Strength Training vs. cardio in the beginning????? HELP!
SaraLily85
Posts: 23 Member
I am wondering if I should build up my muscles and do a little cardio in the beginning of my journey. I feel as though if I make more of my body muscle than fat, then I will have a better chance of losing weight, rather than just doing cardio all the time. I do cardio everyday, burning 200(give or take a few) calories each time. should I do more?? And I do strength training every other day for about 90 minutes working all of my muscle groups with the bowflex. I want the best workout to lose the most weight, but i do not want to lose muscle. Help! I eat about 1500 calories a day, no more. I like the elliptical, bike, treadmill and bowflex. Please give me advice on what I should do more or less of to get the most results. Im new to this whole process. But Im determined. HELP.
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Great question!!! Im interested to hear the suggestions on this one as well...0
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It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.0
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It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.
Equal parts every day?0 -
No.It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.
Equal parts every day?
Best bet, start off strength training 3 times a week. Once the intial soreness and fatigue wear off (I'd say a week, tops) sprinkle in one to two days of cardio.
That's what works best for me. In my mind, if you can do a decent amount of cardio after strength training, you're not training hard enough.0 -
Yes, find a good compound, heavy, progressive program. 2-3 days a week.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary
Cardio 2-3 days a week, either the same day (after lifting) or alternate days.0 -
It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.
EXACTLY... I switch up.. One day I do the Cardio and the next day I do Strength.. The way my gym works on some days I take two classes a day the first class will be Cardio and following that class will be Strength and I stay for both.0 -
I don't see anything wrong with what you're doing now...a good combo of cardio and strength is perfect IMHO0
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Ok. So, I do strength training 3-4 times a week. Cardio everyday. I eat at a deficit of about 500-700 calories a day. Its been a couple of weeks and Ive lost 3lbs but I heard that the first few pounds is just water weight. On the days I do strength training, I do cardio first. Just 20 minutes on the elliptical burns about 200 calories.... If I keep doing this plan, I should see a difference in my weight and inches??0
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Do both!
Cardio is like weight lifting for your heart and lungs.
Your heart is a muscle and cardio makes it strong.0 -
No.It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.
Equal parts every day?
Best bet, start off strength training 3 times a week. Once the intial soreness and fatigue wear off (I'd say a week, tops) sprinkle in one to two days of cardio.
That's what works best for me. In my mind, if you can do a decent amount of cardio after strength training, you're not training hard enough.
DavPul and Leak nailed it!0 -
strength train - NOW. I see people asking this question all the time and I'm still baffled as to where the idea of waiting to strength train til later came from. it makes NO sense!!
strength train 3 days a week, cardio 3-5 days a week. when doing strength & cardio, do strength first then cardio!0 -
I definitely agree with Cardio and strength training. It's what I've done through out my whole journey and it has made a huge difference. One key though is to make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet so you don't loose the muscle your working so hard to build. I eat anywhere from 180-200 grams of protein a day.0
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It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.
I love how you put it!! It's that simple!!0 -
Any thoughts on how to balance it out in one work out? I've started to back and forth between cardio and strength training during each workout (i get tired and bored if I do one or the other first), but I don't know if this is more or less effective than just doing one or the other straight through.0
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Both. but make sure you have fan with cardio. Good playlist and interesting workouts like the mini-tri or heavy bag or skiiping rope.0
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I am not an expert; I've lost 130 pounds and did it mostly through running. I only recently started lifting regularly. If I could do it again, I would have added a lot more strength training, but not at the expense of the cardo. When you do cardo, it should be hard. Run at a speed that challenges you without making you too winded. I only use an elliptical or bike on recovery days. It takes a lot of work or time to burn any meaningfully calories with such machines. I would keep lifting three days a week and shoot for up to an hour of good cardio three days a week. Good luck!0
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That is very interesting! I love all the great advice from this post. I just always thought that you are supose to do cardio before strength training to warm up those muscles. Or should you just do like a quick 5 minutes cardio to warm the muscles???0
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Do both!!!0
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Both. This is from an article on strength training- "You burn calories during strength training, and your body continues to burn calories after strength training, a process called "physiologic homework." More calories are used to make and maintain muscle than fat, and in fact strength training can boost your metabolism by 15 percent — that can really jumpstart a weight loss plan." Cardio is great for the heart, metabolism, bones, mood (increases serotonin). The only limitation is make sure you allow muscle groups time to rest between workouts. I work out doing my 10 minute warm up (should always do a warm out before doing strength training) on the treadmill then do weights for half hour-I do upper body one day, lower body the next day - then finish with half hour cardio on whatever machine is free. Or I do half hour cardio on treadmill etc then do half hour weights. Gets everything covered in an hour!0
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Both.0
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I do both. I've lost weight in the past and it seemed to work for me. First, start off with 30-60 minutes of some type of cardio. Then do 30 minutes of strength. If you're not exhausted after doing that, then you didn't work hard enough. Get your blood flow going first and get a good sweat and then finish it with a good strength workout. Always worked for me.0
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You are right about warming muscles first but 10 minutes warm up is fine if you don't want to do cardio work out first.That is very interesting! I love all the great advice from this post. I just always thought that you are supose to do cardio before strength training to warm up those muscles. Or should you just do like a quick 5 minutes cardio to warm the muscles???0 -
I am wondering if I should build up my muscles and do a little cardio in the beginning of my journey. I feel as though if I make more of my body muscle than fat, then I will have a better chance of losing weight, rather than just doing cardio all the time. I do cardio everyday, burning 200(give or take a few) calories each time. should I do more?? And I do strength training every other day for about 90 minutes working all of my muscle groups with the bowflex. I want the best workout to lose the most weight, but i do not want to lose muscle. Help! I eat about 1500 calories a day, no more. I like the elliptical, bike, treadmill and bowflex. Please give me advice on what I should do more or less of to get the most results. Im new to this whole process. But Im determined. HELP.
Let me tell you a little story...stick with me OK?
I started on this MFP thing over a year ago, stuck with the goals and added my exercise as walking and I walked and walked and then walked some more. I lost around 30lbs lost lots of jean sizes, but then I realised that my upper body and my arms were not keeping in line with my hips n legs...so I started to exercise those too.
The long n short story is train all you body, no matter how boring it is x0 -
It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.
WINNING!!!!
To the OP...here's what I'm starting next week as I had much the same question:
Monday - Cardio (training for 5K)
Tuesday - Heavy Lifting (SL 5x5)
Wednesday - Cardio (training for 5K)
Thursday - Heavy Lifting (SL 5x5)
Friday - Cardio (5K training)
Saturday - Heavy Lifting (SL 5x5)
Sunday - Rest...watch football...cook up some grub for the week...throw a few back
Note that my 5K training is beginner and really pretty light...about 30 minutes per session. I'm doing it primarily for the heart and the heart only needs a good 3 days/week with the heart rate over 120 for 30 minutes to get a good workout. IMHO, most people way over do it on the cardio.0 -
No.It's not strength training vs. cardio. it's strength training and cardio. Do both, eat at a deficit. profit.
Equal parts every day?
Best bet, start off strength training 3 times a week. Once the intial soreness and fatigue wear off (I'd say a week, tops) sprinkle in one to two days of cardio.
That's what works best for me. In my mind, if you can do a decent amount of cardio after strength training, you're not training hard enough.
THIS!0 -
Do both, without a doubt, do both. Start off with 3 days of strenght training, and try to rotate body parts and exercise, that is don't do the same thing three different days. Also do 3-5 days of cardio, and again mix it up, don't do the same thing over and over again. Try eliptical one day, some HIT training the next time, followed by some tire flipping or sledge swinging for the third. You want both and your body will thank you for it, not right away, but in the future it will thank you.0
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As others have mentioned strength training will help maintain your muscle as you lose weight.
For whatever it's worth, for my own personal efforts Cardio really has limited uses.
1. Health. Generally speaking, and disregarding any medical problems, some regular cardio is a good thing. And by "some," I mean not very much where my own workouts are concerned. Maybe 1-2/week, and nothing very intense at that. Then again, I have an irregular heartbeat. Your mileage will vary.
2. Cardio lets me eat more. I like food. I cringe whenever someone just refers to food at fuel and nothing more. Food is delightful, from the tastes, to the smell, to the texture, the overall experience of eating is a grand thing. And sometimes a little extra cardio helps me eat more.
If I didn't have a particular reason to care about my cardio vascular health, and didn't have a need to account for a few extra calories here and there, I wouldn't bother with cardio at all. For me, it is in no way rewarding, relaxing, "fun."0 -
Thank you all for the advice and support. I think I will continue the plan I'm working on. Strength training 3-4 days a week and cardio 4-5 days a week. I will change up the order..Ill do strength then cardio on the days I do both. Ill keep on doing all of my muscle groups everyday I do strength training because I enjoy the repetition and routine of it. I dont really warm up, I kinda just jog, but I was doing cardio before strength. I will now though. Thank you again. Youre all amazingly inspirational and that is awesome. Good luck to everyone!!!0
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That is very interesting! I love all the great advice from this post. I just always thought that you are supose to do cardio before strength training to warm up those muscles. Or should you just do like a quick 5 minutes cardio to warm the muscles???
It doesn't make any difference. Do whatever suits your time schedule or whatever makes you most likely to put forth a good effort and a quality workout. Virtually everything you will hear about "cardio or weights first" will either be wrong or irrelevant.0 -
My advice - if you want to lose weight then do more cardio. If you want to build muscle or get stronger then do more weights. Don't ditch the cardio altogether as you need to get your cv system in shape as well. Diet is important for both and it can be difficult to build muscle if you are doing lots of cardio as your body will burn the muscle you are trying to gain for fuel. If you want to build muscle do cardio once a week or keep your sessions short with a lower heart rate (e.g. 15 mins HIIT or 30 mins at 120 bpm a couple of times a week).
90 minutes seems a rather long session! I do 6 weight exercises (free weights and machines) 3 times a week (push, pull, legs) and focus on different muscle groups each day. I do 3 sets of 12 reps and a 10 minute warm up and cool down. I'm in the gym for about 45 minutes total.
You might want to check out Bodylastics resistance bands as well as they allow you to do cardio and resistance training. You might have to decide what you want to achieve as building muscle and losing weight require a different set of exercises and a different kind of diet. Build muscle = eat more. Lose weight = eat less.0
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