Weights Versus Cardio

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Replies

  • RunDoozer
    RunDoozer Posts: 1,699 Member
    People do alot of cardio because they are uncomfortable with weights, think they will bulk up, or don't feel they have worked hard enough.. You should do what your doing if you have 5-10lbs to lose is my 2 cents.


    Funniest thing I heard all day! I do cardio because it burns calories, lots of them, more so then weights. Yes I lose fat faster. If I did nothing but weights I'd have lots of muscle, underneath layers of fat. I could just do cardio to lose weight, but I use weights to become shapely and strong. I am in no way scared of my weights, I was in fact just yesterday looking at some new ones seeing as how my handweight set is from 1992, plastic pastel color scheme and all, but I decided mine still work just fine.

    In my opinion you should do more cardio and less weights to lose whatever fat it is you're trying to lose. But use weights for shape and strength.


    Yea this is wrong. You can easily just cut out cardio completely and lose a crap ton of weight while building muscle. You're not just going to have a bunch of muscle under fat. While cardio is a good supplement to weight training it is not needed. However, it's probably best to do both provided you're not over taxing your body.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    People do alot of cardio because they are uncomfortable with weights, think they will bulk up, or don't feel they have worked hard enough.. You should do what your doing if you have 5-10lbs to lose is my 2 cents.

    Nice judgement there!! :grumble:


    Some people do a lot of cardio bc they like cardio. Some do more cardio than weights and soem do more weights than cardio. Its all about preference. I will say one should do both - but the ratiio of one to the other is a personal preference!!

    Thank you, RumRunner. I was just about to let him have it. You saved me some time.

    Cardio burns a boat-load more calories than weight lifting ever does, even if you assume that by lifting you will gain much new muscle, which will increase your resting metabolism.

    Just be careful. When you exercise a lot, it makes you hungry.
  • S_U_M_M_E_R
    S_U_M_M_E_R Posts: 220 Member
    People do alot of cardio because they are uncomfortable with weights, think they will bulk up, or don't feel they have worked hard enough.. You should do what your doing if you have 5-10lbs to lose is my 2 cents.


    Funniest thing I heard all day! I do cardio because it burns calories, lots of them, more so then weights. Yes I lose fat faster. If I did nothing but weights I'd have lots of muscle, underneath layers of fat. I could just do cardio to lose weight, but I use weights to become shapely and strong. I am in no way scared of my weights, I was in fact just yesterday looking at some new ones seeing as how my handweight set is from 1992, plastic pastel color scheme and all, but I decided mine still work just fine.

    In my opinion you should do more cardio and less weights to lose whatever fat it is you're trying to lose. But use weights for shape and strength.
    When you weight train it burns a lot of calories and will continue to burn for about 36 hrs after you're done lifting. Muscle burns fat even at rest. You can't go wrong EVER with weight lifting. If you do cardio at the wrong pace you can burn muscle. Your heart rate needs to be at target to burn fat and not muscle.
  • ourglasswalls
    ourglasswalls Posts: 44 Member
    Cardio is the fast and to the point fat burner and weights are the slow and steady fat burner. Cardio is good for your health as everyone mentioned and also helps keep your day to day calories in check. Lifting on the other head increases the amount you can eat for as long as you maintain the muscle on your body. Muscle burns slightly more than fat, and will bump your BMR up. It does also make your body look nice after fat loss too :) Its like carbs and protein, its best not to leave one out.
  • KS_4691
    KS_4691 Posts: 228 Member
    Cardio helps getting your HR up into the fat burning zone and keeping it there for a while thus maximising on the effectiveness of burning those excess fat.
    It also gives your metabolism the boost you need to keep burning fat long after you stopped your routine for the day, thus the reason you will become hungry much quicker.
    The idea is to supplement a solid cardio training programme with a decent calorie controlled diet and in the process reduce the carbs as to burn away the fat you wish to burn away THEN bulk up on the muscle you want and then trim and shape to the final shape you want by doing the weight training.

    Just my 2c

    what?
  • tinanana7
    tinanana7 Posts: 53 Member
    All I do is Zumba. Love that *kitten*.

    this lol! I know i need to do more strength training (and its not because i'm uncomfortable with it) but the zumba classes are always calling me. I've been doing some kettlebells to get some strength training in but i have to put on the music they use in my zumba classes to really enjoy it :)
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    People do alot of cardio because they are uncomfortable with weights, think they will bulk up, or don't feel they have worked hard enough.. You should do what your doing if you have 5-10lbs to lose is my 2 cents.


    Funniest thing I heard all day! I do cardio because it burns calories, lots of them, more so then weights. Yes I lose fat faster. If I did nothing but weights I'd have lots of muscle, underneath layers of fat. I could just do cardio to lose weight, but I use weights to become shapely and strong. I am in no way scared of my weights, I was in fact just yesterday looking at some new ones seeing as how my handweight set is from 1992, plastic pastel color scheme and all, but I decided mine still work just fine.

    In my opinion you should do more cardio and less weights to lose whatever fat it is you're trying to lose. But use weights for shape and strength.
    When you weight train it burns a lot of calories and will continue to burn for about 36 hrs after you're done lifting. Muscle burns fat even at rest. You can't go wrong EVER with weight lifting. If you do cardio at the wrong pace you can burn muscle. Your heart rate needs to be at target to burn fat and not muscle.

    That is true. It is also true that if you are lifting right, to gain muscle, your muscles take that 36 hours to recover, in the meantime, you can do quite a bit of cardio at the right pace to burn more fat.
  • ziegman49
    ziegman49 Posts: 28 Member
    That is like me saying "people do weights because they can't stand then pain of their lungs burning from a hard run."

    I spent 10+ years doing nothing but weights and I can say without a doubt in my mind weights are an easier workout. But it really just comes down to what you want. Muscle burns more calories all day but less during the actual workout. Cardio will burn a ton during the workout but few after (if you go hard enough you can get an after burn effect). Weights you can do 5+ times a week but rotating muscle groups. For cardio, you may not be able to run 6 miles 5x a week. Depending on your fitness level, find the combo that allows you to maximize your calorie deficit.
  • S_U_M_M_E_R
    S_U_M_M_E_R Posts: 220 Member
    People do alot of cardio because they are uncomfortable with weights, think they will bulk up, or don't feel they have worked hard enough.. You should do what your doing if you have 5-10lbs to lose is my 2 cents.


    Funniest thing I heard all day! I do cardio because it burns calories, lots of them, more so then weights. Yes I lose fat faster. If I did nothing but weights I'd have lots of muscle, underneath layers of fat. I could just do cardio to lose weight, but I use weights to become shapely and strong. I am in no way scared of my weights, I was in fact just yesterday looking at some new ones seeing as how my handweight set is from 1992, plastic pastel color scheme and all, but I decided mine still work just fine.

    In my opinion you should do more cardio and less weights to lose whatever fat it is you're trying to lose. But use weights for shape and strength.


    Yea this is wrong. You can easily just cut out cardio completely and lose a crap ton of weight while building muscle. You're not just going to have a bunch of muscle under fat. While cardio is a good supplement to weight training it is not needed. However, it's probably best to do both provided you're not over taxing your body.
    I agree with you!
  • S_U_M_M_E_R
    S_U_M_M_E_R Posts: 220 Member
    Cardio will burn a ton during the workout but few after (if you go hard enough you can get an after burn effect). Weights you can do 5+ times a week but rotating muscle groups. For cardio, you may not be able to run 6 miles 5x a week. Depending on your fitness level, find the combo that allows you to maximize your calorie deficit.
    This is true. I do believe and have heard you should do cardio for your heart. This is because I dated a guy that did nothing but weights, he was lean and looked sooo incredibly healthy. He was having problems with something internally (forgot what) and went to the doctor. The doctor asked, "how much cardio are you doing?". My ex said, "none, I only lift". The doctor said, "you need to do cardio for your heart or you'll be looking good for your casket SOONER than LATER".

    I want to add that when I do weight training I get results really quickly by losing inches at an alarming rate. Almost like magic, yet the scale doesn't move. I can do weights (full body, twice a week, lifting to exhaustion at reps up to 20 X2) and wear an entire size smaller in underwear in four weeks, lol. I also had a skirt which went from too tight on the waist to baggy and also a top which used to pull at the back and then in a month laid nicely over my back, the sleeves went from tight to loose. And as I said this was all in four weeks of lifting ADDED to the tons of cardio, I had done for over a year. What a difference four weeks of weight lifting added to a routine can make. I was shocked. One summer I lifted for three months the way mentioned above and was able to wear short shorts with no cellulite at all. Mind you I am in my forties so this is a great thing. In the past I had always just done cardio alone and hadn't been able to be cellulite free in years and years. I'm telling you WEIGHTS are going to be the LOVE of your life if you try it. Better than plastic surgery. If you're a female, they will lift your breasts too. Jillian Micheals said this, but I can attest to it. I had noticed some sag going on in that area and thought I need a "boob lift" and was going to call a surgeon. But after lifting, they perked right up. I'm a DD so even at that size, they can perk. When I go without lifting for a while (I am never consistent) they start to droop again. Lifting for a month or so and they perk. Sorry, if this is, "too much info" but I think we are here to help each other and share experiences and I hope this helps a woman who is afraid to lift.

    I know HOW one lifts is a preference, I mix it up and the above is just an actual example of what I did last April, but it is what my PT had me do. It may be wrong in the eyes of some, but being that it worked for me, it must have been right (for me).
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    so what do you take away from all this?

    1. Burning fat is really about the calorie defecit and there are many ways of achieving that.

    2. Cardio vs. Weights, there maybe one that really has an advantage over the other, and some people might get good results from JUST doing one or the other, but most people are going to have to do a combination of the two. Experiment to find what works best for you.

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