Do I HAVE to do cardio?

No, not really...

But I would suggest at least going for some walks on a pretty regular basis...good for heart health and burns some extra calories to boot. Just a 30 minute walk 5x weekly does wonders for the old ticker.

I also gather that lifting weights is actually more beneficial to weight loss and muscle retention than cardio is

If only it were that simple.

Resistance training of any kind will help the retention of lean mass, which means that weight loss is biased towards stored fat rather than cannibalising muscle.

I've recently gotten into lifting, and just wondering if I need to do cardio? My goal is to lose fat, I have asthma though so running is a bit hard for me. Any suggestions for this?

If you have asthma you should definitely do cardio for your health

As far as CV work is concerned, there are very clear benefits that resistance training isn't going to give you to anything like the same level.

Resistance training is Cardiovascular work if you do it right. And if done right, it will work your lungs and heart rate to a higher degree than steady state running ever can.

it will work your lungs and heart rate to a higher degree than steady state running ever can.

CV <> steady state

In the same way that a resistance programme has to be progressive and use a number of different modes to be effective, CV includes a number of different modes and progression to deliver improvement.

Elevating your heart rate for a few minutes at a time isn't going to give you the same effect as a 50 minute interval session, or a 30 minute tempo session.

For me, the real killer about any CV work in the gym is the boredom of it. Hamster wheels in air conditioned boxes aren't inspiring and I understand why so many, particularly on here, desperately try to justify not doing it.

I've recently gotten into lifting, and just wondering if I need to do cardio? My goal is to lose fat, I have asthma though so running is a bit hard for me. Any suggestions for this?

If you have asthma you should definitely do cardio for your health

Well, depending on the routine/exercises, there are strength/resistance routines that work on endurance and even cardio. So if she does those, she doesn't have to do more cardio based exercises for her asthma.


Yes those are cardio workouts and they help your lung function .

You don't
BUT
cardio work can really help you out in the gym, especially if you have asthma.

Bump to read later

You don't HAVE to do anything!

It really depends on your ultimate goal(s). A calorie deficit without exercise at all will result in scale weight lost. However, to improve body composition you need to lift which you are doing so that's GREAT!

For heart health cardio is important and like any other muscle, you CAN improve your stamina, even with Asthma.

So if holistically you are concerned about health as well as loosing fat then I would suggest to include a progressive cardio program. Start with walking, increase time, intensity, duration as your heart muscle gets stronger. Swimming seems to work for asthma sufferer's and outside activities are not the wisest of course... you will do better with winter outdoor sports I imagine.
I also know from friends that an attack can be exacerbated by our physical response, so breathing exercises to calm yourself may be helpful??....

Good luck!

I am an asthmatic. Mine is chronic, bronchial, allergy, and sometimes exercise induced. Cardio and lifting are essential elements of my fitness routine. I am in the gym three times a week to lift, and I begin my routine with 1/2 hour of elliptical, then stretching, before and after my lifting, for a total of one hour of cardio. The rest of the time, weather permitting, I am walking for a least an hour a day. Once a week I do yoga. My right knee hates me when I run. Most of all, I take my medications responsibly.

Cardio loosens up my body after a lift routine. Yoga keeps me from being muscle bound. All my exercise helps me regulate my breathing, and improves my endurance. My asthma attacks have decreased in frequency and severity, especially in the past year. Lifting alone would not have accomplished that.

I started out on the elliptical on a lower level for 10 minutes, and increased it by five minutes every few weeks. If I can do it. You can do it.

Question: If building muscle is highly unlikely in a calorie deficit, does it build the strength of existing muscles at least?

I've been eating at a deficit, and whenever I use weights or do an exercise that is unfamiliar to my body, the next day I get the sore muscle feeling in the exact muscle group I was working. I'm definitely eating at deficit... so is my muscle building, or simply staying the same size, but getting stronger?

you wont build mass without the extra calories.

many have experience strenght gains while eating at a defecit. They assume that this is only possible if they have gain muscle.

the increased strength comes from building better neurological pathway within your brain and from your brain to your muscle. this allows you to recruit more of your existing muslce fiber when your brain sends the electronic signal for your muslce to contract.

size and strength are not exactly directly correlated. I would say that the above accounts for most strength gains even when eating at a surplus.

you can condition muslces to do more work without adding mass. You can not add mass without a surplus (nor density either, because that would mean you added mass)