cardio vs weightlifting

There is nothing at all wrong with doing cardio. Strength training and cardio serve two different purposes though:

(1) Strength training will help you build muscle mass. Muscle mass will increase your body's caloric needs and therefore, over the long run, help you lose body fat by making it possible to eat more while still losing (or not gaining) body fat. If you are going to for the lean, "toned" (I hesitate to use that word but am) look, then strength training is the way to go. Basically, this is what will make you look good on the beach (body recomposition).

(2) Cardio burns calories now so it allows you to lose weight while eating more than you otherwise would. That said, it is entirely possible to lose weight while doing absolutely no cardio, and there are plenty of people on MFP that look great and just strength train. The other benefit of cardio is obviously cardiovascular health, and also, for many of us, the endorphin release.

The threads you see speaking negatively about cardio, for the most part, are attempting to convey that you absolutely should be engaged in strength training. Cardio alone is not enough for body recomposition/the beach look.

EDIT: I do both and I would encourage both. But that's me.

Cardio, is strength training for your heart and lungs, nothing wrong with it, whatsoever and don't let anyone tell you different.

I think that cardio is good for you but as far as weight loss goes...if all you are doing is cardio you really are wasting your time. At first it will be good but after a while, your body will compensate and start getting rid of your existing lean body mass to try and preserve energy for the cardio. As a result, you will eventually plateau.

When you do strength training, your body will burn more fat and try and preserve the muscle since it is being actively used / challenged and the body needs it. If you are strength training and not eating more calories though, you won't gain any muscle...your body just preserves the existing.

Currently, I like to have a balance of both cardio and strength training and that seems to work best for me.

Because the trendy thing right now is to hate on cardio and tell everyone that they need to eat more and lift heavier.

Ultimately it comes down to this:

If you want to lose weight, you have to sustain a reasonable and healthy caloric deficit. This can be done with diet alone, or with a combination of diet and exercise.

Exercise comes in 2 basic forms - cardio and strength training. Cardio will have little affect on the shape of your body, but it's great for helping maintain that calorie deficit I just mentioned if your eating habits aren't as good as they should be (which, lets face it, is probably the case for most of us). Strength training won't help as much with the deficit, but will have the biggest impact on your appearance.

Look at it this way... diet alone, or diet + cardio can both lead to weight loss. If you were a big marshmallow to begin with, you'll end up being a smaller marshmallow after. That's what weight loss is, simply a reduction in what the scale says with little thought given to body fat and/or body composition.

Add in some legitimate strength training and you'll start to see the "softness" in your body go away. Not only will you lose weight, but you'll change how you look as a greater percentage of you weight loss will come from body fat and more lean body mass will be retained. This is the toning effect so many people talk about. Not only is this healthier (losing body fat), but it's also much more aesthetically pleasing for most people.

There is nothing at all wrong with doing cardio. Strength training and cardio serve two different purposes though:

(1) Strength training will help you build muscle mass. Muscle mass will increase your body's caloric needs and therefore, over the long run, help you lose body fat by making it possible to eat more while still losing (or not gaining) body fat. If you are going to for the lean, "toned" (I hesitate to use that word but am) look, then strength training is the way to go. Basically, this is what will make you look good on the beach (body recomposition).

(2) Cardio burns calories now so it allows you to lose weight while eating more than you otherwise would. That said, it is entirely possible to lose weight while doing absolutely no cardio, and there are plenty of people on MFP that look great and just strength train. The other benefit of cardio is obviously cardiovascular health, and also, for many of us, the endorphin release.

The threads you see speaking negatively about cardio, for the most part, are attempting to convey that you absolutely should be engaged in strength training. Cardio alone is not enough for body recomposition/the beach look.

This is the best answer you are going to get.

I think the problem is people just way over do cardio. They are uneducated and believe that cardio is the only way to lose weight, when the truth is weight loss comes down to a calorie deficit. I say this all the time on this forum-unless you're training for some kind of endurance event, there is just no need to do hours upon hours of cardio a week.

Cardio should be a part of everyone's training regime. I think a split such as 75-80% weightlifting, 20-25% cardio is perfect.

There is nothing at all wrong with doing cardio. Strength training and cardio serve two different purposes though:

(1) Strength training will help you build muscle mass. Muscle mass will increase your body's caloric needs and therefore, over the long run, help you lose body fat by making it possible to eat more while still losing (or not gaining) body fat. If you are going to for the lean, "toned" (I hesitate to use that word but am) look, then strength training is the way to go. Basically, this is what will make you look good on the beach (body recomposition).

(2) Cardio burns calories now so it allows you to lose weight while eating more than you otherwise would. That said, it is entirely possible to lose weight while doing absolutely no cardio, and there are plenty of people on MFP that look great and just strength train. The other benefit of cardio is obviously cardiovascular health, and also, for many of us, the endorphin release.

The threads you see speaking negatively about cardio, for the most part, are attempting to convey that you absolutely should be engaged in strength training. Cardio alone is not enough for body recomposition/the beach look.

EDIT: I do both and I would encourage both. But that's me.

what a fantastic response.

This is all you need to know in terms anyone can understand.

also calorie deficits make you lose weight and strength training in a calorie deficit is the best way to maximize weight lost as body fat.

Another good point. Since starting weight training my bodyfat % has dropped faster than when just doing cardio alone. Difficult one to get your head round but once you do you won't look back.

GOOD BALANCE IS BEST APPROACH. Ido my strength training for about 60 minutes then do my cardio afterward. Reason is they say doing strength training firstboosts your metabolism turn burn fat when doing cardio. Also cardio first would make it so you do not reach full potential for lifting weights.

It shouldn't be cardio vs weightlifting, it should be cardio + weightlifting = win

There is nothing at all wrong with doing cardio. Strength training and cardio serve two different purposes though:

(1) Strength training will help you build muscle mass. Muscle mass will increase your body's caloric needs and therefore, over the long run, help you lose body fat by making it possible to eat more while still losing (or not gaining) body fat. If you are going to for the lean, "toned" (I hesitate to use that word but am) look, then strength training is the way to go. Basically, this is what will make you look good on the beach (body recomposition).

(2) Cardio burns calories now so it allows you to lose weight while eating more than you otherwise would. That said, it is entirely possible to lose weight while doing absolutely no cardio, and there are plenty of people on MFP that look great and just strength train. The other benefit of cardio is obviously cardiovascular health, and also, for many of us, the endorphin release.

The threads you see speaking negatively about cardio, for the most part, are attempting to convey that you absolutely should be engaged in strength training. Cardio alone is not enough for body recomposition/the beach look.

EDIT: I do both and I would encourage both. But that's me.

Very well said, I agree with everything, except "Cardio alone is not enough for body recomposition/the beach look."

this whole thing is a table, and a table has four legs. nutrition, strength training, cardio, and rest. no one leg is more important than than any other.

If you want one quarter of the results you have the potential to reach, then by all means, only do one.

If you want maximum results - then you're going to have to do all four.

There is nothing at all wrong with doing cardio. Strength training and cardio serve two different purposes though:

(1) Strength training will help you build muscle mass. Muscle mass will increase your body's caloric needs and therefore, over the long run, help you lose body fat by making it possible to eat more while still losing (or not gaining) body fat. If you are going to for the lean, "toned" (I hesitate to use that word but am) look, then strength training is the way to go. Basically, this is what will make you look good on the beach (body recomposition).

(2) Cardio burns calories now so it allows you to lose weight while eating more than you otherwise would. That said, it is entirely possible to lose weight while doing absolutely no cardio, and there are plenty of people on MFP that look great and just strength train. The other benefit of cardio is obviously cardiovascular health, and also, for many of us, the endorphin release.

The threads you see speaking negatively about cardio, for the most part, are attempting to convey that you absolutely should be engaged in strength training. Cardio alone is not enough for body recomposition/the beach look.

EDIT: I do both and I would encourage both. But that's me.

Just a little carification about your first point...

First, most people are going to be on a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. As such, they aren't going to be building any muscle, certainly not any meaningful amount.

Second, while muscle does increase caloric need, the effect isn't significant in the grand scheme of things. Yes, in the long run every little bit helps, but people run around thinking that if they can just build 1 or 2lbs of muscle in the next few weeks their bodies will some how turn into fat burning furnaces. In reality, neither is true. No one is putting on 2lbs of muscle in a month while on a calorie deficit. And even if they did, that 2lbs of muscle would have an insignificant impact on their BMR and caloric need in general.

There is nothing at all wrong with doing cardio. Strength training and cardio serve two different purposes though:

(1) Strength training will help you build muscle mass. Muscle mass will increase your body's caloric needs and therefore, over the long run, help you lose body fat by making it possible to eat more while still losing (or not gaining) body fat. If you are going to for the lean, "toned" (I hesitate to use that word but am) look, then strength training is the way to go. Basically, this is what will make you look good on the beach (body recomposition).

(2) Cardio burns calories now so it allows you to lose weight while eating more than you otherwise would. That said, it is entirely possible to lose weight while doing absolutely no cardio, and there are plenty of people on MFP that look great and just strength train. The other benefit of cardio is obviously cardiovascular health, and also, for many of us, the endorphin release.

The threads you see speaking negatively about cardio, for the most part, are attempting to convey that you absolutely should be engaged in strength training. Cardio alone is not enough for body recomposition/the beach look.

EDIT: I do both and I would encourage both. But that's me.

Very good advice I do both too