Can I get ripped just lifting weights?

coldhonkey
coldhonkey Posts: 13 Member
edited January 30 in Fitness and Exercise
Do I have to do cardio to burn the fat? My goal is to get ripped and maybe gain 5-10 lbs. I've been doing 45-60 min of cardio 5 times/week after lifting weights. I was thinking of scrapping it altogether and just doing HIIT twice a week. Only reason I do cardio is to burn fat but is it necessary? Will weightlifting improve my conditioning? I don't want to cut out the cardio and then get winded from walking around the mall. I've also read that doing a lot of steady state cardio can slow down your metabolism. Your body gets used to it and it becomes ineffective at burning fat after awhile. This is from someone whose expertise I value (Layne Norton you can look him up). I'd really like to be athletic meaning slightly muscular, fast, but with the endurance to do long hikes and runs every once in awhile. The total package.

Replies

  • minijuggernaut
    minijuggernaut Posts: 98 Member
    You can certainly meet your goal just lifting weights and paying attention to your nutrition, yes.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I believe most serious body builders spend very little time (relatively) doing cardio. They get ripped by lifting and watching what they eat very carefully.
    People here often say: "Abs are made in the kitchen." Their point is that cutting your calories is much more important for getting ripped than exercise is.
    So, yes. you can. Just cut your calories and keep working out -- heavy lifting, body weight exercises, whatever. You will get there!
    As far as being able to run long distances, you'll probably have to do cardio for that.
  • crandos
    crandos Posts: 377 Member
    For sure man meet your protein and fat, calories requirements for the day no need for cardio.
  • dagolifts
    dagolifts Posts: 42 Member
    Drop the cardio.
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
    If you're pretty lean already (let's say, 14% bf or less), then you can drop the cardio. If you do bulking/cutting phases, then you may need to do some cardio during a cut. But even then, I'm pretty sure Layne is a big advocate of HIIT cardio, not steady-state cardio. So at the worst, you'll do 15 minutes of cardio 2x week.

    Good luck, and let's see some selfies soon, eh?
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    If your diet is in check then yes. I would do 1-2 cardio sessions a week, just to keep the cardio systems in check. That's the only reason I bother with it personally.
  • BSdevon
    BSdevon Posts: 77 Member
    Yes, If your diet is good, hitting your macros. On a deficit? .. You can definitely get ripped w/o cardio .. but you can still do cardio either way.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Getting ripped is just a matter of building muscle, and lowering body fat percentage, which can easily be accomplished by lifting weights, hitting protein and fat minimums, and eating at a deficit until you hit the BF% that you want. If you're gonna do cardio, stick to HIIT if you're worried about metabolic adaptation.
  • scopetrek
    scopetrek Posts: 16 Member
    won't that just make you healthy looking with a bad heart? Some sort of cardio is needed to keep your heart fit.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    won't that just make you healthy looking with a bad heart? Some sort of cardio is needed to keep your heart fit.

    Weight lifting increases your heart rate and strengthens your cardiovascular system, you can be perfectly fit without cardio. That being said, it can't hurt to incorporate cardio into your routine as well.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories