cardio vs. weight training

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monicapeterson54
monicapeterson54 Posts: 34 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do I really need to do a cardio to lose weight, or can I just stick to weight training and calisthenics? The thing is, I hate running, ellipticals, bikes, etc. I live in Wisconsin, so during these months it's ridiculously cold and snowy and hard to get outside. I still manage to get my heart rate up to 80% about 60 mins/week. Is that enough? Again, I hate cardio.
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Replies

  • rklein03
    rklein03 Posts: 4
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    You don't have to do cardio to lose weight if you eat right and lift consistently, BUT if you want to lose it at a faster pace you do.
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
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    If you want to lose weight fastest, you should focus solely on diet and not exercise at all. Exercising is for changing your body composition and improving your cardiovascular fitness level.
  • rklein03
    rklein03 Posts: 4
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    If you want to lose weight fastest, you should focus solely on diet and not exercise at all. Exercising is for changing your body composition and improving your cardiovascular fitness level.

    Completely incorrect, exercise increases calories burned and "after burn" which increases your metabolism after a workout. If you know anything about how your body uses ATP to fuel it self you would not be saying this.

    Exercise is vital to weigh loss and a combination of cardio and weightlifting for cutting weight is the fastest way to get there.
  • 34blast
    34blast Posts: 166 Member
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    This question has been ask it seems a million times on this site. The answer is no you don't have to do cardio. You have to have a caloric deficit to lose weight. Adding cardio has some benefits to heart health and burning more calories, but is not required to lose weight.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    You don't have to do cardio to lose weight if you eat right and lift consistently, BUT if you want to lose it at a faster pace you do.

    Even this is untrue. Calorie deficit determines how much and how fast you lose weight. You can achieve any degree of calorie deficit without cardio. Cardio only helps mentally by allowing you to create a deficit while still eating more.

    If you want to do cardio so you can eat more food, find something you enjoy. Play a sport, hike some trails, go for a swim at a commnity pool, etc.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    A well rounded fitness regimen is going to incorporate elements of both...they are both pretty important to your overall health and well being. As far as your weight loss is concerned, that is largely about your diet and how much you are consuming. Regular exercise allows you to consume slightly more and get the same results...whether that would be to lose, maintain, or gain. From a calorie standpoint, regular exercise simply increases your body's calorie requirements.
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
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    If you want to lose weight fastest, you should focus solely on diet and not exercise at all. Exercising is for changing your body composition and improving your cardiovascular fitness level.

    Completely incorrect, exercise increases calories burned and "after burn" which increases your metabolism after a workout. If you know anything about how your body uses ATP to fuel it self you would not be saying this.

    Exercise is vital to weigh loss and a combination of cardio and weightlifting for cutting weight is the fastest way to get there.

    Consuming less calories is the easiest, simplest way to lose weight.

    Exercise increases appetite, increases a chance of injury, requires training to be done safely, and costs time and/or money.

    I love exercising, but don't be fooled into thinking you need to exercise to lose weight. Exercising is for being healthier and fit. It's safest and best to get down to a normal weight and then begin exercise.
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
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    Completely incorrect, exercise increases calories burned and "after burn" which increases your metabolism after a workout. If you know anything about how your body uses ATP to fuel it self you would not be saying this.

    You're completely incorrect. ATP has nothing to do with "after burn". ATP is the body's first "go-to" energy source when exercising, regardless of the activity.

    Perhaps you have ATP confused with....

    EPOC is mostly associated with cardio & basically is the body trying to get itself back to "normal" levels by using a larger amount of oxygen to do so.

    Metabolism is raised with weight training/muscle gain. Your body has to work hard to retain muscle, so this in turn raises the metabolism to an extent.

    Your body need a certain amount of calories (energy) to function. You lose fat by either decreasing calorie intake, doing more cardio or any activity that needs uses energy, or a combination of both.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    If you want to lose weight fastest, you should focus solely on diet and not exercise at all. Exercising is for changing your body composition and improving your cardiovascular fitness level.

    Completely incorrect, exercise increases calories burned and "after burn" which increases your metabolism after a workout. If you know anything about how your body uses ATP to fuel it self you would not be saying this.

    Exercise is vital to weigh loss and a combination of cardio and weightlifting for cutting weight is the fastest way to get there.

    Consuming less calories is the easiest, simplest way to lose weight.

    Exercise increases appetite, increases a chance of injury, requires training to be done safely, and costs time and/or money.

    I love exercising, but don't be fooled into thinking you need to exercise to lose weight. Exercising is for being healthier and fit. It's safest and best to get down to a normal weight and then begin exercise.

    DON'T wait until you get to a "normal" weight. Strength training while eating (enough protein) at a modest deficit helps protect existing muscle mass.

    Waiting until you are at the weight you want to be......you're going to work that much harder to put muscle back on.
  • chopper_pilot
    chopper_pilot Posts: 191 Member
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    you can stick to weight training and calisthenics.

    both of these have mad cardio benefits.

    you don't need to run or box or bike ride to do cardio.

    circuit training in the gym, or doing lifting endurance work (lifting 5x10 @ 60% of your max for example) counts as cardio AND strength training.

    the fact that you are multitasking makes it BETTER not less effective.

    However, if you want to be able to complete a half marathon - consider doing some cardio conditioning.

    if not, screw running.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Do I really need to do a cardio to lose weight, or can I just stick to weight training and calisthenics? The thing is, I hate running, ellipticals, bikes, etc. I live in Wisconsin, so during these months it's ridiculously cold and snowy and hard to get outside. I still manage to get my heart rate up to 80% about 60 mins/week. Is that enough? Again, I hate cardio.

    You don't have to do any exercise to lose weight.

    Many calisthenics are cardio.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Ahhhh I love threads that are so full of half truths & broscience.

    IF you don't like the bike, eliptical & running, don't do them. They aren't required.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    Do I really need to do a cardio to lose weight, or can I just stick to weight training and calisthenics? The thing is, I hate running, ellipticals, bikes, etc. I live in Wisconsin, so during these months it's ridiculously cold and snowy and hard to get outside. I still manage to get my heart rate up to 80% about 60 mins/week. Is that enough? Again, I hate cardio.

    You don't have to do either to lose weight, you just have to be at a calorie deficit, so which ever way you get there that makes you the happiest do that. There are other benefits to each of those things, but that is all personal preference.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    Someone has probably already said this, but all you need to do to loose fat is to create a caloric deficit. That's all. Exercise only assists with this, whether it's cardio or strength training.

    Actually, I think the prevailing research states that resistance training targets fat a bit more effectively than steady state cardio actually... but I'm no scientist and this kind of thing doesn't matter to me anyways. I just focus on my deficit and macros and lift because I like it.
  • monicapeterson54
    monicapeterson54 Posts: 34 Member
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    So I wasn't very clear in explaining myself (Sorry!) I had a baby 6 months ago, and I want to get rid of the jiggle around my waist/hips/things/entire body. I know about the need for the caloric deficit, and also understand that I need to do some sort of exercise in order to decrease the jiggle. I had someone tell me that in order to get rid of it, I need to do cardio. Is this true?
    (I hope I was more clear this time) :blushing:
  • dscheetz1988
    dscheetz1988 Posts: 3
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    For me its all about keeping the heart rate up, because if you keep that heart rate up while you lift/cardio that's a great way to combine them both.

    Try super sets and push the limit every time. If you find your self getting bored jump rope or something to get the heart rate up. Try not to take huge breaks between sets/ reps.

    Doing this combines the best of both worlds. You can do cardio and weight lift all day but if you go to golden corral and pig out on the mac and cheese (various other things) you just killed your whole day (maybe even week) of working out.

    Bottom line do what you enjoy doing, keep the heart rate up, don't take long breaks and eat right.

    When you are lifting and you keep your heart rate up that's the best of both worlds that will help with the "jiggle".
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
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    Like others have said cardio can help create more of a deficit, and is great for overall health, but you don't need it if your only goal is losing weight.

    For me, the increased appetite that comes along with the cardio usually outweighs the extra deficit I just created. I feel great, but I also feel like eating a side of beef. I actually end up losing more weight by doing more strength training and less straight up cardio.
  • dscheetz1988
    dscheetz1988 Posts: 3
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    Like others have said cardio can help create more of a deficit, and is great for overall health, but you don't need it if your only goal is losing weight.

    For me, the increased appetite that comes along with the cardio usually outweighs the extra deficit I just created. I feel great, but I also feel like eating a side of beef. I actually end up losing more weight by doing more strength training and less straight up cardio.

    Ditto, cardio gets me starving too. I love lifting, cardio is just an after workout for me. 15-30 min. or so. On leg day...... none... lol
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    If you want to lose weight fastest, you should focus solely on diet and not exercise at all. Exercising is for changing your body composition and improving your cardiovascular fitness level.

    Completely incorrect, exercise increases calories burned and "after burn" which increases your metabolism after a workout. If you know anything about how your body uses ATP to fuel it self you would not be saying this.

    Exercise is vital to weigh loss and a combination of cardio and weightlifting for cutting weight is the fastest way to get there.


    sorry but you are dead wrong. Calorie deficit is what leads to weight loss..create a larger deficit through diet and you will lose without cardio and/or weight training..

    I personally love to lift, but that is more for body recomp goals then for creating an additional calorie deficit...
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
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    No, you do not need to do cardio. Actually doing weight lifting will do more for retaining muscle (which is the cell that you want to keep since it burns much more calories than fat), than cardio.

    Lift weights. Lift heavy.

    Good luck with the waist jiggle :)
    So I wasn't very clear in explaining myself (Sorry!) I had a baby 6 months ago, and I want to get rid of the jiggle around my waist/hips/things/entire body. I know about the need for the caloric deficit, and also understand that I need to do some sort of exercise in order to decrease the jiggle. I had someone tell me that in order to get rid of it, I need to do cardio. Is this true?
    (I hope I was more clear this time) :blushing:

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