Whats wrong with doing only cardio?

amandapye78

Ok, I admit I am thouroughly confused by people complaining about women doing only cardio. First question: whats wrong with doing only cardio? Second question: I spend a lot of time on the rowing machine and a lot of time on the elliptical doing the total body workout and when I walk I use hand weights, is that good enough? I hate lifting, really hate it. I can't explain my hatred of it I just hate it lol, I do like rowing though.

delaney056

There's nothing wrong with doing only cardio. Many people choose to do both to prevent being skinny fat as they lose weight. Have you tried bodyweight exercises?

WDEvy

I hate lifting too but it's a necessary evil. It's the key to body recomposition. So I suck it up.

CoraGregoryCPA

Do what is fun and makes you happy. After the weightloss, you may find more benefits with strength training because you will have more of a desire to tone. It will be later but it will happen when your ready. Do what you enjoy!

m00glem0g

It has to do with metabolism. If you have only a teeny bit of muscle (and all the weight loss is muscle-energy being depleted for your workouts), then your body has less engine to run and actually runs on fewer calories. HOWEVER, if you strengthen your muscles, not only does it strengthen your joints and bones (you won't end up super-fragile in later life!), but it puts MORE caloric demand on your system!

So. If you build some muscle (and I don't mean body builder bulk, you don't need that), you need MORE calories just to operate on an average day. You're able to eat more and still lose, or eat the same and lose faster!

It's also about balancing your health. Do you just want to be a skinny bag of bones? Muscle tone TOTALLY improves appearance. And you don't need to lift ridiculous amounts. Just look up some toning vids on YouTube! Trust me. It kicks things into high gear and perks everything up ;-)

RobynMWilson

You really have to stick with what you like. My personal experience, though, is that after over 15 years of doing primarily cardio, it failed me. I was working out to the point of overtraining and didn't even look like I worked out anymore.

Then I read an article that your body can stop responding to cardio and that's when I knew I had to switch it up. What good is working out if I'm not seeing and feeling results?

amandapye78

There's nothing wrong with doing only cardio. Many people choose to do both to prevent being skinny fat as they lose weight. Have you tried bodyweight exercises?

Ok, I may sound like a complete idiot but what is body weight exercises? Like push ups and such? Those are ok and I will try them. Does the row machine and total body elliptical count as strength training?

delaney056

There's nothing wrong with doing only cardio. Many people choose to do both to prevent being skinny fat as they lose weight. Have you tried bodyweight exercises?

Ok, I may sound like a complete idiot but what is body weight exercises? Like push ups and such? Those are ok and I will try them. Does the row machine and total body elliptical count as strength training?

Yes. I do push ups, tricep dips, lunges, squats, planks, etc. You can find some great ones online. Even though those machines have some resistance, I wouldn't consider them strength training.

amandapye78

It has to do with metabolism. If you have only a teeny bit of muscle (and all the weight loss is muscle-energy being depleted for your workouts), then your body has less engine to run and actually runs on fewer calories. HOWEVER, if you strengthen your muscles, not only does it strengthen your joints and bones (you won't end up super-fragile in later life!), but it puts MORE caloric demand on your system!

So. If you build some muscle (and I don't mean body builder bulk, you don't need that), you need MORE calories just to operate on an average day. You're able to eat more and still lose, or eat the same and lose faster!

It's also about balancing your health. Do you just want to be a skinny bag of bones? Muscle tone TOTALLY improves appearance. And you don't need to lift ridiculous amounts. Just look up some toning vids on YouTube! Trust me. It kicks things into high gear and perks everything up ;-)

Actually this helps me a lot. lol. I just looked up some stuff on YouTube and there are things I would not mind doing. I am fine with lunges and squats and I do use my hand weights all the time

delaney056

And congrats on your weight loss. Just remember to stick with what you enjoy!

pspetralia

Nerd fitness website has a good beginner body circuit routine.

djames92

nothings wrong with it. you will still lose weight its just that resistance training has benefits that cardio doesnt have which makes it beneficial to do both rather then just one
i actually do the opposite i only lift and dont ever do cardio it works just not as well as the combo

LorinaLynn

I confess. I was perfectly happy with my results before I started strength training.

But then I started strength training, and it's made an amazing difference. Not only do my body, but it's made me a better runner, given me more confidence, and made me much less injury/accident prone. And the older I get, the more important that's going to be.

NaomiJFoster

I lift light handweights. But I do a lot of that. I've come to actually enjoy it. My purpose in doing it is to avoid aging in the same way as my grandmother and my mother and my mother-in-law. I'd like to be able to avoid shrinking, getting a hunched back, being frail, tiring easily, etc. I have always had issues wtih my joints, and exercise definitely helps with that. But mostly, I just don't want to age with excessive pain. I think being moderately strong will help me be able to still do things for myself in my old age.

now_or_never13

Nothing is wrong with just doing cardio.

However, lifting heavy weights really does help. It will change the look of your body much more than cardio will.

Building muscle allows you to look much smaller and more "toned".... building muscle increase your metabolism. Building muscle helps to prevent injury and provide a better body. Why wouldn't you want to build muscle?

Doing just cardio, eating at a deficit and not consuming more than enough protein will result in LOSING muscle mass along the way (which in turn lowers your metabolism and gives you the "skinny fat" look). Lifting (heavy weights, not little dumbells) will help to reduce the amount of muscle you will lose.

Capt_Apollo

there are two types of exercising. one gives you the body you want. the other is cardio.

supermodelchic

I only lifted weights for a long time , from 17-34 only powerlifting/body building. Started cardio at age 34, that said you can not get a killer body without doing weights.

amandapye78

Nothing is wrong with just doing cardio.

However, lifting heavy weights really does help. It will change the look of your body much more than cardio will.

Building muscle allows you to look much smaller and more "toned".... building muscle increase your metabolism. Building muscle helps to prevent injury and provide a better body. Why wouldn't you want to build muscle?

Doing just cardio, eating at a deficit and not consuming more than enough protein will result in LOSING muscle mass along the way (which in turn lowers your metabolism and gives you the "skinny fat" look). Lifting (heavy weights, not little dumbells) will help to reduce the amount of muscle you will lose.

ok so what would be a good strength training workout to start out with for someone who hasn't really done it?

billsica

Have you seen the girls that lift heavy? Enough said.

Look at strong lifts 5x5 or the new rules of lifting for women. I think there is a group for it.

GiddyupTim

Bottom line: You have to do what you like. If you make exercising unpleasant -- because you buy into the notion that you have to lift weights, when you hate it -- you may stop exercising altogether. That is worse.
My wife only runs, and she looks great and is quite strong.

SatchGallamax

ok so what would be a good strength training workout to start out with for someone who hasn't really done it?

As someone mentioned earlier, Nerd Fitness has a good beginner body weight routine!

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

Admiral_Derp

Have you seen the girls that lift heavy? Enough said.

Look at strong lifts 5x5 or the new rules of lifting for women. I think there is a group for it.

QFT

ASH0502

I feel your pain, but I agree with what a lot of people here are saying about speeding up your metabolism, strengthening your muscles and joints, toning you up, and giving you more energy.

If you are someone who has a hard time doing anything other than cardio then it isn't realistic that you'll just walk into a weight room and start lifting or that you'll just make up a body weight circuit.

My suggestion (as someone who has been in your position and would always rather run than anything else) is to get a dvd like Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. She teaches you the circuit and you just follow along. That one in particular showed me awesome results and also only takes 22 minutes to run through. It gives you a great idea of what your body can handle and gave me a good list of moves to do on a consistent basis.

hesn92

any exercise is better than none

stubbysticks

There's nothing wrong with doing only cardio, but it depends on what your goals are. If you just want to be cardiovascularly fit & burn calories, stick with what you're doing. If you want to "look" like you work out, cardio alone isn't going to do it because it won't build muscle like strength training will. Not only does more muscle make you look fit, it boosts your metabolism by making you burn more calories at rest. This means little splurges here & there on yummy but high-calorie food/beverages will have less of an effect on your weight when you're in maintenance. Who doesn't love that?

It sounds like you've already decided not to like lifting so I won't try to convince you otherwise. I will say that I never thought I'd ever like lifting but decided to do it anyway because I was told it would help me lose weight. It did. But no one ever told me it would make me feel AWESOME, because it did that too. Lifting weights makes me feel strong, healthy & powerful like nothing else I've ever done.

billsica mentioned New Rules of Lifting For Women...this is the program I'm following right now & it's amazing. I wouldn't recommend it for you though, because you hate lifting. So best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

stacylperry

Girl friend I know how you feel. If I could get away with just doing cardio I would!
But Ive learned that in order to get some definition to our bodies, we need to do some strength training.
Our legs look better in shorts, and our arms look better in short sleeve t-shirts trust me!

geekyjock76

Aside from sculpting and reshaping your body by preserving and increasing lean body mass, it's main benefit is appreciated later in life as we age. If one does not engage in strength training to [at minimum] preserve lean body mass, they will experience significant age-related sarcopenia to the point their health and quality of living is compromised. Simple chores such as walking, getting off a toilet, feeding and changing oneself are all made possible by the strength of your muscle tissues and joints. Sarcopenia robs people of their efficacy to continue doing these things and more on their own. You want to lead a high quality of life and independence? Then start strength training.

IWantToo

I just do cardio everytime I add weight I gain, I added 2 pound weights yesterday and today im as big as a blimp.. im sure it'll pass but i always stall or gain with weights smh...

dawnp1833

My suggestion (as someone who has been in your position and would always rather run than anything else) is to get a dvd like Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. She teaches you the circuit and you just follow along. That one in particular showed me awesome results and also only takes 22 minutes to run through. It gives you a great idea of what your body can handle and gave me a good list of moves to do on a consistent basis.

I agree with this. I don't particularly like Jillian and I"m not a fan of exercise in general. But by day 10 of the 30 day shred, I could see a major difference in my body as well as my strength and could walk up 2 flights of stairs without getting winded. Seeing how quickly it made a difference made me stick to it. When I was just doing cardio, I lost pounds and inches initially, but didn't see that big difference in the mirror.

waldo56

Everybodies body has a "setpoint" of sorts, where cardio and deficit can get you to a particular BF% and no more. Continued weight loss will see no further reduction in BF%, in fact it may rise instead.

As you lose weight you are losing both fat and muscle. The leaner you get the more that proportion shifts toward muslce. Eventually the ratio will be great enough that your body fat % will not go any lower.

The ONLY way to go beyond this, and get to an even lower BF%, is to strength train. Aside for a few outliers, pretty much everyone you see that has abs, man or woman (even just hints in women), strength trains. It is almost physically impossible to get that lean without doing so.

You can diet you way down to slim, but you can't diet your way to "toned". Toned really means a being at a relatively low BF%, and has nothing to do with muscle size or mass.

waldo56

I just do cardio everytime I add weight I gain, I added 2 pound weights yesterday and today im as big as a blimp.. im sure it'll pass but i always stall or gain with weights smh...

Wow, if you lifted every day for a couple years, you'd weigh thousands of pounds.