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    • Body Fat...Blah.

    Posts: 162 Member
    edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
    HI! On September 1st, I will be 2 years into my journey into a new, healthy lifestyle. I'm 70 pounds down and I've been at my maintenance weight for a couple of months now. I started strength training in January of this year.... regrettably, I didn't do it from the beginning. Anyway, my body fat percentage is down to 26.8%, which I'm happy about. Especially considering where it was 2 years ago, but I want to work on getting it down even more. So......

    I'm just curious what helps everyone the most when it comes to getting that percentage down?

    I was riding my bike mostly, then took up C25K so that I could run my first 5k ever and then my husband started getting into exercising with me, but we were only walking (until he got a bike) and I think that's where my fat burning slowed down a bit.

    Thanks in advance! :happy:

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    Replies

    • Posts: 1,623 Member
      more lifting, less cardio
    • Posts: 1,623 Member
      more lifting, less cardio :-)
    • Posts: 300 Member
      DIET!!!
    • Posts: 1,054 Member
      lifting, lifting and lifting! Also diet is a huge part of fat loss.

      http://www.niashanks.com/2012/07/10-commandments-for-simple-fat-loss/
    • Posts: 57
      more lifting, less cardio

      ^^^^^^THIS!
    • Posts: 1,336 Member
      more muscle bursn more calories. Strength training should be part of any lifestyle change. You don;t have to do heavy weights either, do more reps. Also change it up every 3 weeks to keep your body stoked.
    • Posts: 18,771 Member
      It's pretty much all diet. Use the exercise to get fit/stronger/better looking (especially weight training to maintain lean body mass) and use the diet to reduce body fat.
    • Posts: 473 Member
      Both are important. You need cardio to lower your body fat %. You need muscle to improve metabolism and improve body composition. You need to eat right in order to do both strength training and cardio!
    • Posts: 51
      I do Strength Training on MWF and Cardio on TRS. Sundays are usually Yoga before or after church, or just rest. Cardio is usually Insanity, and the strength training has been P90X and related stuff. It has been a really good hybrid doing P90X/Insanity. After next month, I'll dive into P90X2 and/or Insanity Asylum. After that, probably will get into more strength training more intently with Olympic lifts and bigger functional strength training, since I'm very close to single digit BF% after a year of serious commitment. Also, I will throw in some Crossfit.

      I believe that a good mix of strength training AND cardio is important for not just losing fat, but for overall fitness and athleticism. It's not just about weight lifting or cardio. Furthermore, don't neglect the nutrition aspect of your well being. Nutrition is key to changing your overall lifestyle into that of a healthy one. It is also crucial to lock in your diet for long term goals and short term goals like visible abs. Abs are all kitchen! I like TOTAL fitness. Developing a healthy spirit, mind, and body is key to improving your life and the quality of your life. God bless!
    • Posts: 162 Member
      more muscle bursn more calories. Strength training should be part of any lifestyle change. You don;t have to do heavy weights either, do more reps. Also change it up every 3 weeks to keep your body stoked.

      I enjoy lifting as heavy ....as much as I can at least. I have 2 workout plans and I alternate them every other week.
    • Posts: 4,868 Member
      Reducing body fat is mainly diet... eat in a deficit to get the fat down.

      Lift to retain muscle mass/boost metabolism

      Do cardio to help make more of a deficit.
    • Posts: 162 Member
      It's pretty much all diet. Use the exercise to get fit/stronger/better looking (especially weight training to maintain lean body mass) and use the diet to reduce body fat.

      Diet is definitely something I'm trying to improve. I've come a long way from the "as long as I'm within my calorie budget, who cares" attitude that I had in the beginning, but there's room for more improvement than I can imagine.
    • Posts: 107
      If you enjoy Cardio, do what works for you....I would not purposefully do less. But if you have time restraints and have to pick, you might prioritize lifting for a while. Muscle recovery needs good blood flow, so having a healthy heart and cardiovascular system is very important. Even with a solid workout plan nutrition plays the biggest part. Keep exercise fun and a part of your life, but become a student of nutrition and you will go far.
    • Posts: 14
      I will start up with ST once I lose the last pound (right now its being very stubborn). I still enjoy my 30 min/day with cardio though, good way to burn through stress from work too. Pay attention to portions and what you eat (along with how much) and continue moving, sitting and doing nothing does not really help (as we all know). :)
    • Posts: 901 Member
      More lifting, less cardio, focusing on nutrition...

      Or, if you'd like to have a lot of fun, look into circuit and tabata training.

      Have to mix up your routine with things that require your body to use a lot of power.

      It's always great to have a good MIX of cardio and strength.
    • Posts: 901 Member
      If you enjoy Cardio, do what works for you....I would not purposefully do less. But if you have time restraints and have to pick, you might prioritize lifting for a while. Muscle recovery needs good blood flow, so having a healthy heart and cardiovascular system is very important. Even with a solid workout plan nutrition plays the biggest part. Keep exercise fun and a part of your life, but become a student of nutrition and you will go far.

      :heart:
    • Posts: 369 Member
      more lifting, less cardio
    • Posts: 4,564 Member
      more lifting, less cardio

      ^^^^^yep
    • Posts: 18,771 Member
      Both are important. You need cardio to lower your body fat %. You need muscle to improve metabolism and improve body composition. You need to eat right in order to do both strength training and cardio!

      Cardio is not needed to lower body fat. It can help create or increase a calorie deficit to lower body fat but is not necessary at all. It is, however, good for health reasons in general.
    • Posts: 162 Member
      Thanks everyone!

      I won't be decreasing cardio (30-45 minutes/day on average, sometimes longer on the weekends) because a: I enjoy it and b: I want OVERALL health. However, I will continue to push myself harder in the weight room and work on my diet! :happy:
    • Posts: 5,424 Member
      IMO, diet trumps any exercise. I've gotten my BF% very low using various types of exercise (all strength, all cardio, mixes of the 2), but the common part was always my diet.
    • Posts: 2,208 Member
      I won't be decreasing cardio (30-45 minutes/day on average, sometimes longer on the weekends)
      30 - 45 minutes is good but after that point excessive cardio just makes your body more efficient and conditioned to burn less calories while doing cardio. You have to be more strict on your diet. If you're already somewhat lean more cardio isn't the answer because it deters muscle growth and recovery. The last thing you want is to lose the muscle tone and be skinny-fat. Strength training and a good level of protein intake helps your body hold on to the muscle while you trim away the fat you don't want.
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