WEIGHTS vs CARDIO

poesch77

I just read in SHAPE magazine that to drop weight quickly, cut back on Cardio and do weights instead. I love my cardio and feel a better sweat session SHOULD help in losing weight. I have been on MFP for almost 2 years and this last year have gained and lost the same 10 lbs. Could this be the solution? I do alot of interval training videos so I figured this was sufficient for weight training. Please help give me some insight on this.....I have been stuck and saw a Doctor last week finally. Ran a bunch of bloodwork and all was normal. I was told to up my calories to 2,000/day. I am afraid I will now gain more. I just want to get closer to my goal.

poesch77

advice anyone please?

refinedredbird

Cardio burns calories as well as weight training so both contribute to losing weight. I am sure there may be quite a few people who focus on weight training more than cardio to lose weight because you are also toning and losing inches instead of just pounds. I personally do both on different days to mix things up. I have learned to love running and I enjoy the cardio workout from it and it can tone your legs, but not the upper body so I add weights on other days. Cardio is also very good for your cardiovascular system which is important too.

GauchoMark

the more muscle you have the more calories you burn.

People tend to correlate cardio with weight loss because the calorie burn is very easy to quantify, so the info is there. However, lifting weights burns calories too AND builds muscle (which burns calories all day). The problem is, the calorie expenditure is much more difficult to quantify because there are a ton of variables. You burn calories when you lift as well as during the recovery afterwards.

Anyways, I wouldn't QUIT cardio, but I do recommend that you do a mix of both.

poesch77

Thanks guys. I just think I need more weight training....but its so much easier to follow a dvd than do it alone on the home gym. I have tried P90X and Insanity ....I didn't like either. What would be a good balance? I currently do 5-6/days per week 20-40 minute DVDs....I switch different ones everyday.....I have about 10 different ones.

Natihilator

Thanks guys. I just think I need more weight training....but its so much easier to follow a dvd than do it alone on the home gym. I have tried P90X and Insanity ....I didn't like either. What would be a good balance? I currently do 5-6/days per week 20-40 minute DVDs....I switch different ones everyday.....I have about 10 different ones.

You have a home gym, with free weights? Get yourself a copy of 'New Rules of Lifting for Women' and try that out. I hated P90X too, but I really loved 'New Rules'. I found that tracking my strength progression was really good motivation to keep going.

jacksonpt

Cardio and weights affect the body differently. If you're primary goal is weight loss (scale value), then your best bet is to do no exercise and focus solely on your diet.

More realistically, people should understand that there are numerous benefits to exercise (be it cardio or strength training) and realize that weight loss/being healthy is lifelong, not a temporary thing. As such, they should do both types of exercise and realize that progress will be/should be slow.

poesch77

You have a home gym, with free weights? Get yourself a copy of 'New Rules of Lifting for Women' and try that out. I hated P90X too, but I really loved 'New Rules'. I found that tracking my strength progression was really good motivation to keep going.

Yes, a Weider Home gym.....thanks for the info on the book. I just need to find something that is gonna start the losing process again. I still have about 35-40lbs more to go.

jacksonpt

Thanks guys. I just think I need more weight training....but its so much easier to follow a dvd than do it alone on the home gym. I have tried P90X and Insanity ....I didn't like either. What would be a good balance? I currently do 5-6/days per week 20-40 minute DVDs....I switch different ones everyday.....I have about 10 different ones.

I would do 2-3 days of cardio (whatever you want) and 2-4 days of strength training (heavy weights like starting strength or stronglifts, body weight routines like convict conditioning, resistance bands, all can be good options).

gracielynn1011

I read on another forum that women take longer work outs to burn sufficient calories to lose weight. The trainer said that women do not start to burn stored calories until after 20 minutes of activity. So if your work out is 30 minutes, the first 20 is basically a warm up. So even though my circuit training is 30 minutes, I try to keep active after i finish it by doing house keeping or something like that.

Also, something else that I read, was that strength is important because weight training reshapes your body by improving muscle tone. Cardio helps burning the fat that is over the muscles to help them show through.

I don't know if either of those things help you or answer your questions, but they are things that stick in my mind.

cwolfman13

the more muscle you have the more calories you burn.

People tend to correlate cardio with weight loss because the calorie burn is very easy to quantify, so the info is there. However, lifting weights burns calories too AND builds muscle (which burns calories all day). The problem is, the calorie expenditure is much more difficult to quantify because there are a ton of variables. You burn calories when you lift as well as during the recovery afterwards.

Anyways, I wouldn't QUIT cardio, but I do recommend that you do a mix of both.

Gaucho rocks

cwolfman13

Thanks guys. I just think I need more weight training....but its so much easier to follow a dvd than do it alone on the home gym. I have tried P90X and Insanity ....I didn't like either. What would be a good balance? I currently do 5-6/days per week 20-40 minute DVDs....I switch different ones everyday.....I have about 10 different ones.

I would do 2-3 days of cardio (whatever you want) and 2-4 days of strength training (heavy weights like starting strength or stronglifts, body weight routines like convict conditioning, resistance bands, all can be good options).

And Jackson rocks!!

poesch77

I would do 2-3 days of cardio (whatever you want) and 2-4 days of strength training (heavy weights like starting strength or stronglifts, body weight routines like convict conditioning, resistance bands, all can be good options).

^^^^thanks so much! I think..... M,W,F=Cardio and T,TH =Weights. How long on weights? 20 minutes?

jacksonpt

I would do 2-3 days of cardio (whatever you want) and 2-4 days of strength training (heavy weights like starting strength or stronglifts, body weight routines like convict conditioning, resistance bands, all can be good options).

^^^^thanks so much! I think..... M,W,F=Cardio and T,TH =Weights. How long on weights? 20 minutes?

Weights, unlike cardio, shouldn't be based on time. Take as long as you need to get in a good workout. Spend some time reading up on routines, especially ones based on the big compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench, rows, overhead press). I find that 20 minutes is the LEAST amount of time I need to get in a decent workout, 30 minutes is more typical, and 45 minutes is pretty serious, but that's based on my routines, my rest times, etc.

DopeItUp

I would do 2-3 days of cardio (whatever you want) and 2-4 days of strength training (heavy weights like starting strength or stronglifts, body weight routines like convict conditioning, resistance bands, all can be good options).

^^^^thanks so much! I think..... M,W,F=Cardio and T,TH =Weights. How long on weights? 20 minutes?

All depends on what you're doing, rest periods, etc.. I'd probably budget something more like 30-60 minutes. Hell I'm still doing warm-ups at the 15 minute mark.

poesch77

I need a personal trainer. What kind of warm ups do u do? Can't u just start lifting?

gwhizeh

Hi, there is an link somewhere on this site that seems to explain why weight training is actually a preferred method. Im at work but i will dig it up later if someone doesn't already. Im still having this debate of what to focus on more. The article swayed me pretty heavily to weights tho.

kklemarow

TurboFire is a really fun workout and the schedule is set up to combine cardio & strength training. I would suggest that before spending money on a personal trainer.

richardheath

For weight loss, all you need is a calories deficit.

Cardio (as well as being good for your CV system) helps to give you more of a deficit, so you can either eat more or lose a bit faster. But the weight you lose will be fat PLUS muscle.

Strength training (as was mentioned) is harder to quantify in terms of calories burned. But it is a fact that that muscles burn more calories than fat even while resting. And, by repeated use, your body is going to learn not to get rid of the muscle while on a calorie deficit. So, by doing resistance training, you (a) keep your muscle (b) burn more calories even when not working out, which equals higher fat loss and (c) will look great when you hit your target, because you won't be "skinny fat".

For warm ups, I do a few minutes of stretching, then start the first few exercises at lower weights (25% then 50% of working set weight).

If you have free weights, you can do Stronglifts or NROL4W, or find a plan here http://www.bodybuilding.com/guides/ that you can probably modify for your home gym. I generally do strength training 3 x per week, and cardio on the off days (plus one day with nothing).

sandradev1

I need a personal trainer. What kind of warm ups do u do? Can't u just start lifting?

If you follow Stronglifts 5 x 5, Starting Strength or NROL4W, it explains all about the necessary warm ups and that rate of progression of weights. There are also plenty of video's available for all the programmes on how to do the various lifts. I do Stronglifts 5 x 5 in my home gym.

choch80

Try rowing. Concept 2 indoor rowers are the best value and rowing is one the best cardio workouts you can get. Also, since it is a full-body workout, similar to swimming, it will build muscle while burning a large amount of calories.