with only 45 min, do you lift or cardio?

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

i don't have some scientific answer with tons of cited studies. i know that when i combine cardio and lifting, i look and feel better. am i advocating one over the other? no. i just know that even though i was pushing my lift maxes a little bit each week, i still felt like a slob because i couldn't run more then a few miles, and barely at a ten minute mile. so i started more running. i tend to do more low intensity steady state cardio for the running, and save the more high intensity interval training for the bike and the pool. why? because the interval training is harder on my knees and ankles on the run. the cycling and the swimming is low impact.

so i like doing both. i swim, bike and run, and i lift. does it really have to be one over the other? i just kinda think it's funny when someone i know is talking about their lifts and then is struggling up a few flights of stairs. aesthetically, is it the best for you? man, i have no freaking idea. but disregarding it completely can't be good either.

in my opinion, the low intensity steady state cardio and the high intensity interval training should be done on a matter of preference. some people are just not into one or the other... or either!! i'm not trying to convince anyone here that they ABSOLUTELY MUST do some form of 'traditional' cardio. look, if you want cardio from weights, just go and lift weights faster.

Some people can handle high-intensity or high-impact stuff, but they don’t have a lot of spare time or patience, interval training is the ticket. Both accomplish the same thing, but use different routes to get there; one is not ‘better’ than the other. interval training is more stressful on the body, but it’s more time-efficient. steady state cardio is time-consuming, but less risky, and less prone to interfere with recovery from weight training. Pick your poison.

And i think that there’s nothing wrong with doing both on an alternating or combined basis.

Alright, so anecdotal evidense and that's about it. Glad I'm not missing anything. If you enjoy running theres no reason for you to stop, I just done condone running around making false claims about how it can improve aesthetics any more than exclusively lifting and dieting can. It's good for your health, I'll give you that, but for aesthetics it's completely irrelevant.

Capt_Apollo

but i've never claimed that it can help your aesthetics more exclusively than lifting and dieting can. i say that it should be incorporated, but based on personal preference.

i will say that there are many people out there such as jim wendler that emphasize incorporating cardio into a lifting plan for a number of reasons, including overall and cardiovascular health, to create a calorie deficit and to help facilitate fat loss.

anecdotal evidence? maybe, maybe not. i'm sure if i searched the internet i could find studies, posts, or whatever about people out there that have started some form of cardio (while lifting) and the weight just started coming off a little easier. i know a girl that along with her 5/3/1 plan walks to and from work every day. walks. four miles round trip. those four daily miles helped her cut down to past her goal weight.

i don't make false claims. these opinions are my own, and not medical or scientific advice. i my draw some knowledge from articles and studies that i've read, and form my own conclusions, but i don't keep those links saved in a folder on my computer.

so does cardio directly impact aesthetics? well, it creates a deficit which some people need help with in order to stay under calories. high intensity interval cardio can help with fat burning which helps the muscles come out from under that fat. so indirectly, i think yes, cardio does help.

and if it's good enough for jim wendler, it's good enough for me.

khall86790

If you have 45 minutes you can easily combine both strength and cardio. I'd do 20 mins strength training and 25 mins cardio, but I'd do light cardio e.g. jogging and take a rest day the following day.
I have only got into "real" strength training (with weight and more generic: push ups, etc.) in the last couple of weeks but prior to that I had great success with yoga/pilates and cardio. Whilst yoga/pilates are not hardcore strength training, they are body weight training and would therefore fall under that category and not cardio. I also quite frequently would do 25 minutes of yoga followed by a 2km jog to give me a good burn, no complaints here.

As far as I know and have seen from others success stories and my own, combining lifting and cardio into your fitness routine gives great results and keep you fit and strong.
(IN MY OPINION) Cardio is good for stamina whereas strength is good for just that, strength.

Crankstr

Definitely lift. Cardio is unnecessary.

i'm training for a couple of triathlons. you're saying i should ditch the cardio??


stop talking in blanket statements and absolutes.

OP said her goal is fat loss and her ticker shows she has one pound to go. I'm assuming she wants fat loss+muscle gains/recomp. For her, she should definitely lift and cardio is unnecessary. Cardio is good for your health but it doesn't do nearly as much for aesthetics as lifting.

cardio is good for your health and for your aesthetics and compliments weight lifting as much as weight lifting compliments cardio.

Exactly! I'd like to add that our bodies also need stretching for balance and flexibility. Yoga or Pilates are both great for that.

now that is just crazy talk!!!!

In for crazy talk......

I got your crazy

cad39too

Both. You can run 2 miles and lift pretty well in 45 minutes. Always good to have a mix for overall fitness.

^^This is my workout pretty much five days a week.

billsica

I only get 45 minutes for a workout, except on weekends. I do 3 days lifting heavy, (string lifts) and 2-3 days cardio (running)

If I run with the jogging stroller I can get a lot more time to run.

Really why not just lift and run. It is like having your cake and eating it too.

Justjoshin

I only get 45 minutes for a workout, except on weekends. I do 3 days lifting heavy, (string lifts) and 2-3 days cardio (running)

If I run with the jogging stroller I can get a lot more time to run.

Really why not just lift and run. It is like having your cake and eating it too.

In for cake.

Crankstr

I only get 45 minutes for a workout, except on weekends. I do 3 days lifting heavy, (string lifts) and 2-3 days cardio (running)

If I run with the jogging stroller I can get a lot more time to run.

Really why not just lift and run. It is like having your cake and eating it too.

In for cake.

MINE!

DavPul

I think what randomgirl is getting at is that you don't have to do steady state cardio to improve your heart health and you most certainly don't have to do it get to a calorie deficit. Many people seem to be doing this either/or thing where they claim you're either doing cardio or you're a fat tub of lard that can't walk up a flight of stairs without risking a heart attack. I'm thinking some of that comes from the fact that the overwhelming majority of people on this site are doing low rep, low set, long rest, powerlifting programs that really don't burn many cals.

pspetralia

I only get 45 minutes for a workout, except on weekends. I do 3 days lifting heavy, (string lifts) and 2-3 days cardio (running)

If I run with the jogging stroller I can get a lot more time to run.

Really why not just lift and run. It is like having your cake and eating it too.

OP- you have 45 minutes a day? Then what is the problem???
I do stronglifts 3 times a week and 40 minutes of cardio 3 times a week. Good workouts on short time. Done!

ironanimal

Cardio if you want to be better at cardio
Lift if you want to retain LBM as much as physically possible
Calorie deficit through diet

ahmadfahmy

I have been running short on time lately and was wondering if it is more beneficial to cardio or lift if I only have 45 minutes to workout? My goal is fat loss and I do both most days but sometimes you just don't have the time to do both, which do I choose?

pay attention to diet first as this is the most important factor in fat loss...if you want to exercise, its beneficial to do resistance training to preserve muscle mass while you are in a caloric deficit.

jimmmer

I think what randomgirl is getting at is that you don't have to do steady state cardio to improve your heart health and you most certainly don't have to do it get to a calorie deficit. Many people seem to be doing this either/or thing where they claim you're either doing cardio or you're a fat tub of lard that can't walk up a flight of stairs without risking a heart attack. I'm thinking some of that comes from the fact that the overwhelming majority of people on this site are doing low rep, low set, long rest, powerlifting programs that really don't burn many cals.

Yeah, most lifting programmes advocated and practiced on this site tend to be powerlifting programmes. I think if you do low rep stuff and that's all you do, then you're going to be out of condition. I mean this as in athletic performance. Not in a ascetic sense.

I do realise the OP was asking about workouts from the point of view of fat loss. But I think if your goal is performance, then you need more than low rep powerlifting type stuff. That could include anything from pushing a prowler, loaded carries, sprints, barbell complexes, oly lifting complexes, swinging a kb, flipping tyres, doing weighted circuits, a 7 mile jog, a 1 mile swim, 40 km cycle, etc. It doesn't need to be strapping yourself into an elliptical in the gym 6 days a week (although if you like that, then why not do it?)

When I talk about cardio/conditioning I include all this kind of stuff. If you have a sport, activity, event you need to get on with, then "lifting heavy" will have a benefit but if that's all you do then you'll perform poorly compared to other people who are doing conditioning work. Most sports need a combination of some kind of strength, skill, speed, power, endurance. How you strike that balance depends on the activity you're interested in. So when people say "just lift" that may chime with their particular goals, but they should realise that perhaps their goals aren't everyone's goals?

I think that is how Capt_Apollo was trying to frame the debate: he's interested in slotting lifting into his sport. It's a tricky balance. He realises to lift to the exclusion of all else will make him a p!ss-poor triathlete. He's right, it will.

Fat loss on the other hand is pretty straight forward when compared to developing a sustainable and effective training programme where you combine lifting with something else. So I think that Random and Apollo are talking at cross purposes because their goals are so radically different.

DavPul

^Totally agree

lithezebra

You can't lift every day. I would, and do, alternate days of lifting with days of cardio. Also, I do a lot of my lifting circuit style, and do another exercise during my rests.