Cardio or weights?

If you had to pick only one or the other, then pick strength training.

If I were concerned about a fat abdomen, I would do cardio, and of course, watch my diet.

BOTH! Do strength training first and then HIIT workouts for cardio 20-30 minute high bursts.

***This may shock some people***

I say neither

What? Did I just say NO exercise...wow, I probably sound crazy. haha but isn't that refreshing to hear?! I am a student studying Human Nutritional Sciences. I recently attended a workshop where the guest speaker who specializes in weight management said that studies show exercise only account for 2.7% of weight loss. In other words, if you must exert energy in any area, spend it in the kitchen! Focus on getting your nutrition tight, meal prep, limit excess sugar, saturated fats, simple carbs and eat lots of lean protein, veggies and complex carbs!

There's more to life than weight loss. For example strength and fitness.

i walk my dog daily and do crossfit 4 times a week. as someone previously said, you do burn calories with everything you do in crossfit. the negative i find with tracking it on mfp is that it doesn't add any calories earned for strength training exercises. and i know that with the amount of sweat, constant movement, and fatigued muscles i get from an hour long class, i am burning hundreds of calories. only cardio exercise calories burned get factored in to your daily allotment. but i know that i have a lot more to "eat back" on crossfit days. and so it will look like i have gone over on calories when i really haven't.

as for cardio vs. weights, in general, the question you need to ask yourself is this: what is more important, the number on the scale or the way your *kitten* looks in jeans? weights are going to add muscle mass which is going to keep your weight higher initially, but your figure will quickly change for the better. cardio is going to shed pounds, but your body won't look as fit as what you think should match your weight until you begin to tone it.

i was once taught that the right balance for getting healthy is:
50% diet
40% strength
10% cardio

I recently attended a workshop where the guest speaker who specializes in weight management said that studies show exercise only account for 2.7% of weight loss.

Which studies?

Where calories held constant between the exercise, non exercise and control group (presuming there was one)

I think certainly that diet is the key thing in losing weight but exercise certainly has its place, especially if long term maintenance is the individuals goals.

Do both, but which one you start with depends on your goals. You should also mix it up on different days.

A great book about this sort of thing is "Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?" by Alex Hutchinson. He presents very practical, and evidence-based advise on exercise and weight-loss.

You don't HAVE or NEED to do cardio or any exercise for that matter to lose weight. You only NEED a decifit of calories. The only exercise you NEED to not look like crap when you hit your goal weight is resistance training.

I have to agree with the looking like crap. Know a woman who is half my age. Has lost about 50 pounds. But is a mound of flab. She is actually quite young (mid 20's). Its sad. I can look at her and tell she has done no resistance/cardio. Only caloric limits. I agree that all we really need to look fabulous is resistance training. I once read on here the following and loved it: To look good in your clothes diet, to look good naked, exercise.

Both.

It's like bacon and cheeseburgers. Or chocolate and peanut butter. Each is good on it's own, but wonderful together.

^^^This



Mmmmmmmm.....bacon cheeseburgers :laugh:

For optimum health and fitness do both.

You don't HAVE or NEED to do cardio or any exercise for that matter to lose weight. You only NEED a decifit of calories. The only exercise you NEED to not look like crap when you hit your goal weight is resistance training.

^This BUT if you have a hard time maintaining a good calorie deficit with diet alone, cardio "buys" you more calories to eat. I love food including pizza and wine. I would rather do cardio on some days so that I can have the things that I love. It seems to help me with hunger and satisfaction. It is also seems to be easier to stay on a diet where you don't feel restricted all of the time.

My trainer said three 30 minute strength training sessions a week, each followed by 30 minutes of cardio. Then I can fit additional cardio on the other days at my discretion. I have roughly 40 pounds to lose. He stressed that diet was the main thing to be concerned about. Eat a balanced diet of healthy non-processed food (he said to avoid white foods except for cauliflower), plenty of water and adequate sleep.

If you want to count calories, he said multiply your current weight times 10. That's your maintenance calorie goal. To lose weight, subtract NO MORE than 200-300 from that number.

Good luck to you.