Is cardio good for me?

alehundrah
alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so i'm happy with the progress i'm making as far as weigh loss. I've lost 8 lbs in less than 2 months. At first I didnt exercise however I've recently started to exercise more. I usually exercise for 30 minutes around 3 times a week (i do zumba or the threadmill or hike) I was talking to a friend and he said that i'm supposed to also do strenght training to gain muscle and his comment got me confused because I thought I had to lose the fat before focusing on gaining muscle. He says if I only do cardio that I'm going to lose weight but i'm going to be flabby. Is this true? Should I keep doing cardio or should I do something else? I currently weight 205 lbs, 5 ft. 4 in.
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Replies

  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    when you lose weight, you lose both fat and lean mass.

    if you strength train, and eat enough protein to fuel the muscles as you lose weight, you will keep more of the muscle you have, so you'll have more of a 'firm' look by the end of it.

    i wish i did more strength training when i lost weight (by cardio and counting calories).

    but you can still do cardio, obviously, yes that is good for your heart, will burn calories, and it helps some people keep their appetite down - just add strength training into your week
  • LJSmith1989
    LJSmith1989 Posts: 650
    Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

    If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
    As far as I know, it is hard to gain muscle when you're eating a deficit. So I would focus on losing the fat. If you'll get flabby, which isn't necessarily true, then you can always start weight lifting afterwards.
  • allisonmrn
    allisonmrn Posts: 721 Member
    I do both cardio and strength train. I try to only do as much cardio as necessary but does not cause me to overeat. I prefer short sessions (15-20 min) of HIIT cardio vs steady state cardio. When I do hours and hours of cardio, I tend to overeat later. Then I get into this cycle where I am doing more and more cardio to compensate for the overeating. Burning thousands of calories a day at the gym, for me, is NOT SUSTAINABLE. I'm not saying this is true for everyone, just saying this is true for me. You must find your own path through this health and fitness journey. Take advice and try it for a couple weeks and see how you feel. If it doesnt work for you, don't continue. Take what works, and leave the rest!! Good luck
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Agree with the previous two posters. Cardio is ideal for increasing overall health, but you should add in some form of resistance exercise (weights, resistance band, body weight) to preserve muscle tissue during weight loss. I didn't start weights until about halfway through my major loss, and I saw a dramatic improvement in my overall appearance once I added it due to toning and increased calorie burn from increased demand from muscles. Both is going to be your best bet.
  • misuzu437
    misuzu437 Posts: 15 Member
    I agree with the previous posts. Cardio will always be your major calorie consumer which = weight loss (It will not make you look flabby). But if you want to have a wonderful lean look, you'll want to make sure to supplement with some core exercises and some strength training.

    A suggestion would be doing arms every three days, the next day would be leg day and the next abs. Rinse and repeat.

    Good luck on your work out journey and I hope this is helpful. :)
  • runningjen74
    runningjen74 Posts: 312 Member
    As far as I know, it is hard to gain muscle when you're eating a deficit. So I would focus on losing the fat. If you'll get flabby, which isn't necessarily true, then you can always start weight lifting afterwards.

    The objective with lifting when losing weight is to maintain lean body mass. If you're not lifting, when you're losing you are losing fat and lean body mass. I'd like to hold on to any lean body mass I have.

    I do both and the weights I am lifting are going up - clearly getting stronger. With strong muscles it's helping my running speeds/etc...

    When lifting - I would focus on big compound moves.

    I say do both.
  • alehundrah
    alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
    Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

    If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.
    My friend told me to do cardio but also incorporate strength training.
  • alehundrah
    alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
    As far as I know, it is hard to gain muscle when you're eating a deficit. So I would focus on losing the fat. If you'll get flabby, which isn't necessarily true, then you can always start weight lifting afterwards.
    This has always been my mentality. I always assumed that first a person needed to lose the fat before focusing on gaining muscle. But I really don't want to look flabby.
  • alehundrah
    alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
    I agree with the previous posts. Cardio will always be your major calorie consumer which = weight loss (It will not make you look flabby). But if you want to have a wonderful lean look, you'll want to make sure to supplement with some core exercises and some strength training.

    A suggestion would be doing arms every three days, the next day would be leg day and the next abs. Rinse and repeat.

    Good luck on your work out journey and I hope this is helpful. :)
    This has definitely been helpful. Thank you :)
  • LuckyFur
    LuckyFur Posts: 96
    Cardio turns you into a big girly man.
  • tazzy2805
    tazzy2805 Posts: 25
    i do both as muscle gain also hlps weight loss muscles burns more cals;)
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    If you're new to it, you may find yourself gaining muscle despite losing fat.
    However, more importantly, along with a good protein intake, weight training can help you stop losing muscle, so you don't look 'skinny fat' - it's all too easy to lose muscle along with the fat and end up still looking a bit pudgy when thinner.
  • PlayerHatinDogooder
    PlayerHatinDogooder Posts: 1,018 Member
    i do both as muscle gain also hlps weight loss muscles burns more cals;)
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  • nrsblc
    nrsblc Posts: 85 Member
    Cardio is essential! It is also the key to a flatter stomach, though most ppl think its all about ab workouts. Nooo. not really. It also helps burn the excess fat you have along with the other squats, plank poses, push ups and so on.
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
    do HIIT training,long bouts of steady state makes you squishy
  • Biggipooh
    Biggipooh Posts: 350
    I only did cardio for a while, I lost some weight but then it stopped. Then I added weight training and here we go.... losing again. So in my opinion, best to do both.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

    If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.
    My friend told me to do cardio but also incorporate strength training.

    Your friend was correct. If you only do cardio, you'll lose muscle mass at almost the same ratio as fat. A lot of times you wind up with the same body, just smaller. Begin resistance training NOW in addition to your cardio so that your losses come primarily from your fat stores.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    do HIIT training,long bouts of steady state makes you squishy

    No. Chick just started walking and doing Zumba. She's not even close to being ready for HIIT. High intensity intervals are great but incredibly over prescribed on this site.
  • alehundrah
    alehundrah Posts: 156 Member
    Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

    If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.
    My friend told me to do cardio but also incorporate strength training.

    Your friend was correct. If you only do cardio, you'll lose muscle mass at almost the same ratio as fat. A lot of times you wind up with the same body, just smaller. Begin resistance training NOW in addition to your cardio so that your losses come primarily from your fat stores.
    So what should I be doing exactly?
  • Annerk1
    Annerk1 Posts: 372 Member
    I do this, and it seems to be working well:

    Cardio every day. The amount varies by what other exercise I'm doing and what my body tells me.

    Monday I strength train with a PT.
    W & F I strength train by myself, mixing up arms, legs, abs, shoulders, and back. (My PT gives me a schedule each Monday for the other days.)

    Su, Tu, Th, and if I feel like it, F I take a yoga class. They range from slow flow to fast flow to fundamentals to restorative.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Get the book New Rules of Lifting for Women and read it. It's easy to read and very informative on what/why/how/when you should train
  • frankizoy
    frankizoy Posts: 83 Member
    doing a mixture of cardio and strength training is supposed to be better and help you lose weight faster :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    long bouts of steady state makes you squishy

    This is compete cobblers!
    Please try and give sensible advice appropriate to the person posting the thread.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Well it can't possibly be bad for you. Add resistance training like weight lifting or something.

    If anyone tells you you should stop cardio you should stop listening to them.
    My friend told me to do cardio but also incorporate strength training.

    Your friend was correct. If you only do cardio, you'll lose muscle mass at almost the same ratio as fat. A lot of times you wind up with the same body, just smaller. Begin resistance training NOW in addition to your cardio so that your losses come primarily from your fat stores.
    So what should I be doing exactly?

    Add a basic lifting program--2 days per week, 6--8 exercises involving large muscle groups--to your routine.

    You can start with lighter weights--weights that cause fatigue in 12-15 reps--and progress to some heavier weights as you get stronger and more comfortable with lifting. Doing free weights is best, but machines are perfectly fine to start.

    That's it--don't overcomplicate the issue. Weight training works with cardio and diet in ways that makes your program more effective. That's all you need to know right now. All the other stuff--muscle mass, etc--is just background noise and is often complete nonsense--e.g. the idea that you need to "gain" muscle--at 5'4" and 200 lbs, you've got plenty of muscle.
  • RunnerElizabeth
    RunnerElizabeth Posts: 1,091 Member
    You need to do both. If you retain more muscle during weight loss by adding strength, you'll also burn more fat at rest than you would by just doing cardio.

    I personally am short for time and running is my true love, so i needed a strength program I can do at home. I use the You Are Your Own Gym ap. I do strength for an hour 3 days a week using only body weight excercises. Works for me and I don't need to go to thegym.

    I also run 4 days a week for a weekly total of about 3 hours of running.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    when you lose weight, you lose both fat and lean mass.

    if you strength train, and eat enough protein to fuel the muscles as you lose weight, you will keep more of the muscle you have, so you'll have more of a 'firm' look by the end of it.

    i wish i did more strength training when i lost weight (by cardio and counting calories).

    but you can still do cardio, obviously, yes that is good for your heart, will burn calories, and it helps some people keep their appetite down - just add strength training into your week

    Every word of this. The more muscle you keep, the fewer pounds you'll have to lose to achieve your goal body.

    I do both now. While I was losing, I did mostly cardio. I wish I started strength training earlier, because I'm amazed at the changes it made to my body. It would have been nice if I'd kept more of my lean mass while losing fat and completely avoid that droopy bum phase. :laugh:
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    Remember that mostly you lose weight from the diet. You will mostly lose fat and this is especially true if you have a high BF%. Until you are down to within a few pounds of goal, it doesn't make a huge difference. It does make a difference, just not much. When zeroing in, you do want gym time to get the right shape.
  • Jennacita
    Jennacita Posts: 116 Member
    You should do both. Weight training preserves muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories at rest. Also some weight work can burn just as many calories as a cardio session. Mix things up by doing both. Alternate weights and cardio days. Do circuit workouts. New Rules is a great book. Also Cathe.com has great workouts and gives great instruction on form.
  • SJackson50
    SJackson50 Posts: 282 Member
    when you lose weight, you lose both fat and lean mass.

    if you strength train, and eat enough protein to fuel the muscles as you lose weight, you will keep more of the muscle you have, so you'll have more of a 'firm' look by the end of it.

    i wish i did more strength training when i lost weight (by cardio and counting calories).

    but you can still do cardio, obviously, yes that is good for your heart, will burn calories, and it helps some people keep their appetite down - just add strength training into your week

    Every word of this. The more muscle you keep, the fewer pounds you'll have to lose to achieve your goal body.

    I do both now. While I was losing, I did mostly cardio. I wish I started strength training earlier, because I'm amazed at the changes it made to my body. It would have been nice if I'd kept more of my lean mass while losing fat and completely avoid that droopy bum phase. :laugh:

    All of this. I am twenty pounds heavier than my lowest weight, but a size smaller...I believe it is all due to strength training from day 1.
    Good luck with your goals!

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