is cardio skippable if you lift?

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  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Depends on what your goal is. If your goal is to lose fat, then yes, doing 30-45 minutes of cardio after lifting will help to speed this process. Cardio in excess of that will start to tap into your muscle.

    Having said that, a lot of my friends on here lost fat from lifting alone. So really, it's all up to you and trying different things to see what works best. Personally, I lose fat easier/faster if I do cardio after lifting - but I also have a fair amount of fat left to lose.

    Unfortunately, there is no "one fits all" answer here...

    Your "45 minutes" is arbitrary. Where did you get that number?
  • dare2love81
    dare2love81 Posts: 928 Member
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    Depends on what your goal is. If your goal is to lose fat, then yes, doing 30-45 minutes of cardio after lifting will help to speed this process. Cardio in excess of that will start to tap into your muscle.

    Having said that, a lot of my friends on here lost fat from lifting alone. So really, it's all up to you and trying different things to see what works best. Personally, I lose fat easier/faster if I do cardio after lifting - but I also have a fair amount of fat left to lose.

    Unfortunately, there is no "one fits all" answer here...

    Your "45 minutes" is arbitrary. Where did you get that number?

    From several trainers and a few bodybuilders. I know it's not quoting a specific scientific journal, but I figure if they follow that and it's working for them, there must be *some* truth to it.

    Cardio in excess will deplete/diminish muscle growth after lifting, however I don't know that it's been scientifically determined how much is "excess". I don't think it's fair to say that ANY cardio after lifting will hinder muscle growth though.

    I just go with what I see working for those who have been doing this awhile...but, I also recognize that this may not work for everyone. It's just my opinion. *shrugs* I don't pretend to have all the answers. Believe me, if I did, I wouldn't be hanging out on MFP's forums...
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    There's no need to do cardio if you don't care about your health.

    Well, shoot, I love my carido but your response is presumptuous. Just because someone chooses not to do cardio does not mean they don't care about their health, it just means they do not want to do cardio.
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
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    If I want to do cardio I just lift faster.
  • booyainyoface
    booyainyoface Posts: 409 Member
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    cardio is boring... but good for your heart. maybe add some plyometrics between your weight sets- you could add box jumps or squats between upper body sets, and jump rope or something between lower body stuff.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    If I want to do cardio I just lift faster.

    i did 9 reps on a set of squats the other day.

    That was cardio.
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
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    Heck yea it is.
  • supratt
    supratt Posts: 33
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    cardio is boring... but good for your heart. maybe add some plyometrics between your weight sets- you could add box jumps or squats between upper body sets, and jump rope or something between lower body stuff.

    Cardio in a gym might be boring, but there is plenty of other cardio you can do that is very enjoyable. I love nothing more than going for a 10km run around the edge of the bay where I live. I honestly think cardio does wonders for my mental health and general mood, but it's true that it is NOT required for weight loss.
  • suziepoo1984
    suziepoo1984 Posts: 915 Member
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    I do only the cardio that is fun for me, like zumba, hip-hop, u-jam and recently running) and as a bonus i get to eat more calories! Lifting makes me feel stronger and sexier and i love the feeling!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    I think this table does a pretty good job of comparing the health benefits between the two forms of exercise.

    http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/101/7/828/T1.expansion.html

    Table is from this article.
    http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/101/7/828.full#sec-1

    Many of the benefits are the same. The ones that are not, you just have to decide how important they are to you and/or how much it really takes to get the improvements.

    For me personally some conditioning work seems to help me in the weight room.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    I do cardio in addition to strength training so that I can eat more. It's easier for me to lose weight that way, because I never feel hungry or deprived.
  • Aries03
    Aries03 Posts: 179 Member
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  • micqs
    micqs Posts: 186 Member
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    Thanks guys. I loved the smiley responses to the post that generally said no cardio=dont care about health. :) Made me giggle this morning.

    I hate the treadmill and I hate the elliptical (which is the recommended in the program). The same movement, staring at the same thing isnt exciting or thrilling. I do work in a day care with a group of 10 1-2 year olds. I am constantly moving. On the playground, I am running around with the kids or just making laps while watching them. My co teacher thinks it's funny that I do not stop moving. I do run periodically if I get home in time or the weather is okay. I also attend zumba sometimes. So I think I am okay :) I get cardio every now and again. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post!
  • ReadynWillin
    ReadynWillin Posts: 104
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    I do cardio because I like it. And because it helps me climb those several flights of stairs everyday without having a heart attack lol. :wink:

    But cardio is definitely not necessary to burn fat. You can do that by super-setting your lifts anyway. Or by jogging in place/doing jumping jacks between sets. Whatever keeps your heart rate up tbh.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Thanks guys. I loved the smiley responses to the post that generally said no cardio=dont care about health. :) Made me giggle this morning.

    I hate the treadmill and I hate the elliptical (which is the recommended in the program). The same movement, staring at the same thing isnt exciting or thrilling. I do work in a day care with a group of 10 1-2 year olds. I am constantly moving. On the playground, I am running around with the kids or just making laps while watching them. My co teacher thinks it's funny that I do not stop moving. I do run periodically if I get home in time or the weather is okay. I also attend zumba sometimes. So I think I am okay :) I get cardio every now and again. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post!

    If you hate it don't do it. Period.

    You sound plenty active enough. Lifting is more than enough.
  • lsmsrbls
    lsmsrbls Posts: 232 Member
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    There's no need to do cardio if you don't care about your health.

    Well, shoot, I love my carido but your response is presumptuous. Just because someone chooses not to do cardio does not mean they don't care about their health, it just means they do not want to do cardio.

    I don't presume that people who don't do cardio don't care about their health -- naturally there exist people who care about their health and are aware of the health benefits of cardio but have other priorities, time constraints, don't enjoy it, etc.

    Personally, I don't care if other people want to do cardio. Or lift. Or watch TV all day. I think people should do whatever makes them happy.

    I was responding to the OP, who asked if cardio was necessary in order to gain muscle. It's not. However, there are numerous health benefits to cardio. If she doesn't care about those, she doesn't need to do cardio.

    To everyone else who found my assertion so preposterous, the WHO, AHA, NHS, CDC, etc., all agree that for health people should do both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training.

    edit: and from a previous response, it sounds like the OP is probably already getting more than enough cardiovascular exercise in her daily life to reap the health benefits.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    If I want to do cardio I just lift faster.

    Hehehe this!

    Personally I get enough cardio lifting alone, makes my HR go up and that's more than enough for me :wink:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    cardio is boring... but good for your heart. maybe add some plyometrics between your weight sets- you could add box jumps or squats between upper body sets, and jump rope or something between lower body stuff.

    Cardio in a gym might be boring, but there is plenty of other cardio you can do that is very enjoyable. I love nothing more than going for a 10km run around the edge of the bay where I live. I honestly think cardio does wonders for my mental health and general mood, but it's true that it is NOT required for weight loss.

    Yep, running, clears my mind and often gives me new perspective.

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