Should I be focusing on cardio or strength training?

katiev111
katiev111 Posts: 19 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Since I'm in the process of losing weight, should I be focusing on cardio, or strength training? Sometimes i feel like I shouldn't bother with strength training YET since I'm just trying to shed fat. Opinions?
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Replies

  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Strength training. This helps you maintain muscle mass, and muscle is what gives your body tone, shape, and firmness.

    Cardio just burns calories. It's good for your cardiovascular health, and you should do some, but quality concerted strength training really gives you all the benefits of cardio other than endurance.

    If you lose weight without doing strength training, cardio or not, you will shed muscle in addition to fat. If you want to shed fat and keep muscle, strength training is obligatory.

    I recommend an intense focus on strength training combined with moderate amounts of cardio. The cardio can - and, indeed, should - be something you actually enjoy and will do long-term, such as a sport (tennis, hiking, playing frisbee with your dog, whatever).
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Strength training. This helps you maintain muscle mass, and muscle is what gives your body tone, shape, and firmness.

    Cardio just burns calories. It's good for your cardiovascular health, and you should do some, but quality concerted strength training really gives you all the benefits of cardio other than endurance.

    If you lose weight without doing strength training, cardio or not, you will shed muscle in addition to fat. If you want to shed fat and keep muscle, strength training is obligatory.

    I recommend an intense focus on strength training combined with moderate amounts of cardio. The cardio can - and, indeed, should - be something you actually enjoy and will do long-term, such as a sport (tennis, hiking, playing frisbee with your dog, whatever).

    Yes to all of this.
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
    Why the either or? Why not do both?

    Cardio is great exercise. It burns calories.

    Weight training is great exercise as well. It builds muscles.
  • shutterbug282
    shutterbug282 Posts: 588 Member
    Strength training. This helps you maintain muscle mass, and muscle is what gives your body tone, shape, and firmness.

    Cardio just burns calories. It's good for your cardiovascular health, and you should do some, but quality concerted strength training really gives you all the benefits of cardio other than endurance.

    If you lose weight without doing strength training, cardio or not, you will shed muscle in addition to fat. If you want to shed fat and keep muscle, strength training is obligatory.

    I recommend an intense focus on strength training combined with moderate amounts of cardio. The cardio can - and, indeed, should - be something you actually enjoy and will do long-term, such as a sport (tennis, hiking, playing frisbee with your dog, whatever).

    ^^^ This.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Strength training. This helps you maintain muscle mass, and muscle is what gives your body tone, shape, and firmness.

    Cardio just burns calories. It's good for your cardiovascular health, and you should do some, but quality concerted strength training really gives you all the benefits of cardio other than endurance.

    If you lose weight without doing strength training, cardio or not, you will shed muscle in addition to fat. If you want to shed fat and keep muscle, strength training is obligatory.

    I recommend an intense focus on strength training combined with moderate amounts of cardio. The cardio can - and, indeed, should - be something you actually enjoy and will do long-term, such as a sport (tennis, hiking, playing frisbee with your dog, whatever).

    ^ He knows what he's talking about. I agree with this advice.
  • angelamangus1
    angelamangus1 Posts: 164 Member
    Strength training. This helps you maintain muscle mass, and muscle is what gives your body tone, shape, and firmness.

    Cardio just burns calories. It's good for your cardiovascular health, and you should do some, but quality concerted strength training really gives you all the benefits of cardio other than endurance.

    If you lose weight without doing strength training, cardio or not, you will shed muscle in addition to fat. If you want to shed fat and keep muscle, strength training is obligatory.

    I recommend an intense focus on strength training combined with moderate amounts of cardio. The cardio can - and, indeed, should - be something you actually enjoy and will do long-term, such as a sport (tennis, hiking, playing frisbee with your dog, whatever).


    This is where it is at! I agree with this post 100%
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Come on, someone has to disagree with me. It's not MFP without some stupid argument :laugh:
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Come on, someone has to disagree with me. It's not MFP without some stupid argument :laugh:


    Okay - not from this post - but I love treadmill running. Enough disagreement for ya?
  • JessieNeutronGirlGenius
    JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
    Come on, someone has to disagree with me. It's not MFP without some stupid argument :laugh:

    lololololol :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
    Strength training. This helps you maintain muscle mass, and muscle is what gives your body tone, shape, and firmness.

    Cardio just burns calories. It's good for your cardiovascular health, and you should do some, but quality concerted strength training really gives you all the benefits of cardio other than endurance.

    If you lose weight without doing strength training, cardio or not, you will shed muscle in addition to fat. If you want to shed fat and keep muscle, strength training is obligatory.

    I recommend an intense focus on strength training combined with moderate amounts of cardio. The cardio can - and, indeed, should - be something you actually enjoy and will do long-term, such as a sport (tennis, hiking, playing frisbee with your dog, whatever).

    This is terrible advice! I would NEVER do this!!

    Just kidding. :laugh:

    ETA: for the OP; don't focus on what the scale says but instead focus on how your clothes fit. Gaining muscle can mean gaining weight so the scale might not be the best way to tell if you are making progress.
  • mscrystallee
    mscrystallee Posts: 62 Member
    As a trainer friend of mine always tells me "It is ALL cardio" wear a HRM when you do strength training and compare
  • monkeywizard
    monkeywizard Posts: 222 Member
    I'm of the opinion that a good balance of the two is best. I've been doing a MWF cardio (spin). with a Tues, Thurs, Sat strength routine. Of course life gets in the way and I've adjusted from time to time, but that's my goal & have seen success so far!
  • nikkylyn
    nikkylyn Posts: 325 Member
    BOTH but dont under estimate the importance of strength training. I try to aim for 50/50 I dont always get there but I try.
    I prefer cardio to weights but I do enjoy weights. I just feel like when Im running I can zone out LOL. Its a good escape for me.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Come on, someone has to disagree with me. It's not MFP without some stupid argument :laugh:

    Okay, I will try to disagree.

    The only thing I would disagree with is saying you get the same benefits as cardio, other than endurance. Cardio does a much better job at strengthening your heart, and increasing your V02Max. That said I do 1 day a week of cardio, and 1 day/week play a sport that requires running, so very little cardio.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    As a trainer friend of mine always tells me "It is ALL cardio" wear a HRM when you do strength training and compare

    HRMs are extremely inaccurate for strength training. The relationship between heart rate and calorie burn, which is already tenuous even for steady state cardio (the scenario for which HRMs as calorie counters were designed), completely breaks down during strength training. This is known; most HRM manufacturers even say not to use them while strength training.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    As a trainer friend of mine always tells me "It is ALL cardio" wear a HRM when you do strength training and compare


    Most, if not all, HRMs are designed to measure calories burned in steady state cardio activities (running, etc.). They will not accurately measure the calories burned in strength training because your heart rate fluctuates while lifting.

    "It is all cardio" is a ridiculous statement. Strength training has made a tremendous difference in my body composition. Doing all cardio only made me want to eat more.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    As a trainer friend of mine always tells me "It is ALL cardio" wear a HRM when you do strength training and compare

    HRMs are not accurate for strength training and the benefit to strength training isn't the caloric burn, it is the muscle retention caused by it, and increase in strength, bone density, etc.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    As a trainer friend of mine always tells me "It is ALL cardio" wear a HRM when you do strength training and compare


    Most, if not all, HRMs are designed to measure calories burned in steady state cardio activities (running, etc.). They will not accurately measure the calories burned in strength training because your heart rate fluctuates while lifting.

    "It is all cardio" is a ridiculous statement. Strength training has made a tremendous difference in my body composition. Doing all cardio only made me want to eat more.

    I think the statement is meant to indicate that even strength training is cardio, which is sort of weird because it doesn't make sense but it's also kind of true. Not sure though.
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    I agree - both

    I've lost the weight, but I've been slacking on the strength training lately - and I Can Tell!
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
    I would have a balance of both. The weights for the LMM and the cardio of increased calorie burn and heart health.
  • RomaWT
    RomaWT Posts: 17 Member
    Do both cardio and strength training. Personally, I am seeing the benefits of doing both since the beginning of my weight loss journey. I am not at my goal weight yet. However, I see that along with weight loss, I have become much stronger. I can see some muscle definition, I can lift more and I am more energetic. In other words, I seem to have maintained some muscle mass during my weight loss. Weight training has also helped me run better, faster and longer.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    As a trainer friend of mine always tells me "It is ALL cardio" wear a HRM when you do strength training and compare


    Most, if not all, HRMs are designed to measure calories burned in steady state cardio activities (running, etc.). They will not accurately measure the calories burned in strength training because your heart rate fluctuates while lifting.

    "It is all cardio" is a ridiculous statement. Strength training has made a tremendous difference in my body composition. Doing all cardio only made me want to eat more.

    I think the statement is meant to indicate that even strength training is cardio, which is sort of weird because it doesn't make sense but it's also kind of true. Not sure though.

    Hence the confusion in interpreting written word on the internet. I can now read that statement 2 different ways. I'll just agree with the weirdness of the statement.
  • hasta_la_vista_belly
    hasta_la_vista_belly Posts: 103
    should I be focusing on cardio, or strength training?

    Yes.

    Strength training will help you build muscle and in turn is going to really help reshape your body. Cardio will help with endurance and burning calories as well. So I mean, I like both, but weight training will really help reshape your body.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,996 Member
    As a trainer friend of mine always tells me "It is ALL cardio" wear a HRM when you do strength training and compare
    Trainer friend would be wrong then. The energy path of anaerobic and aerobic exercise is different. HRM's only read heart rate and not how that heart rate is raised. In other words one could have a high rate watching a scary movie for a couple of hours and if you compare that to say a moderate walk, watching the movie would have burned more calories. And we know that's not the case.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Since I'm in the process of losing weight, should I be focusing on cardio, or strength training? Sometimes i feel like I shouldn't bother with strength training YET since I'm just trying to shed fat. Opinions?
    Pound for pound in loss, Strength Training will be more effective if that is your goal.
  • donohoe4
    donohoe4 Posts: 76 Member
    Strength training has made a tremendous difference in my body composition. Doing all cardio only made me want to eat more.

    This!
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    Here is a quick read for your question. It's just a blog, but has good info, IMO.

    http://strengthstudioblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/reality-check-for-i-do-cardio-to-lose.html?m=1
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
    Strength training can also be a cardio workout. Keep your HR up and move quickly from one exercise to the other with some short intense spurts of cardio in between such as jump squats, pushups, sprints, etc.

    That's what I do anyway and it works.
  • turtledove773
    turtledove773 Posts: 122 Member
    I recommend an intense focus on strength training combined with moderate amounts of cardio. The cardio can - and, indeed, should - be something you actually enjoy and will do long-term, such as a sport (tennis, hiking, playing frisbee with your dog, whatever).

    So what do you suggest for strength training and what is considered a moderate amount of cardio?

    I do a whole body routine 2x week and 4 days of 60 min cardio... I HATE the Cardio!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    A solid and well balanced general fitness regimen is going to incorporate elements of both in roughly equal parts; beyond that, more specific fitness goals would dictate one over the other for specific training purposes.

    Personally, for general fitness, I'd do 30-60 minutes of cardio work 3x weekly and work a full body weight training routine 3x weekly (something like New Rules, Starting Strength, or Stronglifts 5x5 would be a good place to start)...I would ideally do this on alternating days...maybe throw in a little walking on your lifting days. Have one day of rest where maybe you do some restorative yoga or something and just be generally active...i.e. take the dog for a walk or whatever.

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