strength training, cardio, or both

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Sierrasmommy
Sierrasmommy Posts: 90
in Fitness and Exercise
What is the best and most effective. I hear that if you do cardio you will drop weight faster, but strength training builds the muscle to help support the weight loss. However, i also have heard that if you are only losing like 2-3 ounds a week then the elasticity of your skin will maintain on its own and not cause loose skin at the end of dieting... Thoughts, comments, opinions, advice???

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  • chocolateandvodka
    chocolateandvodka Posts: 1,856 Member
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    cardio = weight loss
    strength training = toning
    it's best to cycle a bit of both for a 1-2 lb per week loss. say for instance mon, wed and fri you do cardio but tues and thurs you do strength training/toning exercises
    that way you can regain your shape much more quickly and the transition usually goes a bit smoother. i've personally found this logic to be most effective.
  • mommamills
    mommamills Posts: 437
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    def both! Cardio does help burn more calories and drop the weight faster, but building muscle keeps loose skin at bay and helps keep you from hitting that dreaded plateau! The key is to sweat, sweat, sweat.....and mix it up. Don't let you body become so comfortable with a routine that it is no longer challenging. Building the muscle also helps to "eat the fat away" so both have their own benefits.
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
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    def both! Cardio does help burn more calories and drop the weight faster, but building muscle keeps loose skin at bay and helps keep you from hitting that dreaded plateau! The key is to sweat, sweat, sweat.....and mix it up. Don't let you body become so comfortable with a routine that it is no longer challenging. Building the muscle also helps to "eat the fat away" so both have their own benefits.

    I could not agree more. Both. And include cardio during your weight training. Cheers!
  • byHISstrength
    byHISstrength Posts: 984 Member
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    And just to add to what mommamills and pixiestick said, when doing strength training you burn calories long after you're done over the calorie burn after doing cardio.

    I do Power 90--Mon, Wed, and Fri is Strength days and Tues, Thurs, and Sat are Cardio.
  • mamaturner
    mamaturner Posts: 2,533 Member
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    BOTH!!!! Totally both, mix it up. for me 4 days a week for cardio and 2 days a week for strength seem to work great.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    You need both as others have said.

    However, that part about loose skin isn't true. Our skin has limited elasticity and, if it's stretched out too far for too long, it won't go back to it's original size. That's true whether you lose fast or slow.

    The only difference is that, if you lose fast, you get well ahead of your skin's ability to contract and will spend a lot more time during maintenance having your skin go back as far as it can.

    OTOH, if you lose slow, then you can still get ahead of your skin's ability to bounce back, but it's usually not as dramatic.

    The end point is the same though. At some point your skin won't bounce back.
  • xTattooedDollx
    xTattooedDollx Posts: 426 Member
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    I do both every morning.
  • striker1988
    striker1988 Posts: 20
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    Do cardio everyday if you can, and work muscles on different days. I.E. Mon- Arms, Tues- Legs, Wednesday- Abs and Back and so on and so forth. Or strength train like 3 days per week. Extra muscle/tone has the advantage of melting fat off your body; it requires massive amounts of energy to maintain itself. Your best bet, to build it quickly, is to do low reps with a few sets. 3 sets on each muscle and/or machine that you use, if you have them.... With about 6-8 reps in each set. If they're not tiring you out completely by 8, increase the weight. If they're tiring you before 6, decrease the weight. Take a few minutes in between each set. If you do this, you'll see very fast that you're getting a lot of extra tone and that muscle will start to incinerate the fat off your body. Plus, like others said, it's good for the loose skin.
  • jolhor
    jolhor Posts: 6
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    As everyone else said, you need to do both. Here's a link to a pretty good article that explains the two in detail. Just remember too, men lose weight much more quickly - why? Because they have more muscle mass and muscle burns calories!
    http://www.truestarhealth.com/members/cm_archives11ML3P1A4.html

    Hope this helps!

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