Forgoing strength for a while?

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Replies

  • SunshineGirl140
    SunshineGirl140 Posts: 22 Member
    I think Paleo requires such a mindshift and is hard to maintain sometimes. That might have actually been part of the cause of your burnout, along with the chaos in your life.

    I think both strength and cardio are important for good health, not the mention weight loss. I think if you did three days of strength training as well as the couch to 5K, it would be a fantastic way to get you going again. You can add things from there - walks, swimming, etc. Is there a YMCA in your area, or those $10/month gyms? I joined a $10/month gym and LOVE it, better than any of the more expensive ones I've joined over the years, and no commitment, either. Especially since you work at home, getting out around other people will help. Smile at everyone and make that the pseudo-social part of your day!

    Good luck! You can do it!

    I'm serious about the Paleo. Just tracking calories on MFP is so easy, no need to complicate things too much. Lots of broth-based soup, etc. I often try not to eat before 10 a.m., and on those days, I always hit my calorie goal, I think because it pushes my lunch into where an afternoon snack might have been. I'm also kind of on a "Trader Joe's Diet," because it's right next to my gym, and all the items are already tracked in MFP, so tracking is simple.
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    Lol
    he said fat burning zone
  • Admiral_Derp
    Admiral_Derp Posts: 866 Member
    I think Paleo requires such a mindshift and is hard to maintain sometimes. That might have actually been part of the cause of your burnout, along with the chaos in your life.

    I think both strength and cardio are important for good health, not the mention weight loss. I think if you did three days of strength training as well as the couch to 5K, it would be a fantastic way to get you going again. You can add things from there - walks, swimming, etc. Is there a YMCA in your area, or those $10/month gyms? I joined a $10/month gym and LOVE it, better than any of the more expensive ones I've joined over the years, and no commitment, either. Especially since you work at home, getting out around other people will help. Smile at everyone and make that the pseudo-social part of your day!

    Good luck! You can do it!

    I'm serious about the Paleo. Just tracking calories on MFP is so easy, no need to complicate things too much. Lots of broth-based soup, etc. I often try not to eat before 10 a.m., and on those days, I always hit my calorie goal, I think because it pushes my lunch into where an afternoon snack might have been. I'm also kind of on a "Trader Joe's Diet," because it's right next to my gym, and all the items are already tracked in MFP, so tracking is simple.

    Thanks for the encouragement. After running numbers yesterday, I figured that I needed to switch mindsets. Focus more on lifting, and less on cardio. It will keep my burns consistent with what I eat. We don't do the Paleo thing anymore. We are staying away from bread as much as possible, but over all, we haven't cut anything strictly out. Except large amounts of candy, soda, and all that stuff of course.
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
    Lol
    he said fat burning zone

    He said:

    "The "fat burning zone" as it is commonly known"

    :wink:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Cardio doesn't burn fat, all it does is burn calories

    Have a think about this statement whilst I laugh for a bit longer...

    The energy consumption from the cardio can be sourced from fat,

    It isn't just fat.

    We agree, not sure how that makes the OP right? "Cardio doesn't burn fat". Yes it does. "All it does is burn calories", of which fat will be a percentage of those calories.

    Actually this is wrong, if you are in a caloric surplus cardio will not burn fat, it will use up energy in the body that would have otherwise been converted to fat or muscle. living burns calories, but if you are not in a deficit you will not burn body fat.

    This is why you will burn as much fat eating 2000, if your maintenance is 2500, as you would by eating 2500, if your maintenance is 2500 and you burn an extra 500 from cardio. Both give you a deficit of 500 cals/day. Now if you did strength training instead of cardio and had a 500 cal deficit, a large % of that deficit will go to fat loss vs. what you would get by a 500 cal deficit with cardio only, or with no exercise at all.

    So cardio does not help you lose weight, it helps you eat more to lose the same amount of weight you could have lost from diet alone. to make sure it is almost all fat loss you need enough protein and strength training.

    ETA: Cardio has a host of health benefits, but fat loss is not among them (that is cals in vs. out regardless of the amount of cardio)


    The OP did not say that he was in a calorific surplus trying to build muscle mass. He is in a deficit, trying to loose weight.

    Exercise at between 60-70% of HRM does burn predominantly fats for fuel. The "fat burning zone" as it is commonly known varies for an individual and can be caluclated by monitoring the respitory exchange ratio (Carbon diopxide v's Oxygen). As the intensity or duration increases the % of fat burned as calories per calorie burned will reduce, but as the total number of calories burned has increased the number of fat calories will also continue increase (just at a lesser ratio). It is only once the body reaches a level of fatigue and the respiratory exchange reaches or exceeds 1:1 that the body burns purely carbohydrate for energy (above the anaerobic threshold).

    So your original statement that "cardio does not burn fat all it does is burn calories" remains incorrect, and your later statement that

    "cardio does not help you lose weight, it helps you eat more to lose the same amount of weight you could have lost from diet alone" is also dubious.

    If you have a calorie deficit, be it from diet, exercise, or (as is ideal for many other health benefits) a combination of the two, you will loose weight.

    Had you said that "cardio training above the anaerobic threshold does not burn fat it just burns calories" I would have agreed with you.

    Zone's are a crock of *kitten*, and should be taken with a grain of salt. the larger the deficit, the more weight you will lose (fat vs. lean muscle loss will come down to protein intake, genetics, and whether you strength train or no), this can be done to the same degree with or without cardio (it is the deficit that makes you lose weight and fat, not the cardio)
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601

    Zone's are a crock of *kitten*, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

    Best phone the ACSM and let them know right away!

    Think that we shall have to draw a line under this.
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member

    Zone's are a crock of *kitten*, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

    Best phone the ACSM and let them know right away!

    Think that we shall have to draw a line under this.

    Are you more of a free weights kinda guy or machines kinda guy? Cause if you prefer machines, I know someone who can sell you a trencher so you can dig your hole without a shovel
  • hmadrone
    hmadrone Posts: 129 Member
    Given the same intake of calories:

    1. In studies, cardio leads to greater weight loss (yes, some of that weight loss will be muscle) than strength training.
    2. Cardio + strength training leads to greater weight loss still.

    If you want to lose weight faster, cardio can help you do it.

    Strength training is important because it builds and/or preserves lean body mass: muscle, and, perhaps more importantly, bone. And yes, the small amount of muscle added or preserved will burn more calories. But, in a calorie deficit, you're not going to put on much muscle, and strength training builds muscle slowly anyway.
    Strength training doesn't burn calories the way cardio does. It's much easier to burn a lot of calories doing cardio than it is to burn a lot of calories doing strength training. Rough water swimmers can lose 40 pounds on a single swim (not a recommended way to lose weight). There's no strength training activity in the world that can do that.

    Cardio is also a lot more portable than strength training. If you're busy, on the go, it's a lot easier to pack your stuff for a run than it is to pack your free weights.

    People who are thin but flabby are usually that way because they get no exercise. Any kind of cardio you do also uses muscles.

    If you take a few months off from the gym, those weights will still be there when you get back to them.

    There's a bug in my Python program. It doesn't check to see if it's already buffed you up and given you your heart's desire. Now that you've been warned, don't come crying to me if the seven gorgeous women you magicked up by posting in this thread start fighting over your car.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Best phone the ACSM and let them know right away!

    Think that we shall have to draw a line under this.

    From their website, I only did a quick search: http://www.acsm.org/access-public-information/articles/2012/01/13/the-heart-rate-debate

    EDIT: Also, http://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/acsm-in-the-news/2011/08/01/consumers-should-exercise-caution-on-fitness-machine-claims-expert-says
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    woman=singular
    women=plural

    If you're going to be clever, be clever about it.
  • JustANumber85
    JustANumber85 Posts: 644 Member
    you can always try it for a bit and then if it doesnt work go back. Theres nothing set in stone about this journey.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Given the same intake of calories:

    1. In studies, cardio leads to greater weight loss (yes, some of that weight loss will be muscle) than strength training.
    2. Cardio + strength training leads to greater weight loss still.

    If you want to lose weight faster, cardio can help you do it.

    You are talking about the same caloric intake, so of course this would help you lose more. This is not considering an equal caloric deficit. The cardio increases your deficit here, but if you just ate less instead you would have the same caloric deficit ( same net caloric intake) which is what leads to weight loss.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    You are talking about the same caloric intake, so of course this would help you lose more. This is not considering an equal caloric deficit. The cardio increases your deficit here, but if you just ate less instead you would have the same caloric deficit ( same net caloric intake) which is what leads to weight loss.

    Not disagreeing with anything you're saying Erick, but cardio does have merit in and of itself, beyond strict weightloss and muscle sparing. I know you didn't say that cardio was pointless, but figured it was was worth mentioning.

    Getting gassed running across a station to catch your train = no bueno

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