How much cardio should you do a week?

ginaward1990
ginaward1990 Posts: 30
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I'm 5ft 8 and about 157 lbs.........trying to get down to 144lbs. Currently I do 3 workouts a week, about 30 mins cardio and 30 mins strength training each time. On top of that I walk quite a lot. Is this enough to lose weight with a 500 calorie deficit?

Thanks xxx

Replies

  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
    The 500 calorie deficit is the key to the weight loss. Exercise just helps you get to the deficit easier. What you currently are doing seems to work for you, so keep it up.
  • jbnjul17
    jbnjul17 Posts: 7
    How much do you want to loss per week? I am 5ft 4 154 lbs. Setting my goals for 1.5 pounds per week it has a deficition of 740 calories. Do you know how to set that up?
  • ginaward1990
    ginaward1990 Posts: 30
    How much do you want to loss per week? I am 5ft 4 154 lbs. Setting my goals for 1.5 pounds per week it has a deficition of 740 calories. Do you know how to set that up?

    I'm in no particular rush but 1lb a week would be great.....that's why I've set mine at 500 deficit.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    2, 10min HIIT sessions.

    Heres the write up on it by Charles Staley.
    Let the butthurt begin!

    http://www.t-nation.com/training/jogging-delusion

    " As Dr. Fred Hatfield pointed out decades ago in his groundbreaking text,Power: A Scientific Approach, weight training is a far better tool for improving overall cardiovascular health than jogging. Hatfield makes special note of weight training's ability to improve the ejection fraction of the left ventricle, something jogging simply can't accomplish."

    " More recently, research conducted by Dr. Isumi Tabata convincingly demonstrated that very brief (20 second) high-intensity efforts were more effective than steady-state cardio for almost every commonly desired outcome, including not only anaerobic endurance and body fat reduction, but also V02 max."
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    As long as you're eating below your daily calorie allowance, you will lose..
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Completely agree! This is the fact that when you consume fewer calories than your body burns.
    http://onlinedietandfitness.com/
  • pammiejean40
    pammiejean40 Posts: 56 Member
    Right now I am working out 5 days a week. Eating at a 500 calorie deficit. And working with a PT. You burn more calories faster doing strength training. Your 30 mins of cardio seems good!
  • KaiserNiner
    KaiserNiner Posts: 19 Member
    I would suggest extending the time on each session, as it seems best effect for cardio kicks in after about 20 minutes - full time it takes to warm up and metabolism to adjust. After that it can become substantially easier. And over an hour the Zen-like endorphin zone beckons... Runner's high.

    And remember rest days become more important for recovery.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • jbnjul17
    jbnjul17 Posts: 7
    That sounds like it would be a good! I think that you will be good for you! :) keep up the good work!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Hi,

    I'm 5ft 8 and about 157 lbs.........trying to get down to 144lbs. Currently I do 3 workouts a week, about 30 mins cardio and 30 mins strength training each time. On top of that I walk quite a lot. Is this enough to lose weight with a 500 calorie deficit?

    Thanks xxx

    The key point is your deficit, actual training has complementary effects, so it really depends what performance outcomes are important to you.

    Moderate intensity steady state CV work improves endurance, higher intensity tempo sessions and interval sessions increase your capacity to convert energy at higher demands and when you go into anaerobic conditions. All of that is complemented by resistance training which helps you to retain lean mass, and bias your weight loss towards fat reduction.

    With all of that in mind I'd probably stick with your three CV sessions, increase the time on one of them to allow the longer moderate intensity, and use the other two sessions for tempo or interval training. It does depend on what you do for CV training, all of the various machines have different thrresholds and compementary effects that can be exploited, although personally I prefer to get outside and run or cycle.

    You probably want to separate your CV and resistance sessions to different days, as they do different things, that will allow you to spend longer on each and by focussing on it you'll get a better end result.

Categories