How much strength training should i do?

Amandabelanger614
Amandabelanger614 Posts: 110 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

I was advised by a personal traininer at my fitness club to do 2 days strength training and 4 days cardio per week. Total 6 hour per week excercise.

My goal is lose weight. I know that it is important to do strength training as well but i notice when i do strength training i see less scale movement. Is two days the right amount for me? Or should i very my workouts more like half cardio half strength?

Any advice appreciated

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I do appx 3 hours of Strenght training a week 1h M/W/F...

    I have recently added in HIIT, so that is about 45mins-1h of cardio a week on Tu/Th

    no sure if 4hours of cardio is needed to be frank.

    Weight loss if from a deficet and cardio increases that deficet allowing you to eat more.

    Strenght training with proper protien helps you maintain the muscle you have.

    Yes you may see less scale movement at first until your body gets used to the exercise but if you are eating at a proper deficet it wont stay long as it is water retention to help repair the muscles etc.
  • Amandabelanger614
    Amandabelanger614 Posts: 110 Member
    bump
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    you should probably be doing strength training three days a week. full body circuits will give you the best bang for your buck.

    then you can do 2-3 cardio days a week.
  • PtheronJr
    PtheronJr Posts: 108 Member
    The reason the scale moves slower if you're lifting is simple, you're conserving more muscle mass, bottom line. Not all the weight you're going to lose is going to be fat, some if it is going to be stuff that you'll probably want to keep. That slowing in weight loss is a good thing, it means you're keeping the stuff you want and getting rid of the stuff you don't, otherwise you might come out of your weight-loss journey looking like a stick.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    I would say 3 days strength training and 2 days cardio, strength is really good for your body, it's not all about losing the weight!
  • 34blast
    34blast Posts: 166 Member
    If you are doing compound fully body exercises two times a week, I like the plan the trainer gave you.

    You could do a 3 and 3 split, but 2 - 4 will burn more calories. It would be a bad idea to only do cardio. Like many have mentioned while cutting fat you want to maintain as much muscle as possible.
  • stephaaniemarie
    stephaaniemarie Posts: 28 Member
    Don't worry too much about the scale, make sure you do measurements. When I started seeing a trainer we would only weigh in once every 4 weeks. Sometimes I would only lose a pound or two, but the inches melted off. If you're building muscle, the scale might not move as quickly, but you will get smaller. For example, I'm down 17 lbs now, which may not sound like a lot, but I've also lost 15 inches.
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
    I'm glad you posted this. I had the same concerns. I don't want to be 'skinny fat' or have too much loose skin just to see the scale at the number I want when I could have gone slower, toned, and dropped slightly slower initially. My goal is to looking good in my wedding dress next May and being 125-130 pounds with still-jiggly arms won't cut it.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    you should probably be doing strength training three days a week. full body circuits will give you the best bang for your buck.

    then you can do 2-3 cardio days a week.

    This is what I would suggest... and if you want to add something else, add a day of yoga/pilates/flexibility training.

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