Just cardio or weight training??

msjackie30
msjackie30 Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok I am a huge fanatic of lifting weights and have seen major improvments but I think Im going about this the wrong way. I am 5'4 and weigh 170 pounds. I need to get down to 140. Although I love lifting weights, should I just stick with the cardio first and then incorporate weight training? I just like what it does for my overall muscle definition and do not want to lose what I have already seen progression in. I just feel that I really need to focus on the cardio in order to burn the fat first. Any insight will help thank you.
«1

Replies

  • suziepoo1984
    suziepoo1984 Posts: 915 Member
    Do whatever you think you can sustain in the long run. You are doing so great with weight training, i would say stick with it. In order to lose weight, just create a calorie deficit and get enough proteins in.
    Good luck!
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    For your goal, do both. Don't overdo it. Do cardio you really enjoy, don't slog away on a machine just to burn calories, life's too short.
  • msjackie30
    msjackie30 Posts: 38 Member
    Thanks guys I think ill definitely stick to my weight training routine. Is it possible to reach your goal weight while lifting weights? I can't seem to get out of the 160-170 weight range, Its a bit frustrating. I.honestly feel discouraged
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    If you want to lose lean body mass, just do cardio. If you want to lose fat and keep you lean body mass, you have to do weights. I've gone from 170.8 on May 7th to 142 today and my lean body mass has increased 3+ pounds and I lift heavy. It would be helpful if you opened your food diary so we might help you with your meals, too.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Ok I am a huge fanatic of lifting weights and have seen major improvments but I think Im going about this the wrong way. I am 5'4 and weigh 170 pounds. I need to get down to 140. Although I love lifting weights, should I just stick with the cardio first and then incorporate weight training? I just like what it does for my overall muscle definition and do not want to lose what I have already seen progression in. I just feel that I really need to focus on the cardio in order to burn the fat first. Any insight will help thank you.

    You "burn" the fat just by being in a deficit of calories. Use your diet to "burn" the fat; exercise for fitness. Giving up the weight training is a horrible idea and all that will happen is you will lose the muscle you currently have. When you have a calorie deficit, you lose both fat and muscle...the loss of muscle is exponentially more when you fail to work your muscles with resistance.

    Also, stop emphasizing some arbitrary scale weight...emphasize your BF% and body composition. You could easily be 140 Lbs with a higher % of BF, but hey...you'd be at your goal weight...or you could be 145 - 150 Lbs with more lean mass and substantially less % BF and look way more awesome...but alas, you would not meet your arbitrary scale value.
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    Lifting weights isn't going to make you heavier by itself. To actually put on weight, you'd need to eat at a surplus.
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    Thanks guys I think ill definitely stick to my weight training routine. Is it possible to reach your goal weight while lifting weights? I can't seem to get out of the 160-170 weight range, Its a bit frustrating. I.honestly feel discouraged

    Weight training is helping, not hurting. Assuming you enjoy it, keep it up.
  • msjackie30
    msjackie30 Posts: 38 Member
    If you want to lose lean body mass, just do cardio. If you want to lose fat and keep you lean body mass, you have to do weights. I've gone from 170.8 on May 7th to 142 today and my lean body mass has increased 3+ pounds and I lift heavy. It would be helpful if you opened your food diary so we might help you with your meals, too.
    [/quote

    Thank you!!! How did you lose that much in 4 months? I think I eat fairly healthy. Im going to open my diary so everyone can get a better look of what eat and see if I could fix some stuff there.
  • tricksee
    tricksee Posts: 835 Member
    Throw a session of HIIT after your weight lifting. Don't handcuff yourself to a treadmill or 30mins like some idiots do.

    Either that or go for a 40min walk twice a week,.
  • TheBitSlinger
    TheBitSlinger Posts: 621 Member
    Muscle is the engine that burns the most calories. More muscle, more calories burned.
  • TheBitSlinger
    TheBitSlinger Posts: 621 Member
    Muscle mass is more dense than fat mass. Therefore, if you are adding new muscle tissue, it may cause some confusion on the scales. So if you lift, be on the lookout for evidences of weight loss other than the scales.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    If you want to lose lean body mass, just do cardio. If you want to lose fat and keep you lean body mass, you have to do weights. I've gone from 170.8 on May 7th to 142 today and my lean body mass has increased 3+ pounds and I lift heavy. It would be helpful if you opened your food diary so we might help you with your meals, too.

    Cardio doesn't kill lean body mass, calorie deficit does. Cardio can be great way to keep and even add lbm.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    I am a huge proponent of the school of thought of doing what you are going to stick to for the long term.

    That being said, keep lifting, because muscle is more dense & over the long term will burn more calories.

    Add in some cardio you like , to hell with the hamster wheel (treadmill). I enjoy kickboxing and Zumba, so that is what I do. I also suggest reading New Rules of Lifting for Women if you have not read it already. Great read & very informative. I got it at the library so it didn't cost me a thing. ETA also measure more things! Other than every bit of food, use a tape measure, get a body fat caliper, etc. The more measurements you take, the more measures of success you have. The scale WILL stall, but if your BF% goes down, then you are still winning.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    Hit up a small session of cardio after your weights or a bit longer on your off days.
  • FourIsCompany
    FourIsCompany Posts: 269 Member
    Throw a session of HIIT after your weight lifting. Don't handcuff yourself to a treadmill or 30mins like some idiots do.

    Either that or go for a 40min walk twice a week,.

    This! Whatever you do, don't give up the weightlifting! That will increase your muscle mass and metabolism and burn those calories. Cardio should be an "add on" to your main workout with heavy weights, if you do it at all. And the best way to do it is a session of HIIT after you're done lifting for the day a couple times a week.
  • LumpySpacePrincess1
    LumpySpacePrincess1 Posts: 388 Member
    POR QUE NO LOS DOS?!!
  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,628 Member
    I do both. Right now I do Cardio 3x a week and lift twice. Once I hit goal I plan to swap them around.
  • sammniamii
    sammniamii Posts: 669 Member
    I do both - 15-20 min cardio warm up then lifting, then some cardio (20-30 min) to close (3-days a week). Plus I walk daily and now w/ my bike trainer, will get some additional cardio on non-lifting days.

    The ONLY reason I'm doing so much cardio is to help burn off the body fat - the scale isn't as important as how I feel. I like being strong and have ignored all the haters who told me to NOT LIFT until I was closer to my "goal" weight. :

    Keep the lifting, do cardio that you like, watch what you eat and carry on. What ever you want is what you should do.

    **edit - cardio is interval arc trainer or elliptical, w/ some C25K when I feel up to it **
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    c7NJRa2.gif
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    POR QUE NO LOS DOS?!!

    Beat me to it!
  • Bigjayinga
    Bigjayinga Posts: 128 Member
    If you do both you will cut weight faster. Lets get it!!
  • stillnot2late
    stillnot2late Posts: 385 Member
    Throw a session of HIIT after your weight lifting. Don't handcuff yourself to a treadmill or 30mins like some idiots do.

    Either that or go for a 40min walk twice a week,.

    I guess you are just being light-hearted and joking by calling people idiots who walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    Throw a session of HIIT after your weight lifting. Don't handcuff yourself to a treadmill or 30mins like some idiots do.

    Either that or go for a 40min walk twice a week,.
    Treadmill user = idiot???? You are certainly welcome to your opinion/preference, but... eh, nevermind.
  • jjamid38
    jjamid38 Posts: 11 Member
    As women, I think we frequently get pushed all cardio and very limited strength training. We all know the benefits of cardio, but strength training is awesome for bone health, building great curves and long lean muscle. Strength training also increases metabolism so you burn more calories all the time. DO both especially if you love it. I just started strength training and I can't believe what I've been missing! I think cardio is still great too and necessary, but there are so many options, check them out. If you love it, you'll maintain it.
  • ekztawas
    ekztawas Posts: 114 Member
    I'd recommend doing both to lose weight. For me, I do HIIT workouts first that include weight training and cardio bursts. Then, if I feel up to it, I add in 20-30 minutes of walking or running. I've also heard doing weight training before cardio burns more fat (but I'm unable to find the article I read that in).

    I say do whatever you feel comfortable with. Don't just jump into cardio though. You will get discouraged very quickly, so begin slowly and work your way up. Good luck!
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    Ok I am a huge fanatic of lifting weights and have seen major improvments but I think Im going about this the wrong way. I am 5'4 and weigh 170 pounds. I need to get down to 140. Although I love lifting weights, should I just stick with the cardio first and then incorporate weight training? I just like what it does for my overall muscle definition and do not want to lose what I have already seen progression in. I just feel that I really need to focus on the cardio in order to burn the fat first. Any insight will help thank you.

    You "burn" the fat just by being in a deficit of calories. Use your diet to "burn" the fat; exercise for fitness. Giving up the weight training is a horrible idea and all that will happen is you will lose the muscle you currently have. When you have a calorie deficit, you lose both fat and muscle...the loss of muscle is exponentially more when you fail to work your muscles with resistance.

    Also, stop emphasizing some arbitrary scale weight...emphasize your BF% and body composition. You could easily be 140 Lbs with a higher % of BF, but hey...you'd be at your goal weight...or you could be 145 - 150 Lbs with more lean mass and substantially less % BF and look way more awesome...but alas, you would not meet your arbitrary scale value.

    ITA with this. It's common for people who focus on lifting weights to not lose many pounds but they do lose inches. If you want to continue with it you might want to shift your focus to getting to a certain body fat percentage or a specific size. I haven't lost more than a couple of pounds since the start of summer but I've lost almost 8 inches.

    Here is an example of a woman who is a fitness model and has done competitions. She went from 24% body fat to 12% without losing a pound. Hopefully that will help you focus less on the scale and more on progressing with your weight training.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/courtney-prather-fit-360-courts-in-session.html
  • Rogsman
    Rogsman Posts: 106 Member
    Throw a session of HIIT after your weight lifting. Don't handcuff yourself to a treadmill or 30mins like some idiots do.

    Either that or go for a 40min walk twice a week,.

    I guess you are just being light-hearted and joking by calling people idiots who walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes.

    Really sad my heart attack threw me into the "idiot" group.

    Don't judge folks at the gym, you don't know what health issues they're dealing with and there maybe very good reasons why they're doing cardio for so long.

    And do both weights/cardio when trying to lose weight, when you reach your goal swap to more weights.
  • Sarahndipity30
    Sarahndipity30 Posts: 312 Member
    :flowerforyou: Find what fits your routine. no matter what, stick with it. i do Training 4 days a week and cardio 2 days a week. one of those cardio days is just a hike anywhere from 2-7 miles depending on the trail. i have found with a quick 5-10 min warmup on the treadmill or bike before weights i feel amazing and i "feel" like i burn more calories. The HRM i use kind of shows that is the case lol. Either way I LOVE it. and prefer training to flat out cardio. The burn is more intense and the feeling I get afterwards is just a better high. best of luck!!! :)
  • jpolinisse
    jpolinisse Posts: 149 Member
    Thanks guys I think ill definitely stick to my weight training routine. Is it possible to reach your goal weight while lifting weights? I can't seem to get out of the 160-170 weight range, Its a bit frustrating. I.honestly feel discouraged

    I've found that I cannot lose weight just by lifting weights. The combo of cardio and weight training has always yielded the best results for me.
  • tricksee
    tricksee Posts: 835 Member
    I guess you are just being light-hearted and joking by calling people idiots who walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes.

    Yup :-)

    I notice some people got a little bent out of shape over that comment. Don't take it to heart, guys. I just think there are more effective and quicker ways to do things. I went the wrong way about saying it.

    S'all good!

Categories