weights vs cardio

bushokie

Watching people at the gym this weekend..Would a person lose weight faster strictly weight lifting or cardio

Andrew_peter

I didn't start making decent progress until I started daily heavy cardio alongside my every second day weights workout, and am loving the extra energy/endurance I seem to be developing as well. No more huffing and puffing up the stairs for me!!

BflSaberfan

I didn't start making decent progress until I started daily heavy cardio alongside my every second day weights workout, and am loving the extra energy/endurance I seem to be developing as well. No more huffing and puffing up the stairs for me!!

I dont think there is anything wrong with doing a combination of both. The cardio helps keep my stamina up which literally effects every party of my life, the weight lifting helps me feel strong and helps shape my body.

soldier4242

I do both. I never saw it as one verse the other. I know you can lose weight doing either. Cardio burns a lot of calories while you do it but when you are done you are done. Weight lifting burns less while you are doing it but you continue to burn calories at a faster rate after the workout is over. Me I do weight lifting and then I finish it off with cardio. That way I have the afterburn going at the same time as my cardio. I say just do both and don't worry about trying to completely exclude one or the other.

I know that is a bit of a dodge so if I had a gun to my head and I couldn't say do both. Then I would say do the weight lifting.

swinget

I agree that both are important, so I would definitely recommend including both in your workout routine. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so adding weights to your routine is go to help speed up the calorie burn. http://www.swfitnut.com/index/10-ways-to-boost-your-metabolism

g0ldenb0y55

HIIT Cardio will melt away the lbs with a quickness. Burns a lot of calroies during and you get the benifits of the afterburn you normally wouldn't get with cardio.

LJCannon

I don't think I could Choose One or the Other! They aree both Equally Important to me.:drinker:

Andrew_peter

HIIT Cardio will melt away the lbs with a quickness. Burns a lot of calroies during and you get the benifits of the afterburn you normally wouldn't get with cardio.

That's what I have found too. Was doing moderate effort cardio for a bit, but found near max high intensity cardio was just so much better and less time consuming anyways. Never understood "afterburn" until I started with it too and loving it.

tartsul

i like to do both as well. i lost the pounds with doing mainly cardio and watching calories, but for body shaping and toning, weights are they way to go, for me at least. i did cardio alone for about 4 months and lost about 15 pounds. i have been doing weight/strength training in addition to about half the cardio for about a month. i also still watch my calories, but not as rigidly as before. i'm already seeing and feeling results from the weight training. even my husband mentioned it! it took me a bit of time to find the right combination, but now that i have, i don't plan on stopping! another element for me was just small, fun lifestyle changes. i do squats or tricep dips in the elevator at work. i park far away when i'm at the store. i'm trying to drink more water and get more sleep. we go hiking on the weekend instead of laying around on the couch all day. i feel great, healthy, happy, energized, have more stamina and just all around feel awesome my doctor even noticed a difference!

JustDoItArt

It seems like the most impressive male transformations that lost lots of weight (100+ lbs like I need to do) always looked better to me when they were achieved with primarily weight lifting versus primarily cardio.

Authors like Jim Karas (Cardio Free Diet) pretty much convinced me that cardio for the sake of burning excess calories is a tough proposition -- better to do that in the kitchen.

I think cardio has a huge benefit to build cardio-vascular health to make every day activities like stairs, hiking, etc. easier, but to depend on cardio to burn excess calories doesn't make as much sense to me.

sunflowerhippi

I love Lifting and have been doing 5x5 in the gym. My BF% is down almost 10% and I am down about 30lbs, BUT I will say I saw the scale move much faster when I was doing cardio for 30-60 minutes as well as lifting. Now I am seeing the messurements drop but have kinda stalled out on the scale.

nehushtan

both!

cardio + calorie deficit = weight loss (actually calorie deficit alone will do it, but cardio makes a bigger deficit)

weights + protein = muscle development = fat trimmed

Serah87

I do both!! :bigsmile:

bpotts44

Both is good.

GettinMyLifeBck

I have to do both!! noticed a bigger difference when i started lifting...Wish I had started sooner!! I use to only do cardio and ab work but if I had to choose between the two I would do my weights

RunWinterGarden

The correct answer is both. Personally I prefer cadio because I enjoy running and am working on upping my endurance so I can lower my half marathon time this year. I also am very intimidated by lifting for a few reasons, 1, I have no desire to get "ripped". 2. I really have no clue what I'm doing when I use some of the weight machines.

meghan6867

I totally agree with everyone else. Doing both is really the best option.

That being said, in terms of the scale: I gained weight lifting... but I lost inches and toned up. I look thinner, even though I weigh more now.

g0ldenb0y55

HIIT Cardio will melt away the lbs with a quickness. Burns a lot of calroies during and you get the benifits of the afterburn you normally wouldn't get with cardio.

That's what I have found too. Was doing moderate effort cardio for a bit, but found near max high intensity cardio was just so much better and less time consuming anyways. Never understood "afterburn" until I started with it too and loving it.

HIIT cardio = Sprinters body
Low Impact cardio = Marathoners body

jonnythan

There is no difference in the amount of weight you will lose. That is controlled by calorie deficit.

However, there will be a difference in the amount of muscle versus fat you lose.

concordancia

It isn't a competition, you can do both.

patentguru

This totally.

HIIT Cardio will melt away the lbs with a quickness. Burns a lot of calroies during and you get the benifits of the afterburn you normally wouldn't get with cardio.

That's what I have found too. Was doing moderate effort cardio for a bit, but found near max high intensity cardio was just so much better and less time consuming anyways. Never understood "afterburn" until I started with it too and loving it.

HIIT cardio = Sprinters body
Low Impact cardio = Marathoners body

NutellaAddict

HIIT is the $HIIT!

taso42

Watching people at the gym this weekend..Would a person lose weight faster strictly weight lifting or cardio

In terms of losing weight, it's pretty much a tie. Your exercise routine shouldn't be based on calorie burn or weight loss. Exercise is for fitness. Diet is for weight loss.

DavPul

It really comes down to your eating habits. If you can eat in a deficit to lose without cardio, you don't need to do it. If you can't, do cardio to create the deficit. If you care how you look to any degree, make sure you're lifting from the start.

billsica

Eat, Lift, Cardio. its like a happy triangle.

Timshel_

I think most people who embrace a health lifestyle do both cardio and strength. Each burns calories and improves your bodies functions. The combination of how much of each will depend on your fitness and health goals.

emtjmac

You need strength training as well as cardio in whatever you do. My goal is to be the fastest runner I can be. I don't want big, heavy muscles so my strength training consists of doing a routine twice per week @ 50% the weight I would lift if I wanted to gain mass. I also do a core strength routine twice per week.

Strength:

I do all of these @ 2 sets of 12 repetitions.

Squats
Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows
Bench Press
Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts
Barbell Curls

Then I do the rotisserie core workout from Scooby's workshop. If you're curious what it is, here is the link to the video of Scooby demonstrating it. It's really easy to do and it has made a real difference in my life as a runner. It has all but eliminated the back pain I used to get from running and it allows me to keep proper running form when I'm fatigued which itself helps to prevent injuries cause by falling into bad form.

Remember, my goal is to be the best runner that I can be because I love the sport and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me besides the birth of my children. I imagine your goals are different so you should do your research, the information is out there. Just like with diet, it will take experimentation to find out what works for you but whatever your goals, strength training is critical.

llkilgore

Gotta do both.

I did a fairly even mix of both as I was losing the weight, but then slacked off on strength training as I ramped up my running time after going on maintenance. Big mistake. While I didn't regain any of the weight I'd lost, I quickly lost strength and began to have muffin top issues with some of my less forgiving pairs of jeans. In other words, my body fat percentage was moving in the wrong direction. I was running 25 - 30 miles a week and getting flabby!

IowaJen1979

I have only been doing cardio since January and have lost 30 pounds. I've noticed a drastic increase in energy and endurance. I know that I will need to add weights into my routine soon, just haven't gotten to that point yet. I think both are important.

DopeItUp

HIIT Cardio will melt away the lbs with a quickness. Burns a lot of calroies during and you get the benifits of the afterburn you normally wouldn't get with cardio.

That's what I have found too. Was doing moderate effort cardio for a bit, but found near max high intensity cardio was just so much better and less time consuming anyways. Never understood "afterburn" until I started with it too and loving it.

HIIT cardio = Sprinters body
Low Impact cardio = Marathoners body

Yes, I'm sure all that sprinting gave him those arms. Maybe he was sprinting on his hands too?

PS - lift weights

cupboard_stalker

I do both. I never saw it as one verse the other. I know you can lose weight doing either. ........

I know that is a bit of a dodge so if I had a gun to my head and I couldn't say do both. Then I would say do the weight lifting.

To some people weightloss IS that important !!!