Advice on Cardio vs Strength Training while losing weight

lveh8lve

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 33, 5'11" and I have 70 lbs to lose to get in my healthy range, but I'd like my ultimate goal to be 90 lost. I spent a little under a year some time ago working out with a personal trainer once a week and I didn't see much weight loss, but I was not watching my eating as well as I do now.

My current feeling with the amount of weight I need to lose is that I should stick to cardio for about 3/4 of my journey then start strength training again since i don't feel that I got results before. I'm a girl so I'm not looking to bulk up, more long and lean. But am I short changing myself? Has anyone else been in this position before? I'd love to hear what others have done.

Larisonlj

First of all you're female, so you can't bulk up without taking something.
I didn't lose what you have as your goal, but everything I've read from trainers etc says don't wait to lift. And remember, muscle burns fat. So maybe mix it up and one week lift 3 days and cardio 2 days then the next week switch it up and do 3 days cardio and 2 lifting. Just don't lift on back to back days, give your muscles time to recoup and repair.
Just my opinion, good luck on your journey.

lilpoindexter

Yes, I was/am in the same boat. I am a 41yo man, 5'11"..I was at least 250lbs before. I have lost 50lbs since Sept 2011. I wanted to lose weight and gain muscle.
At some point I realized that cardio to lose fat had to come first, so I did Cardio most of the time. I took a while before I started seeing big results...they happen so slowly, that you really need to take a picture to see the changes. I do cardio 3 days out of the week, and weights 3 days, with a little bit of cardio on weight lifting days.
It's been 7 months since i started a good weight lifting plan, and I can defintely see the start of muscle formation. My metabolism has cranked up as well, no doubt due to the extra muscle.
The biggest differences for me were giving up beer and soda, religiously logging everything I put in my mouth, and doing cardio regularly...I don't think the cardio you do matters. Even when I walked, i was seeing results...It was just too boring for me, so I mostly do the eliptical machine at the gym, and ride my bike.
You just have to stick with it, and not get discouraged if you slip up once in a while. Take measurments and pictures, and compare after three months...you will be motivated to continue with your plan. Good luck.

meshashesha2012

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

ObtainingBalance

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

BehindBlueEyes988

Judging by what you said, you want to be lean and strong, which is my goal as well. I would start with cardio, but you could alternate between days. Strength training is important for weight loss (muscle burns more than fat) so the two combined is not a bad idea. Plus stronger muscles mean you'll be able to go longer with cardio too! It's been working wonders for me!!

lveh8lve

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

Ianultrarunner

You should try to do some resistance training about three times a week so you don't loose muscle mass and mix in core work (Abs, Lower Back, Hips, etc).
Keep the weights not too light but so you feel your doing something and not there just going through the motions.
That will help burn fat long term as they'll keep your metabolism up when you're not doing cardio.
Also as you get fitter try Interval Training for Cardio about once a week too.

DonC77

You should mix weight training and cardio. You will get better results. The trainer at your gym was/is focused on gaining muscle mass. She wants to look that way that is why she does. It is not just from lifting weights that caused it. It is the effort she put in, in addition to eating at a surplus.
Cardio will burn calories for the immediate with a little burn after the fact. Weight training will have a lasting effect after you finish working out.
Starting out you should find a whole body routine. Activate a large number of muscle groups at the same time, compound lifts will get the biggest bang for your buck.
diet is key, whether you want to lose weight.or gain muscle mass.find something that will keep you interested and motivated!

Good luck.

ecoastie

I was told that weight loss begins in the kitchen, and for me it has been a healthy diet that has helped me lose about 50 pounds. But an active lifestyle is an important part of my overall committment to wellness. Others are right: You will not bulk up. I spent countless hours on the treadmill without results. It was logging my calories & having a 500-calorie deficit (daily, on average) that has helped me lose. As I have lost weight I have become able to intensify my activity. I am a 54-year old woman who started Body Pump about six months ago. I love it. Since I am eating at a deficit I will not add muscle. However, strength training will help me preserve the muscle I have, and I can become stronger. Resistance training will keep your metabolism going long after you've ended your work-out.

willwillywilson

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

You never know. I saw a post from a girl in another topic saying how she was going to take an estrogen blocker to help bulk up a little.

JulieHig

I've lost weight both ways, I lost a little faster doing only cardio but when I combined cardio/strength training my body looked much better.

lveh8lve

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

You never know. I saw a post from a girl in another topic saying how she was going to take an estrogen blocker to help bulk up a little.

ROFL!!! Nah, just want to look lean, but not like scary madonna.

Thanks everyone, I will probably add some weights/core/ resistance training. Luckily the muscle heads at my gym are pretty much softies and have helped me in the past.

EatClenTrenHard

She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

she is natural as natty graham

DavPul

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

And she busts her butt both in the gym and at the dinner table to be that way. She didn't accidentally bulk up. Lift, do your cardio and stay in a significant calorie deficit and you'll get the results that you want. Don't waste energy thinking about results you don't want. It's a waste of resources.

californiagirl2012

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 33, 5'11" and I have 70 lbs to lose to get in my healthy range, but I'd like my ultimate goal to be 90 lost. I spent a little under a year some time ago working out with a personal trainer once a week and I didn't see much weight loss, but I was not watching my eating as well as I do now.

My current feeling with the amount of weight I need to lose is that I should stick to cardio for about 3/4 of my journey then start strength training again since i don't feel that I got results before. I'm a girl so I'm not looking to bulk up, more long and lean. But am I short changing myself? Has anyone else been in this position before? I'd love to hear what others have done.

First, even with weight lifting you won't bulk up. Girls don't bulk up, they don't have the hormones for it natually. The ones who say they do really have more fat than they think they do. Want proof? ask them for their DXA scan. If there is no DXA scan their methods are highly inaccurate.

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

I love cardio for it's health benefits but it really won't do much for your shape and it does not burn near the calories anyone thinks it does. I ran marathon after marathon, and even ultra marathons thinking I could lose weight and in fact gained weight because I didn't realize how small I really am (until all the fat was finally gone) and that small people like me need far less calories than everyone else. You are tall so you will be able to eat more. Everyone thought I had big bones all my life, LOL. Not so.

T1mH

It takes a lot of work and effort to get bulked up like that. It makes me laugh every time someone says I don't want to lift because I don't want to get bulky.

meshashesha2012

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

well let me put it this way. you have too much body fat to look like a "crazy body builder woman" or do you seriously think you'd be able to lose 20% of your body fat after doing a few deadlifts and bench presses?

danasings

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

You never know. I saw a post from a girl in another topic saying how she was going to take an estrogen blocker to help bulk up a little.

ROFL!!! Nah, just want to look lean, but not like scary madonna.

Thanks everyone, I will probably add some weights/core/ resistance training. Luckily the muscle heads at my gym are pretty much softies and have helped me in the past.

Do you have any idea how hard you'd have to train to look like that????

Sarauk2sf

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

Being a vegan does not necessarily contradict taking roids so that is not a valid assumption.

On a deficit, you will not gain muscle mass except possibly a few pounds. Other than that, women, under ideal conditions which is intensive training and eating a cr*p ton of food can only gain 1/2lb of muscle a month.

You will not get bulky.

Sarauk2sf

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

You never know. I saw a post from a girl in another topic saying how she was going to take an estrogen blocker to help bulk up a little.

ROFL!!! Nah, just want to look lean, but not like scary madonna.

Thanks everyone, I will probably add some weights/core/ resistance training. Luckily the muscle heads at my gym are pretty much softies and have helped me in the past.

Madonna has a ridiculously low body fat - THAT is why she looks like that. She is not bulky at all.

3dogsrunning

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

And she busts her butt both in the gym and at the dinner table to be that way. She didn't accidentally bulk up. Lift, do your cardio and stay in a significant calorie deficit and you'll get the results that you want. Don't waste energy thinking about results you don't want. It's a waste of resources.

Exactly what I was going to say. You don't just accidentally look like that.

Lift_hard_eat_big

you're not going to bulk up unless you take steroids

This.

Women can gain muscle but they won't get all bulky unless they're taking stuff.

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

You never know. I saw a post from a girl in another topic saying how she was going to take an estrogen blocker to help bulk up a little.

That's quackery thinking. Taking an estrogen blocker wouldn't help her bulk.

DontWeightStartNow

I have about the same amount of weight to lose as you. I started weight lifting back in the beginning of August this year. I do about 3 to 4 days of 40 minutes of lifting (heavy as I can) and I do 35 to 40 mins of cardio 3 to 4 days as well. When you first start lifting it gets a little discouraging because it seems no matter what you eat, what you do, the scale isn't moving. after lamenting about this to whoever would listen, all i heard was "it's your muscle building, muscle weighs more than fat, blah blah blah". Because of this in the past I quit weight training (just got discouraged). THIS TIME, however, I was determined because I know weights will really sculpt my body and make it look lean as I lose the weight versus just cardio. So my mantra was "just keep doing what you're doing...just keep doing what you're doing..." After a time, I joined MFP (October to be exact) and now that I'm logging calories and burn from exercise, the pounds seem to be dropping every week. And best of all, I am finally (after about 3 months) seeing some nice results in my arms and my shoulders and especially my chest! Believe it or not, I never had cleavage until now! YAY WEIGHTLIFTING!! And you won't get that from just diet and cardio alone! Good luck!!!

LorinaLynn

There is a trainer at my gym that looks like one of those crazy body builder women. She is completely vegan and I'm pretty sure she would never touch the stuff. Thats more of what I was referring to. Not like men bulky, but woman bulky.

But she's also a trainer. She does that professionally and works damn hard to look that way. It doesn't happen overnight and doesn't happen accidentally.

Check this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/535512-real-mfp-women-weight-training-befores-and-afters

FullOfWin

I wish I could bulk as easily as some women think they can.

LorinaLynn

ROFL!!! Nah, just want to look lean, but not like scary madonna.

Ah... see, it's a difference in terminology. People who aren't into bodybuilding use "lean" as in "looking sleek and sexy and not jiggly or mushy, but without a lot of visible muscles," and people who are into it consider "lean" as "really low body fat."

The Scary Madonna look... that's not "bulky," that's just really low body fat. If you don't want muscles to be that visible or to be that veiny, that's a matter of not getting too lean.

And again... it's not something that happens overnight or accidentally.

amy1612

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 33, 5'11" and I have 70 lbs to lose to get in my healthy range, but I'd like my ultimate goal to be 90 lost. I spent a little under a year some time ago working out with a personal trainer once a week and I didn't see much weight loss, but I was not watching my eating as well as I do now.

My current feeling with the amount of weight I need to lose is that I should stick to cardio for about 3/4 of my journey then start strength training again since i don't feel that I got results before. I'm a girl so I'm not looking to bulk up, more long and lean. But am I short changing myself? Has anyone else been in this position before? I'd love to hear what others have done.

Your'e totally short changing yourself, but you seem to have some kind of thing against women lifting and how 'bulky' it makes them. If you want to do loads of cardio go for it. It wont give you the 'long lean' look you're after.

WendyTerry420

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 33, 5'11" and I have 70 lbs to lose to get in my healthy range, but I'd like my ultimate goal to be 90 lost. I spent a little under a year some time ago working out with a personal trainer once a week and I didn't see much weight loss, but I was not watching my eating as well as I do now.

My current feeling with the amount of weight I need to lose is that I should stick to cardio for about 3/4 of my journey then start strength training again since i don't feel that I got results before. I'm a girl so I'm not looking to bulk up, more long and lean. But am I short changing myself? Has anyone else been in this position before? I'd love to hear what others have done.

DEFINITELY do both! Don't weight to lose weight before you start strength training. When you do both cardio and strength training, you *WILL* burn more fat than if you only do cardio. You will also be happier with you body composition.