any of us limit cardio, do more strength training?

newhabit
newhabit Posts: 426 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
just wondering if you have done this, what were your results? is cardio needed more than 2x a week so see the results you want? i know you'd have to limit calories a lot more, however.

Replies

  • newhabit
    newhabit Posts: 426 Member
    there has to be someone with an opinion on this?
  • Im not quiet sure what everyone else does but I do cardo 7 days a week with 3 days a week strength training. if you want to lose weight id defff suggest more cardio bc just weight training is going to make you gain muscle mass which weights more than fat so youll prob end up gaining weight
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    Im not quiet sure what everyone else does but I do cardo 7 days a week with 3 days a week strength training. if you want to lose weight id defff suggest more cardio bc just weight training is going to make you gain muscle mass which weights more than fat so youll prob end up gaining weight

    No, not if you're in a deficit.

    OP, I have focused more on strength training than cardio my entire time. Three hours of strength a week, two hours of cardio was typical. As you can see, I haven't had any problem cutting fat.
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
    i do crossfit so its a mixture of cardio and strength but when i went to the gym i found that when i did a lot of cardio mixed with strength it was counter productive.

    best results were when i lifted HEAVY 4-5 days a week and did HIIT for about 20 minutes 2-3 times a week
  • Like I said thats just what I found that works for me lol I saw no one posted on here and I felt bad so I figured I'd get the convo rolling lol best of luck to everyone though!!!
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
    Like I said thats just what I found that works for me lol I saw no one posted on here and I felt bad so I figured I'd get the convo rolling lol best of luck to everyone though!!!
    you need to go see a scientist because if thats how it works for you you're breaking the laws of physics. Someone should look into that as it sounds important.
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
    cardio isnt necessary for weight loss if you have a good weight training program and solid diet with caloric defecit... however usually for women they have to do more cardio than men because how few calories they have to eat to get lean.
  • kimothy38
    kimothy38 Posts: 840 Member
    I do 2 days of cardio and 3 days of weights over a 5 day period then have 2 days off. That's what works for me. I don't feel the need to do any further cardio and am contemplating dropping 1 weights session and adding in pilates or yoga. I love the way weights makes my muscles look and the stamina that cardio gives me. Try something new and see if you like the results - if you don't, try something else.
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
    I do 2 days a week of heavy lifting and 3 days a week of cardio that includes lifting (exp. cross fit). "normal cardio" bores the heck out of me.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    I did a lot of cardio at first, lost. Then did cardio and strength, lost a lot more and got a lot of definition. Did a more cardio based program these past 3 months and saw next to no results. I think there comes a time when your body gets used to it and you NEED strength training to make progress so that's what I am gonna focus on now, as much as I can with what I got to work with.
  • JenaePavlak
    JenaePavlak Posts: 350 Member
    I strength train 4-5x a week (for 45min) and I run outside 4-5x a week for (20-25min)
  • AlayshaJ
    AlayshaJ Posts: 703 Member
    I hardly ever do cardio. MAYBE once a week for twenty minutes on the stair treadmill. I do 90-180min of strength training 5 times a week.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    my main focus is weight training, but i have started running 2 days a week to prepare for some races and i do sprint HIIT twice a week for about 12 minutes.

    i've pretty much become a fat burning machine, even though I've been the same weight on the scale from a size 16 to a size 12
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
    Im not quiet sure what everyone else does but I do cardo 7 days a week with 3 days a week strength training. if you want to lose weight id defff suggest more cardio bc just weight training is going to make you gain muscle mass which weights more than fat so youll prob end up gaining weight
    The above statement is not entirely true. A pound of muscle does not weigh more than a pound of fat. A pound is a pound is a pound... whether its a pound of hair, fat, spinach or muscle, it all weighs the same. What is different is its density and mass. In fact, fat has more mass than muscle but muscle is far denser than fat, so it takes up less space and makes a person look leaner.

    The thing about muscle is this, because it is more dense, you will be able to carry more of it thus weigh more while looking thinner. The other fantastic thing about muscle is that for every pound of muscle you gain, which is hard to do by the way, you burn an average of 50 calories more per day. If you can add 5 pounds of muscle, which again is hard to do, you will burn an extra 250 calories a day without doing anything else differently. That 1750 calories a week... That's a 1/2 pound of weight lost each week just by having added muscle. Sounds prett good to me!

    I have a hard time giving up cardioo, but I did reduce two of my sessions from 45-60+ minutes of cardio to
    20-45 minute sessions twice per week... Replaced with once HIIT session (usually elliptical or stair climber) and one steady state, usually running. I still do two 60+ minute spin classes a week, a boot camp class( a mix of cardio and weighted intervals), and hiking, running or something outside.
    I lift 3-4 days a week depending on my split rotation. Those sessions last about 1.5 hours.
  • docktorfokse
    docktorfokse Posts: 473 Member
    I never enjoyed long cardio workouts; too much of the same only agitates me. Ideally, I lift three times a week and do cardio twice a week (though the cardio ends up being more like once a month lol). My cardio consists of eight sets of 30-second sprints and 60-second rests.
  • newhabit
    newhabit Posts: 426 Member
    thanks for the replies everyone. i think i will focus more on strength and keep the cardio to 2x a week.
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
    just wondering if you have done this, what were your results? is cardio needed more than 2x a week so see the results you want? i know you'd have to limit calories a lot more, however.

    I actually eliminated cardio and was able to put on a lot more muscle.

    Even while cutting weight I typically don't do cardio, but will occasionally have some interval training.


    I'm a big supporter of strength training 3 times a week or so, and doing 2 days of HIIT.
  • ShoeGal78
    ShoeGal78 Posts: 35 Member
    I try and do a combination of both but with mostly strength training.. I very often do a run, jump off the treadmill and do weights, jump back on for another run and more weights sometimes in 8 - 10 rounds.
    For example I often choose a weight programme using deadlifts, squat thrusts etc using heavy weights and throw in some 200m sprints between each set! I don't go to a cross fit gym but try to use cross fit based workouts and I regularly go to a cross fit based outdoor training group.
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