of strength training until now.
Nutrition is key too.0 -
Do both, but which one you start with depends on your goals. You should also mix it up on different days.
A great book about this sort of thing is "Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?" by Alex Hutchinson. He presents very practical, and evidence-based advise on exercise and weight-loss.0 -
A good diet is what ultimately will cause you to lose weight, whether or not you do cardio.
But build some muscle and you'll develop a better body at the same time. Increasing your muscle mass (lean body mass) will cause your body to burn more calories during the day.
Of course there are lots of benefits to cardiovascular training too. But for weight loss, if it's a choice between cardio and strength training, I'd always advocate strength training.0 -
You don't HAVE or NEED to do cardio or any exercise for that matter to lose weight. You only NEED a decifit of calories. The only exercise you NEED to not look like crap when you hit your goal weight is resistance training.
I have to agree with the looking like crap. Know a woman who is half my age. Has lost about 50 pounds. But is a mound of flab. She is actually quite young (mid 20's). Its sad. I can look at her and tell she has done no resistance/cardio. Only caloric limits. I agree that all we really need to look fabulous is resistance training. I once read on here the following and loved it: To look good in your clothes diet, to look good naked, exercise.0 -
I recommend both, but I also think you should do what you feel is something you can do regularly. When I was starting out for the first two months I only did cardio...specifically only the elliptical machine. For me it was about establishing a consistent schedule and calorie deficit, and getting in the proper mindset for the discipline I knew I'd need in order to succeed. Once I felt I had my food intake under control and had made some good progress with weight loss I started adding in lifting.
Everyone will have their own take, but I say do what you feel is best for you.0 -
Both.
It's like bacon and cheeseburgers. Or chocolate and peanut butter. Each is good on it's own, but wonderful together.
^^^This
Mmmmmmmm.....bacon cheeseburgers :laugh:
For optimum health and fitness do both.0 -
I do both. I recommend speaking to the trainer at your gym and explain & explore what your goals are. There's a lot of different types of cardio & a lot of different ways to do weight training. Combine what's best for you WITH A HEALTHY DIET and you will see results. Be patient because you may not lose weight as fast as you want to but you will lose weight!
Good luck.0 -
You don't HAVE or NEED to do cardio or any exercise for that matter to lose weight. You only NEED a decifit of calories. The only exercise you NEED to not look like crap when you hit your goal weight is resistance training.
^This BUT if you have a hard time maintaining a good calorie deficit with diet alone, cardio "buys" you more calories to eat. I love food including pizza and wine. I would rather do cardio on some days so that I can have the things that I love. It seems to help me with hunger and satisfaction. It is also seems to be easier to stay on a diet where you don't feel restricted all of the time.0 -
What is optimum health and fitness? These are vague terms to me.0
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My trainer said three 30 minute strength training sessions a week, each followed by 30 minutes of cardio. Then I can fit additional cardio on the other days at my discretion. I have roughly 40 pounds to lose. He stressed that diet was the main thing to be concerned about. Eat a balanced diet of healthy non-processed food (he said to avoid white foods except for cauliflower), plenty of water and adequate sleep.
If you want to count calories, he said multiply your current weight times 10. That's your maintenance calorie goal. To lose weight, subtract NO MORE than 200-300 from that number.
Good luck to you.0 -
I should say I mean that you should have cardio days AND weight days, not both on the same day.
Do both.
I find it beneficial to have equal cardio time to my weight time. Also, give yourself time for a stretch/rest day.
This approach will help you retain your lean body mass while losing fat. It will be slower, but in the long run, it will keep your metabolism higher and help you lose weight.
That's what I do as well. I try to get to the gym at least 4 times and in those times, I do a Body Pump (weight training) and on the days that I don't have class I do a treadmill work out. And yes, it is slower, but I am very happy with the results and the fact that the weight is staying off.0 -
Both. I do cardio 3x a week and strength training 3x a week and then a rest day. I won't lose weight just watching what I eat (I know some people can) but everyone is different.0
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I say a mix of both. Say 10 minutes to warm up on the treadmill say 3 mph. Then do your set for a good hour or so. Then do Elliptical for 30 minutes at a decent pace.0
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Today I am going back to the gym and don't know what to concentrate on. I have 56 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight.
Should I just do cardio first to get rid of the fat? I carry most of my weight in my mid section.
Any advice would be appreciated.
The only thing that gets rid of fat is a calorie deficit. The fat will go, from where it wants and when it wants and you have no control of where it comes off, but if you keep up the deficit it will all go away, I had it in all the ugly spots and it finally went with lots of patience. The slow turtle wins this race.
You want weights AND cardio although both are to develop your lean body mass so it looks good when the fat is gone and make your body healthy and strong.
Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.
Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.
The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.
And if I could encourage you to lift weights. I recently went for my DXA scan and I was told that my 51.5 year old bones are that of a super fit 30 year old. My experience with cardio, running marathon after marathon thinking I could lose the fat didn't work, but I found that a calorie deficit finally did the trick, and the lifting and running gave my body something pretty once the fat was gone --> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout0 -
BOTH!!!0
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I wrote a whole lot of stuff that would probably bore you so I'm going to shorten it and say:
Both0 -
***This may shock some people***
I say neither
What? Did I just say NO exercise...wow, I probably sound crazy. haha but isn't that refreshing to hear?! I am a student studying Human Nutritional Sciences. I recently attended a workshop where the guest speaker who specializes in weight management said that studies show exercise only account for 2.7% of weight loss. In other words, if you must exert energy in any area, spend it in the kitchen! Focus on getting your nutrition tight, meal prep, limit excess sugar, saturated fats, simple carbs and eat lots of lean protein, veggies and complex carbs!
I wouldn't encourage ppl to not exercise. While it is true weight loss comes from a calorie deficit, exercise has so many other healthy benefits its not something you want to skip. It shapes the body so when you lose the fat you look tight and defined. It improves your cardiovascular and heart health as well as boosts your metabolism. It increases your muscle strength and endurance. It relieves stress. It is a mood booster.
Don't skip the exercise because you don't have to to lose weight.0 -
Weight Lifting burns twice as many calories as Cardio...80% of being fit lies within your diet. Keep the calories clean and try to stay higher with the protein and lower your carb intake.0
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Both.
It's like bacon and cheeseburgers. Or chocolate and peanut butter. Each is good on it's own, but wonderful together.
^^^ THIS!0 -
There's more to life than weight loss. For example strength and fitness.
See above. Weight loss is a result of calorie deficit, so your diet is the key factor. Abs are made in the kitchen.
That being said, cardio helps you get to a calorie deficit in the short term, which will help reduce body fat and overall weight, and keeps your heart and lungs in good shape so you can be active and enjoy living life. HIIT gets a bunch of attention these days and is probably the most efficient use of your cardio time, but there are things to be said for long slow cardio as well, especially if you enjoy it (I do).
Strength training helps you maintain muscle mass so your metabolism stays higher long term, which will help reduce body fat and overall weight. It also makes you stronger, more toned, and generally more fit-looking, so you can be active and enjoy living life. Free weights and exercises that involve large groups of muscles (i.e. squats, lunges, deadlifts) are probably the most efficient use of your weight training time, but there are things to be said for spot training as well, especially if you enjoy it.
I think Crossfit and similar workouts are a great overall combo of the two and a very efficient way of getting an effective workout in in short order, but intelligent minds can disagree.0 -
Here are some free plans you may want to follow:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/find-a-plan-fat-loss-2039-female.html
I'm the Lee Labrada's Leanbody program & love it so far. It's similar to how I used to train, but with way less rest and down time.0 -
*editing for clarity*
I should say I mean that you should have cardio days AND weight days, not both on the same day.
Do both.
I find it beneficial to have equal cardio time to my weight time. Also, give yourself time for a stretch/rest day.
This approach will help you retain your lean body mass while losing fat. It will be slower, but in the long run, it will keep your metabolism higher and help you lose weight.
How many days do you work out per week?
Agreed^^ I did this myself to lose the majority of my weight. I did HIIT on day, weights the next. Saturdays were always my off days. The more lean muscle mass you have, the more calroies your body will burn. Also, muscle "takes" up more space than fat, not weight more which is a common misconception. In other words, you could be toned up well and look like you weight 125 pounds when you really weigh 140 *Example only*.
Jamie Eason has some good programs to folow too. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html0 -
Do both...it's the only way to truly be all around healthy0
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The results of this study indicate otherwise:From my opinion, Cardio is a must! it will burn that fat easy and faster than strength training!...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10204826
An excerpt, for those who don't want to open the link:RESULTS:
Maximum oxygen consumption (Max VO2) increased significantly (p<0.05) but equally in both groups. Body weight decreased significantly more (p<0.01) in C+D than R+D. The C+D group lost a significant (p<0.05) amount of LBW (51 to 47 kg). No decrease in LBW was observed in R+D. In addition, R+D had an increase (p<0.05) in RMR O2 ml/kg/min (2.6 to 3.1). The 24 hour RMR decreased (p<0.05) in the C+D group.
Translation: Those doing strictly cardio experienced more overall loss in body weight, but they also lost a significant amount of lean body mass (muscle) and experienced a decrease in RMR. Those doing strength training lost no muscle mass (therefore, the entire weight loss was fat) and also increased their RMR.0 -
Both do what they are supposed to!!!!
If you want to run a marathon, then you must run
If you want to bench press your weight, then you must lift.
If you want to lose weight, then you must eat better.
Set a freaking goal, and do what is necessary to achieve it.0 -
Both do what they are supposed to!!!!
If you want to run a marathon, then you must run
If you want to bench press your weight, then you must lift.
If you want to lose weight, then you must eat better.
Set a freaking goal, and do what is necessary to achieve it.
:drinker:0 -
I do cardio almost every day, but weights just 3 times a week. You can do both at once, but don't do the weights on consecutive days unless you target a different body area.0
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Almost everybody should do some of both to be healthy, but the best combination depends on genetics and what your goals are. For significant weight loss high intensity interval training really helps. Look into it.
If you spend some more time doing lower or moderate intensity cardio you can eat more and still have a caloric deficit. Find something fun that you will want to do regularly.
Strength training doesn't have to be done at the gym with weights. Any kind of resistance will benefit you as long as you are reaching muscle failure.0 -
BOTH!!!0
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i walk my dog daily and do crossfit 4 times a week. as someone previously said, you do burn calories with everything you do in crossfit. the negative i find with tracking it on mfp is that it doesn't add any calories earned for strength training exercises. and i know that with the amount of sweat, constant movement, and fatigued muscles i get from an hour long class, i am burning hundreds of calories. only cardio exercise calories burned get factored in to your daily allotment. but i know that i have a lot more to "eat back" on crossfit days. and so it will look like i have gone over on calories when i really haven't.
as for cardio vs. weights, in general, the question you need to ask yourself is this: what is more important, the number on the scale or the way your *kitten* looks in jeans? weights are going to add muscle mass which is going to keep your weight higher initially, but your figure will quickly change for the better. cardio is going to shed pounds, but your body won't look as fit as what you think should match your weight until you begin to tone it.
i was once taught that the right balance for getting healthy is:
50% diet
40% strength
10% cardio
theres strength training under cardio which will help add back your calories used0
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