Any one do weights and not cardio for weight loss?

angel101netta
angel101netta Posts: 152 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone do weights and not cardio for weightloss?
I do cardio but not much strength training, will I find more progress dropping the cardio and doing weights?

Replies

  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    You are doing yourself a serious disservice by not doing strength training. As you lose weight, you lose a lot of muscle, so strength training is very important. I do strength training 3 days a week, and cardio usually 6 days a week. I'm currently training for a half marathon - so lots of running, but strength is still getting in there! Cardio is important, but if that's all you're doing it's probably overkill.
  • angel101netta
    angel101netta Posts: 152 Member
    Thanks for the reply :)
  • barbusya
    barbusya Posts: 1
    Hi, I do Calisthenics and weights. Much better then cardio.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    I do, I lift heavy and do minimal cardio. My weight loss did stall when I first started strength training, but my body changed much faster than when I did cardio alone.
  • afcgirl
    afcgirl Posts: 31 Member
    I do Les Mills Pump (a Beachbody weight training program) about 2-3 times a week and cardio 2-3 times a week. I love Pump! It has really made me more toned. I am considering cutting down cardio to focus more on weight training and eating healthy.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    It can be done, but why not do both? Both is better than either one alone. Usually when people ask this question its because they hate cardio, which I get, but it doesn't sound like that's the case for you.
  • cjc166
    cjc166 Posts: 222
    Absolutely do both. Strength training will preserve and increase your muscle mass and bone density, and cardio is good for your heart. Go for a healthy balance.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    I do, I lift heavy and do minimal cardio. My weight loss did stall when I first started strength training, but my body changed much faster than when I did cardio alone.

    Yes me too. Love the weights, not keen on cardio.
  • sissy60504
    sissy60504 Posts: 21 Member
    I do a combination of both. I work out with kettlebells a couple of days a week and combine in some cardio during the other days. Like other said, weight loss at first was minimal but saw definitive changes in my body. Lost 8 inches in the waist alone within the first 3 months.
  • angel101netta
    angel101netta Posts: 152 Member
    It can be done, but why not do both? Both is better than either one alone. Usually when people ask this question its because they hate cardio, which I get, but it doesn't sound like that's the case for you.

    I do dance cardio, but I want a big of variety, so thought should lift some weights.
    I was actually thinking of body pump, as previously mentioned :)
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    I do Les Mills Pump (a Beachbody weight training program) about 2-3 times a week and cardio 2-3 times a week. I love Pump! It has really made me more toned. I am considering cutting down cardio to focus more on weight training and eating healthy.

    I used to do BodyPump too, I consider it to be cardio.
  • angel101netta
    angel101netta Posts: 152 Member
    Was thinking of starting body pump. What weight should I start off with? Also did the scales go up doing body pump?
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
    The only reason I do cardio is because I set a personal goal to run a 5k by the end of the year; the gym treadmill is where I do my running. If not for that, I'd do very little cardio. Strength training is where it's at!

    That said, it's not that cardio is bad, because it's not. If you're doing it to build endurance and to be active from a desk job, that's great! But, it's not the uber fat-melting machine that people give it credit for. Strength training is what tones you and builds lean muscle. You also burn more calories after strength training.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    Lift. You should notice a big improvement in your weight loss. For cardio the after burn lasts 2-3 hours, with strength training, the after burn can last up to 12 hours. Enough said
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I do both. I do cardio because I enjoy running, and lift weights because it does amazing things for the body. And it improved my running.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    Was thinking of starting body pump. What weight should I start off with? Also did the scales go up doing body pump?

    The instructor will help you with weights starting out, usually the advice is to keep it light and focus on form.

    My weight didn't go up starting with Pump.

    I started lifting heaving after being introduced to weight training with Pump, and it's a very different beast IMHO.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Strength training will make your body better, but in the end, it's really about your diet.
  • skinnybitchbarbie27
    skinnybitchbarbie27 Posts: 306 Member
    You need strength training! I see women all the time upstairs in my gym running on treatmills but never lifting a weight thinking they do not need it. I actually manage a facility and here are some important facts I have learned in all my training: Although strength training has been more of a "male" activity in the past it isn't now. Women, unfortunatly, are not born with much muscle mass as men so we need to have that strength training to get muscle strength and help our bones. Muscles are the main factor in our body that makes the bones move. So think as you get older, you haven't built much muscle so therefore your body is going to be harder and harder to move. Many women are afraid to try it because they are unsure of how they will look. Unless you go way overboard you will not look like a body builder of any sort. Women who do that do an extreme amount of weight lifting compared to your general strengh training and take certain supplements. Here is another fun fact: you're losing weight and the best way to tighten that unwanted sagging skin is strength training. You may never look like a Victoria's Secret model but that's ok, I do not think that is what many of us are going for on here. The last plus to strength training is metabolism. To be clear-metabolism is calories burned at any time during the day. Many people think it is the way the body processes food, yes and no. It is just a count of the calories burned at any time. Muscle mass takes more calories for your body to sustain so therefore your metabolic rate is higher. Meaning as you sit at home or sleep your body is burning more calories to support your muscles and your general movements (breathing, talking,walking, things you do daily that you wouldn't think would require calories)

    So in short, YES strength training and cardio go hand in hand. Do both, try to strength train doing handheld weights or machines. The trick is to do strength training in a rotation type environment. For example I will do one machine, switch to another, switch to another, then do the routine all over again. If you do handheld weights then do the same thing. Position one, position two, position three...(Etc) and then do the cycle over again. Aim for 8-12 repetitians and do the machine/ cycle twice, THREE times a week. Your body needs those rest days to build muscle.

    Good luck!
  • FitCowgirl8
    FitCowgirl8 Posts: 175 Member
    Strength training is just as important as cardio in weight loss especially to get the toned body we all dream of. I do only cardio on Tuesday Thursday and saturday then I do the stronglifts 5X5 program Monday Wednesday and Friday followed by a short cardio session. This seems to be working well for me so far.
  • TheFitnessTutor
    TheFitnessTutor Posts: 356 Member
    Cardio doesn't make you lose weight
    Neither does weight training
    Toning doesnt exist...


    I am not playing or joking...
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    Cardio doesn't make you lose weight
    Neither does weight training
    Toning doesnt exist...


    I am not playing or joking...

    Maybe I'm alone, but these sort of posts hack me off. It's like you can't be bothered to expand on anything, you just want to say something and sod off! If what you say is the case, which I'm not going to dispute, then at least bother to explain it!
  • Louttie
    Louttie Posts: 138 Member
    Cardio doesn't make you lose weight
    Neither does weight training
    Toning doesnt exist...


    I am not playing or joking...

    Maybe I'm alone, but these sort of posts hack me off. It's like you can't be bothered to expand on anything, you just want to say something and sod off! If what you say is the case, which I'm not going to dispute, then at least bother to explain it!

    Totally agree ^^
  • TheFitnessTutor
    TheFitnessTutor Posts: 356 Member
    It was 5 am...sorry....

    www.TheFitnessTutor.com

    if you're serious
  • neilegni
    neilegni Posts: 36
    I did body pump for a long time (and then my gym stopped offering it) but it's so much fun. That being said, it's really not the same as lifting heavy. It's more about endurance than strength training. It's a great work out, but I would also look into some weight lifting guides (New Rules of Lifting for Women), too. :)

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