cardio vs. weights?
alejandrajoy193
Posts: 21
Hi, I have about 55 pounds to lose until my goal weight. I started out just doing mainly cardio (turbofire/sports/zumba) but now I'm looking into mixing in strength because I think that would help a lot with toning/defining muscle. Would it be wise to do 3 days of cardio and 3 days of strength, or should I wait until I'm closer to my GW to start strength training?
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Replies
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I'd go ahead and start mixing in the strength/weights...you'll burn more calories...just be sure to alternate the cardio/weight days (unless you're doing different muscle groups from one day to the next) to give your muscles time to rest. Start out light/moderate for two weeks or so or you'll be very sore...don't rest for too long between sets. Good luck.0
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There is no Cardio "vs." Weights.
There is Cardio + Weights.
There is Cardio or Weights.
I'd recommend both.0 -
Lift now, add cardio if you want.
You should look to do a full body program that includes progressive loading like Stronglifts 5 x 5, 3 x a week.0 -
Lift now, add cardio if you want.
You should look to do a full body program that includes progressive loading like Stronglifts 5 x 5, 3 x a week.
QFT0 -
If you think it will help with toning, why would you wait half a year to start?0
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i took weights at -210. should be a great fight.0
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I'm in the same boat! I just get awkward at the gym with weights and all the guys around! I feel like I don't know what I'm doing lifting my small weights. What I have been doing is the Nike Training Club app on iphone/andriod. It has a toning/strength training section that tells you to use dumbells/medicine ball/etc. it has workouts for beginner, intermediate, and expert. It's pretty awesome! I recommend you try it0
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Threads like this are supposed to be started in the morning, but thanks for making sure a day didn't go by without one0
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go to about.com and do a search for beginning weight lifting. Print it out and bring it to the gym. This is your journey and those guys don't care how you work out, noone matters but you and your health. That only happens when you work at it and commit to let everyone else do their business and you do your own. Weights are crucial to bone mass, burning calories and general health. Cardio is nice but not as effective.0
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go to about.com and do a search for beginning weight lifting. Print it out and bring it to the gym. This is your journey and those guys don't care how you work out, noone matters but you and your health. That only happens when you work at it and commit to let everyone else do their business and you do your own. Weights are crucial to bone mass, burning calories and general health. Cardio is nice but not as effective.
This is correct, nobody really cares what other people do in the gym. If they are paying attention to you, then they have no life or they like your style.0 -
Can I jump in with a question???
Is there a problem with doing cardio and weights in the same day?0 -
I have a question too. I am underweight and from what I've seen online I should do strength training to get stronger and improve my body composition (even though I am underweight I still have lower belly pooch etc so I'm vain and want a flat stomach). Can I do cardio if I'm underweight? I want to look good and be strong but I also want to be able to run and be active. but I'm scared of losing lbs because I would almost certainly be losing muscle if I did. Is there a healthy way to gain muscle and improve cardiovascular strength?
Sorry if this is a stupid question I am new to fitness.0 -
Go to fitnessblender.com
Pick a different workout every day. You'll be very happy. Some are pure cardio, some are pure weights, some are combo cardio/weights. There are about 150 videos on the site now, you'll never get bored.0 -
I prefer Cardio & Lifting. Build muscle and keep the heart strong. Only thing you have to worry about eating those pesky cardio calories back but thats no problem for me atleast
Typically I'll lift for 60-90 minutes and do a 15 minute Cardio set (Elip or 4mph Tread). HIIT will burn alot of glycogen stored in your body and the Cardio will attack the Fat.0 -
I have a question too. I am underweight and from what I've seen online I should do strength training to get stronger and improve my body composition (even though I am underweight I still have lower belly pooch etc so I'm vain and want a flat stomach). Can I do cardio if I'm underweight? I want to look good and be strong but I also want to be able to run and be active. but I'm scared of losing lbs because I would almost certainly be losing muscle if I did. Is there a healthy way to gain muscle and improve cardiovascular strength?
Sorry if this is a stupid question I am new to fitness.
You can but you will need to eat more to compensate and I would not do any extreme running sessions.
Do you lift weights? Do you know what your body fat % is?0 -
Can I jump in with a question???
Is there a problem with doing cardio and weights in the same day?
No, but make sure you do cardio after weights and do not do too much. 30 minutes is a good goal.0 -
Do 'em both!0
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I have a question too. I am underweight and from what I've seen online I should do strength training to get stronger and improve my body composition (even though I am underweight I still have lower belly pooch etc so I'm vain and want a flat stomach). Can I do cardio if I'm underweight? I want to look good and be strong but I also want to be able to run and be active. but I'm scared of losing lbs because I would almost certainly be losing muscle if I did. Is there a healthy way to gain muscle and improve cardiovascular strength?
Sorry if this is a stupid question I am new to fitness.
You can but you will need to eat more to compensate and I would not do any extreme running sessions.
Do you lift weights? Do you know what your body fat % is?
No. I've been doing a workout DVD for the past ten days (Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30) to get into the swing of exercising daily but haven't really sketched out a long term plan/done enough research.
&No. How do I find that out?0 -
Both. Girls who lift weight become sexy as hell.0
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I have a question too. I am underweight and from what I've seen online I should do strength training to get stronger and improve my body composition (even though I am underweight I still have lower belly pooch etc so I'm vain and want a flat stomach). Can I do cardio if I'm underweight? I want to look good and be strong but I also want to be able to run and be active. but I'm scared of losing lbs because I would almost certainly be losing muscle if I did. Is there a healthy way to gain muscle and improve cardiovascular strength?
Sorry if this is a stupid question I am new to fitness.
You can but you will need to eat more to compensate and I would not do any extreme running sessions.
Do you lift weights? Do you know what your body fat % is?
No. I've been doing a workout DVD for the past ten days (Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30) to get into the swing of exercising daily but haven't really sketched out a long term plan/done enough research.
&No. How do I find that out?
Do you have access to a gym?0 -
I have a question too. I am underweight and from what I've seen online I should do strength training to get stronger and improve my body composition (even though I am underweight I still have lower belly pooch etc so I'm vain and want a flat stomach). Can I do cardio if I'm underweight? I want to look good and be strong but I also want to be able to run and be active. but I'm scared of losing lbs because I would almost certainly be losing muscle if I did. Is there a healthy way to gain muscle and improve cardiovascular strength?
Sorry if this is a stupid question I am new to fitness.
You can but you will need to eat more to compensate and I would not do any extreme running sessions.
Do you lift weights? Do you know what your body fat % is?
No. I've been doing a workout DVD for the past ten days (Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30) to get into the swing of exercising daily but haven't really sketched out a long term plan/done enough research.
&No. How do I find that out?
Do you have access to a gym?
I don't have a membership but there are fitness centers in my area.0 -
You can do cardio and resistance in the same day, but to resistance right after your warm up, before you do cardio. I don't remember why exactly, I just remember my instructor for cardiovascular adaptions class last quarter said something about doing it this way.
Also, you need more calories to gain muscle, however you need less calories to lose weight, so if you do a Zig-zag diet you can do both at the same time. 4-5 low calorie days and 2-3 high calorie days per week. However, the rate that you would lose weight this way is about 1-2lbs per week if you do it correctly. I just learned this in my Sports Nutrition class this week
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I have a question too. I am underweight and from what I've seen online I should do strength training to get stronger and improve my body composition (even though I am underweight I still have lower belly pooch etc so I'm vain and want a flat stomach). Can I do cardio if I'm underweight? I want to look good and be strong but I also want to be able to run and be active. but I'm scared of losing lbs because I would almost certainly be losing muscle if I did. Is there a healthy way to gain muscle and improve cardiovascular strength?
Sorry if this is a stupid question I am new to fitness.
You can but you will need to eat more to compensate and I would not do any extreme running sessions.
Do you lift weights? Do you know what your body fat % is?
Ditto on this. Need to eat more for sure if you are weight training. Don't worry about losing that "belly pouch". Just get some good lean muscle on there and it should take care of itself. You should eat over your BMR+Activity Level calorie level when you weight train since it sounds like you don't have a lot of weight to burn off. Just make sure you are eating good foods, don't eat tons of rice/pasta, try and keep your carbs clean. Get good amounts of protein for muscle building and some good fats.
You can add some cardio also but like others said you need to eat those calories back and probably more because of the muscle training. Don't try and be conservative with your calories, you don't want to starve your attempts at muscle growth.
Don't be afraid to tweek after a few weeks as you take into account your health and weight gains. There will be weight gain. Muscle is heavier! If you are losing weight something is not working, perhaps bump up the calories.
Of course, these are just suggestions from someone who has never been in your situation (I have always been large).
Cheers,
Kendobc
Count Your Macros Not Your Calories0 -
You can do cardio and resistance in the same day, but to resistance right after your warm up, before you do cardio. I don't remember why exactly, I just remember my instructor for cardiovascular adaptions class last quarter said something about doing it this way.
Also, you need more calories to gain muscle, however you need less calories to lose weight, so if you do a Zig-zag diet you can do both at the same time. 4-5 low calorie days and 2-3 high calorie days per week. However, the rate that you would lose weight this way is about 1-2lbs per week if you do it correctly. I just learned this in my Sports Nutrition class this week
Oh for the girl trying to gain weight, Zig-Zag the opposite of the girl trying to lose weight.0 -
You can do cardio and resistance in the same day, but to resistance right after your warm up, before you do cardio. I don't remember why exactly, I just remember my instructor for cardiovascular adaptions class last quarter said something about doing it this way.
Also, you need more calories to gain muscle, however you need less calories to lose weight, so if you do a Zig-zag diet you can do both at the same time. 4-5 low calorie days and 2-3 high calorie days per week. However, the rate that you would lose weight this way is about 1-2lbs per week if you do it correctly. I just learned this in my Sports Nutrition class this week
One of the reasons you want to do strength training first, before cardio, is that you don't want to fatigue your muscles before you get under that heavy bar. You want to be warmed up but not tired for your lifts. Much safer. Of course, it all depends on the weight you are lifting. If you are lifting well below what you can normally lift then you COULD do it before. I would never recommend lifting that low but that is a conversation for another time. Lift what you can, increase the load each time by little amounts and do your cardio afterwards.
One thing to add, do NOT do static stretching BEFORE strength training. Do a light warmup, maybe some dynamic stretching if you want and then do warm up sets then do your work sets. Some people, like me, skip the dynamic stretching because the warm up sets can be your dynamic stretching. Static stretching has been shown to actually decrease your strength for, I am probably wrong with this durations, 1-2 hours after the stretch by a rather substantial percent that eludes me for the moment. Do static stretching AFTER all training as the last thing you do.
Cheers,
Kendobc
Count Your Macros Not Your Calories0 -
I have a question too. I am underweight and from what I've seen online I should do strength training to get stronger and improve my body composition (even though I am underweight I still have lower belly pooch etc so I'm vain and want a flat stomach). Can I do cardio if I'm underweight? I want to look good and be strong but I also want to be able to run and be active. but I'm scared of losing lbs because I would almost certainly be losing muscle if I did. Is there a healthy way to gain muscle and improve cardiovascular strength?
Sorry if this is a stupid question I am new to fitness.
You can but you will need to eat more to compensate and I would not do any extreme running sessions.
Do you lift weights? Do you know what your body fat % is?
No. I've been doing a workout DVD for the past ten days (Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30) to get into the swing of exercising daily but haven't really sketched out a long term plan/done enough research.
&No. How do I find that out?
Do you have access to a gym?
I don't have a membership but there are fitness centers in my area.
You can do strength training at home using body weight exercises, but it will be easier to have access to the facilities at a gym. To gain muscle you need to eat at a caloric surplus (although you can get away with a deficit for a short time while you take advantage of newbie gains), have a good progressive loading lifting routine (something like Stronglifts 5 x 5 is a great one to start with) and get enough protein.0 -
^^^^There is no Cardio "vs." Weights.
There is Cardio + Weights.
There is Cardio or Weights.
I'd recommend both.
BINGO!
We have a winner....:drinker:0 -
I'm in the same boat! I just get awkward at the gym with weights and all the guys around! I feel like I don't know what I'm doing lifting my small weights. What I have been doing is the Nike Training Club app on iphone/andriod. It has a toning/strength training section that tells you to use dumbells/medicine ball/etc. it has workouts for beginner, intermediate, and expert. It's pretty awesome! I recommend you try it
I totally feel the same way! I work out at my college gym and I just feel so intimidated!0 -
thank you everyone for the help, i've decided to start lifting using the stronglifts program! i feel like girls who lift look awesome
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There is no Cardio "vs." Weights.
There is Cardio + Weights.
There is Cardio or Weights.
I'd recommend both.
I didn't mean it as in "one is better than the other", sorry if it was phrased the wrong way. Thanks for your help 0
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