Weights vs. Cardio for fat loss...

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  • sm1zzle
    sm1zzle Posts: 920 Member
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    Do both. You will burn fat and strengthen your muscles.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    heavy weights and plyo!
  • groversa
    groversa Posts: 450 Member
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    heavy weights and plyo!

    plyo?
  • Dawn7664
    Dawn7664 Posts: 30 Member
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    A pound of fat and a pound of muscle weight the same, a pound! A pound of fat is larger than a pound of muscle!

    I need to loose weight and strengthen my muscles so I use weight machines. My weight loss, in pounds has slowed since I began. I use to loose 2-3 pounds per week and now I loose 1-2 BUT I look better and inches are going more quickly. So if each week i am loosing 3 pounds of fat but gaining a pound in mucsle thats so my net loss is less i dont care!

    I have a lot of weight to lose so I do some cardio too to help burn calories and help my heart gain stamina. The old saying of - don't use the scale to determine how you look, use the mirror is very true.
  • LJCannon
    LJCannon Posts: 3,636 Member
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    :drinker: DEFINITELY Weights + Cardio!! I believe they are Equally Important! I don't believe that I would have been anywhere nearly as Successful if I hadn't been doing Strength/Resistance Training right from Day One.

    But ~ That Is Just My Opinion!

    Plus, I want to be Strong, just as much as I want to be "Thin".
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
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    Both.
  • Psalm17v22
    Psalm17v22 Posts: 168 Member
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    Both

    God bless,
    Karen
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    It is actually been proven that both together work the best. Lifting weights and then doing a nice walk on the treadmill or a turn on an elliptical burns more calories in all than either or alone. Just, if you are going to do both along side, do softer walks on your lifting days. And then on days where you aren't lifting weights go for longer walks.

    When it comes to weight lifting, I have always been told that for weight loss lower weight higher rep. You should not be going over 12-15 reps per set. 8-10 is higher weight for more muscles. 12-15 is lower weigh for toning (i.e. weight loss). The last 2 or 3 should be tough, but not impossible.
  • hmadrone
    hmadrone Posts: 129 Member
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    Cardio is better for fat loss:

    http://jap.physiology.org/content/early/2012/09/26/japplphysiol.01370.2011.full.pdf+html

    But you need strength training to hold onto your lean body mass.
  • brittg7
    brittg7 Posts: 146 Member
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    get the New Rules of Lifting for Women book it will help you learn about lifting weights. i will say free wights are MUCH better than any machine you can use. and by lifting heavy you work up to real heavy. Start by lifting a wight for 8-10 reps with the last two being a bit of a struggle without losing form. you want to push yourself. lift for about 30-45 minutes and do some HIIT cardio. the combo along with diet will help with fat loss and muscle tone
  • carenscuisine
    carenscuisine Posts: 15
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    This is the part that eludes me also....its hard to log and get the amount of "calories burned" on your log. Might be another good question for the forum. I did a very intense workout today for an hour and know I burned a ton of calories but could only log like 100 on here.....so I just keep it in my head.
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    plyometrics- jump training. it's used by sprinters and many other athletes.

    jump squats, speed skaters-make sure you squat while doing those, different kinds of jumping side to side or in a box pattern,
    power lunges-jumping lunges,that's all I can remember. my fav and most challenging workout ever. Ever. is a 45 min plyo workout by Cathe Friedrich. I can post the link to the clip of it if you like. or the exercises. but basically you alternate one of the jumping exercises with weight training

    15 jump squats
    15 lunges with weights
    15 speed skaters
    etc. can't remember how many reps/sets, but it's something like that.
    super challenging. I have such a hard time challenging my legs,
    and that ish works.

    edit to add. not for beginers. need to already be an advanced level exerciser, or you could injure yourself.
    always take rest days after too. you WILL be sore.
  • Mighty_Rabite
    Mighty_Rabite Posts: 581 Member
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    Both!

    The way I see it.. cardio helps to strip away the fat a little more efficiently.. weights helps to form and define the muscles, making the thinner body more robust.. but muscle gain also boosts metabolism, which is like turbocharging a car.
  • lilmzritz
    lilmzritz Posts: 176
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    Combination of both works for me. I way I see it cardio helps with losing the fat and weights tones the muscles.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    What UCB says is so true....this is what they teach in military boot camp. This is why they actually have weight lifting in Coast Guard boot camp now, not just a CC screaming to do push ups in your face.
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
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    Both, for sure.

    I know lots of people like just strength + deficit through diet, but I couldn't do it, wasn't able to control my appetite enough to do that - gained fat along with the muscle.

    So I do weights as the priority, and a bit of calisthenics on the same day, and easy cardio on off days for recovery, for 40-60 mins.

    In my case this is much easier than just dieting - my appetite's better controlled, heart and lungs feel better, helps with energy levels and sleeping, even digestion.
  • Buettner22
    Buettner22 Posts: 130 Member
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    After scanning through everyones comments I didnt see where anyone mentioned why weight lifting is slightly more important then cardio is, so I wanted to throw this in there so maybe youll get a better understanding of it. The reason weight lifting is important is because when we do cardio our heart rate and metabolism both shoot up during the workout, but when we finish running or doing the elliptical or whatever cardio your doing our heart rate and metabolism both drop back down to normal pretty instantly. So when you lift weights our heart rate and metabolism go up during the workout and we make tiny tears all in the muscles that we are working (which is why its good to alternate like upper and lower everyday so you have a rest day for each one in between), so now your done lifting for the day, but even though your done physically lifting the weights your body is now going into repair mode and trying to repair the muscles that have been torn. From what I understand the repair mode can last anywhere from 20-24hrs meaning, your heart rate might drop back to normal after lifting but your metabolism will continue to stay high the entire time because your body is working as fast as possible to repair the muscles. So with that being said I believe lifting is a more effective way to lose weight but cardio is still very important because its what makes your heart and lungs stronger and those 2 things are extremely important in just overall health. I personally have a heart condition where my heart beats twice as fast as a normal person so its really important for me to strengthen that muscle so that it can handle the double duty it gets but for losing weight, weights are better for me, and just a side note you dont have to use weights to strengthen your muscles. Theres a crap ton exercises that use your own body weight which is just as effective and I think sometimes more fun. I hope some of this helps you figure stuff out cause for the longest time i was really confused myself until someone sat down and physically showed me why weights are so important. Good luck!
  • Dawn7664
    Dawn7664 Posts: 30 Member
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    Strength training and cardio don't necessarily need to be exclusive from each other - you can get a cardiovascular and fat burning benefit from strength training both directly and indirectly.

    Indirectly, the more muscle tissue that you add through strength training the greater your basal metabolic rate (resting metabolism) will be and therefore you will be burning more total calories and fat at rest. This is more of a permanent solution to weight loss.
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
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    Strength training and cardio don't necessarily need to be exclusive from each other - you can get a cardiovascular and fat burning benefit from strength training both directly and indirectly.

    Indirectly, the more muscle tissue that you add through strength training the greater your basal metabolic rate (resting metabolism) will be and therefore you will be burning more total calories and fat at rest. This is more of a permanent solution to weight loss.

    That's true, but, you can't lift every day. Moderate daily activity can help regulate appetite, and promotes systemic health. Also helps with recovery from lifting.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Cardio is better for fat loss:

    http://jap.physiology.org/content/early/2012/09/26/japplphysiol.01370.2011.full.pdf+html

    But you need strength training to hold onto your lean body mass.
    Cardio is better for loss of lean body mass (of which muscle is a component). Weight training spares LBM as you lose fat and also causes a significant increase in RMR:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10204826

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