Cardio, Lifting advice for best results?

yeshualovesme
yeshualovesme Posts: 121 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there, first off let's get stats out of the way:

40 years old
5'7"
SW: 175
CW: 167.2
GW: 133
TDEE is about 2000 (from what I can tell on the free calculators)
Using Bodymedia Fit +MFP for logging
Daily calorie deficit is 900-1500 +/-
Base caloric intake - 1200
I eat back about 80% of my workout calories (letting hunger be my guide)
possibly have hypothyroidism (waiting on test results) so my weight loss is a little slower than some despite deficit and exercise.

I apologize in advance if this question has been asked before - did a somewhat thorough search to make sure I wasn't being redundant.

So, my question is this... I'm at about 27% bodyfat. Should I concentrate on cardio until I lower my bodyfat and THEN lift for definition? Or, should I focus on lifting first to get my base metabolic rate up? Or (what I've been doing) combination of both strength training and cardio? I'm not looking to be super muscled out - my goal is a nice toned size six.

Thank you in advance for your kind responses!

Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I would absolutely start lifting now. If you enjoy cardio, keep doing it.

    One reasonable plan would be a full body lifting routine done 3 days/week, with 3-4 moderate cardio sessions done either on separate days or post-lifting depending on your schedule.

    I would keep your deficit to around 20% under TDEE after exercise is factored in.

    I would recommend that you set your macronutrients as follows and this is a rough estimate, with the assumption that your TDEE is accurate at 2000.

    1600 kcals
    protein: 125g
    fat: 60g
    carbs: 140g

    The above assumes equal intake daily and is not assuming an exercise calorie model. I am also assuming, again, that 2000 is an accurate estimate for TDEE.
  • dragonbug300
    dragonbug300 Posts: 760 Member
    Both. Always do both.
    Find a routine that works for you, depending on your current level of fitness.
    I've seen the best results by doing 30-45 minutes of intense cardio 4 times a week, 3 days of some light cardio (which includes active jobs, long walks, yoga, sports, etc.) and strength training 3-5 times a week.
    When you get closer to your goal weight, I would reduce the cardio and increase the strength training. By 'increase' I mean add in various activities. So, lift heavy twice a week, moderate lifting twice a week, and calisthenics (pushups, burpees, jump squats, etc.) the other 3 days or something like that.
  • yeshualovesme
    yeshualovesme Posts: 121 Member
    That's awesome advice. My bodymedia fit has my minimum burn at 2200 - not sure if that helps anything, but that is with a minimum of 8k steps. I will make it work for my schedule, as I don't have time to be out of shape anymore :)

    Thanks so much for the advice. Started using bodyweight exercises from martial arts training - but thinking I'm going to see faster results with some weights.
  • Sarah_Wins
    Sarah_Wins Posts: 936 Member
    Why not do a combo, as SS suggests? P90X helped me tremendously, whereas before I had been doing cardio only and unhappy with body shape while losing. Now, closer to my goal, I've almost completely abandoned cardio in favor of lifting (New Rules of Lifting for Women) with the diet recommended by the authors. If you're interested, there's a helpful NROL4W group here.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    That's awesome advice. My bodymedia fit has my minimum burn at 2200 - not sure if that helps anything, but that is with a minimum of 8k steps. I will make it work for my schedule, as I don't have time to be out of shape anymore :)

    Thanks so much for the advice. Started using bodyweight exercises from martial arts training - but thinking I'm going to see faster results with some weights.

    Can you do me a favor and re-check your estimated TDEE using a few different calculators? See what Katch-McArdle gives you as an estimate using "moderately active". If you find it's higher than your original 2000 that you posted, PM me.

    I know I'm just eyeballing but I would expect you to have a slightly higher TDEE when you factor in an average of exercise activity and that's going to make my recommendation above, off by a bit.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    I would absolutely start lifting now. If you enjoy cardio, keep doing it.

    One reasonable plan would be a full body lifting routine done 3 days/week, with 3-4 moderate cardio sessions done either on separate days or post-lifting depending on your schedule.

    I would keep your deficit to around 20% under TDEE after exercise is factored in.

    I would recommend that you set your macronutrients as follows and this is a rough estimate, with the assumption that your TDEE is accurate at 2000.

    1600 kcals
    protein: 125g
    fat: 60g
    carbs: 140g

    The above assumes equal intake daily and is not assuming an exercise calorie model. I am also assuming, again, that 2000 is an accurate estimate for TDEE.

    Listen to this guy^
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    At 27% body fat, you will not lose fat at a fast rate no matter what you do. Be aware of that first.

    I'm pretty much in agreement with Sidesteel's recommendations. Most of his recommendations is exactly the same as I do for myself, with the exception of the dietary recommendations. I eat 300 calories below my TDEE and I have my macros set at 40% carbs/30% fat/30% protein (though I don't stress if I fail to get the macro mix right).
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    Move a lot at a moderate pace
    Sprint once in a while (I love Tabata sprints. 20 seconds of any exercise full speed/10 seconds rest. Do this eight times in a row. 4 minutes and you are DONE FOR THE DAY!)
    LIFT HEAVY THINGS!

    I don't know about that 2000 calorie. You said you have a BodyMedia Fit Armband? I'm 110lbs and 5'2" (about 21-22% bf) and my average is 2000 and that's according their website where I upload the armband (I don't expect the numbers to be accurate). I don't do a lot of exercise. I have a desk job that I'm not chained to but I only average between 5000-7000 steps a day. I hit and/or pass 2000 calories easy if I end up cooking dinner or doing some light housecleaning in the evening. But if I sit on my butt at work and then go home and sit on my butt I might hit 1700 or somewhere around there. You have got to be burning more than that on a given day.

    Enjoy cardio but understand that too much can actually be detrimental to your health. Exercise creates a stress response in the body. Do a little research on "chronic cardio". Not saying it's completely bad. Just that excessive amounts can do the opposite of what you are looking for.
    Lifting heavy weights will do more for your cardiovascular system than any amount of cardio exercise. But this is just my personal opinion based on researching and reading (love Pubmed when I can get access to free journal articles!)
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    I would absolutely start lifting now. If you enjoy cardio, keep doing it.

    One reasonable plan would be a full body lifting routine done 3 days/week, with 3-4 moderate cardio sessions done either on separate days or post-lifting depending on your schedule
    This is exactly what I do, except I do light cardio for 15 minutes, then 15 minutes total body workouts, 3 days a week and one 15 minute HIIT once a week. Working for me so far. My bench press has gone up 25 pounds in 6 weeks and I have dropped about 4% body fat in the last 4 to 6 weeks as well as about 6 pounds so far.
    By the way, I am using the Men's Fitness 15 minute workouts which are supposed to maximize afterburn of calories .
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
    Aw man, all I needed to do to get SS to give me the real break down is post?

    I do a combination of both cardio and lifting (NROL4W, too). I still have lots of body fat to lose and use the cardio as part of my deficit. I also use my TDEE - 20% and primarily use this site: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    I also had to change my focus a little. Make lifting your first priority and cardio second. That's when you'll start to see a lot more body changes.

    PS. I eat 1900 calories (and then some at times) each day.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    I would absolutely start lifting now. If you enjoy cardio, keep doing it.

    One reasonable plan would be a full body lifting routine done 3 days/week, with 3-4 moderate cardio sessions done either on separate days or post-lifting depending on your schedule.

    I would keep your deficit to around 20% under TDEE after exercise is factored in.

    I would recommend that you set your macronutrients as follows and this is a rough estimate, with the assumption that your TDEE is accurate at 2000.

    1600 kcals
    protein: 125g
    fat: 60g
    carbs: 140g

    The above assumes equal intake daily and is not assuming an exercise calorie model. I am also assuming, again, that 2000 is an accurate estimate for TDEE.

    I agree with all of the above, except that I would be a bit less aggressive with the cardio, at least initially.
  • yeshualovesme
    yeshualovesme Posts: 121 Member
    @ Sidesteel - pm'd. My TDEE is higher than the BMF gave me according to the test. However, because of suspected hypothyroidism - my metabolism is stupid slow. I went from a size 2-4 16% bodyfat 128 lb martial artist in 2007 to this... all the while eating right and working out. My burn even with 40 minutes of pushups/sit ups/etc. and 20 minutes of eliptical yesterday was only 2400 on my BMF. That is why I was hypothesizing that growing my muscles would probably raise my metabolism to where it should be. I've been doing bodyweight exercises for "lifting" - but I do have a full body weight machine thingy someone gave us.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    @ Sidesteel - pm'd. My TDEE is higher than the BMF gave me according to the test. However, because of suspected hypothyroidism - my metabolism is stupid slow. I went from a size 2-4 16% bodyfat 128 lb martial artist in 2007 to this... all the while eating right and working out. My burn even with 40 minutes of pushups/sit ups/etc. and 20 minutes of eliptical yesterday was only 2400 on my BMF. That is why I was hypothesizing that growing my muscles would probably raise my metabolism to where it should be. I've been doing bodyweight exercises for "lifting" - but I do have a full body weight machine thingy someone gave us.

    Well there is a huge difference between cutting body fat and increasing lean body mass. If you want to gain muscle, you need to eat a small caloric suprlus and do a lot of heavy weight training. But yes, increasing lbm has been linked to improved insulin resistance, better immune system, better support for your body, higher metabolism, etc..

    You actually have a good amount of lbm now (121 lbs).
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    One other note, I have seen some information that suggest increase protein intake through lean meat can improve insulin resistance. I will look around to see if I can find the study.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    That's awesome advice. My bodymedia fit has my minimum burn at 2200 - not sure if that helps anything, but that is with a minimum of 8k steps. I will make it work for my schedule, as I don't have time to be out of shape anymore :)

    Thanks so much for the advice. Started using bodyweight exercises from martial arts training - but thinking I'm going to see faster results with some weights.

    Your BMF is telling your your TDEE. If 2200 is the minimum, I'd suggest eating more than 1200 calories, maybe 1800, or even more. I'm 5'9", 157lbs and I can lose while eating 2000-2300 as my TDEE is on average 2600.

    And yes, lift now, don't wait. Lifting helps retain muscle as you lose weight.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I would absolutely start lifting now. If you enjoy cardio, keep doing it.

    One reasonable plan would be a full body lifting routine done 3 days/week, with 3-4 moderate cardio sessions done either on separate days or post-lifting depending on your schedule.

    I would keep your deficit to around 20% under TDEE after exercise is factored in.

    I would recommend that you set your macronutrients as follows and this is a rough estimate, with the assumption that your TDEE is accurate at 2000.

    1600 kcals
    protein: 125g
    fat: 60g
    carbs: 140g

    The above assumes equal intake daily and is not assuming an exercise calorie model. I am also assuming, again, that 2000 is an accurate estimate for TDEE.

    I agree with all of this.
  • yeshualovesme
    yeshualovesme Posts: 121 Member
    Thank you SO much for all of the helpful advice. Going to keep doing my normal cardio (which is tennis, hiking, skiing, running with kids, etc. - things I find fun), but up my weights. FUN! I have an unopened P90x lol - maybe time to break it out. Also going to check out new rules at the library. Have been using bodyweight exercises from martial arts, but may be time to up the ante. Local gym memberships in Reno are $10 a month - may have to give it a whirl! For sure going to follow SS macro nutrient advice. I will admit upping my caloric intake is kind of frightening... but obviously you guys with the awesome bodies know what you're talking about ;) Thanks again for all the kind responses.
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    Cardio AND weights for best results. Do them together.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Thank you SO much for all of the helpful advice. Going to keep doing my normal cardio (which is tennis, hiking, skiing, running with kids, etc. - things I find fun), but up my weights. FUN! I have an unopened P90x lol - maybe time to break it out. Also going to check out new rules at the library. Have been using bodyweight exercises from martial arts, but may be time to up the ante. Local gym memberships in Reno are $10 a month - may have to give it a whirl! For sure going to follow SS macro nutrient advice. I will admit upping my caloric intake is kind of frightening... but obviously you guys with the awesome bodies know what you're talking about ;) Thanks again for all the kind responses.

    Read New Rules BEFORE opening P90X. You can sell it for more if it's unopened....
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Bump
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Cardio and weights. And definitely up your calories to 1500-1600. You need to fuel your body for your workouts especially if your doing strength training. And lot's of protein!!!

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