How much cardio when heavy lifting?

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bleemoore81
bleemoore81 Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so I've been reading a lot more on here that people who haven't been loosing with cardio switched to more heavy lifting and that has helped. My question is for girls, how much, if any cardio do you do and how much heavy lifting? I feel like I can do 40-60 mins of cardio 3+ days a week and still not get anywhere. .. So I think I need to do less cardio and more weights?
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Replies

  • amybg1
    amybg1 Posts: 631 Member
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    What works well for me is 2-3 days of cardio, and about 2 sessions of weights each lasting at least a solid 45 minutes. Have any idea what body type you are? If not take the quiz at BodyBuilding,com, I found it good in terms of telling me what ranges I fall into as it helped me ballpark my macros but it also gives suggestions as per workouts to lose fat/gain muscle.
  • Jewlz280
    Jewlz280 Posts: 547 Member
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    In to follow.
  • kjo9692
    kjo9692 Posts: 430 Member
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    I'm not doing any cardio at the moment. I just started though. If you can, read the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It tells you that cardio is not necessary, you can achieve your goals with weight lifting all alone. However, if you really enjoy it then go for it, just make sure to eat accordingly to the amount of calories you'll be burning.

    I haven't heard of cardio being detrimental to heavy lifting at all (just a couple of people that say it takes strength from them or something), and it's beneficial for your heart, but you don't have to do it if you don't want to.
  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    I do couch 2 5k (runs are about 30-40 minutes 3x a week)on my non lifting days. For lifting I follow sl 5x5 3 times a week. It works well for me.
  • bobbinalong
    bobbinalong Posts: 151 Member
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    I do cardio for heart health 2-3 times a week, strength 2-3 times a week. Cardio at heart rate for at least 20 minutes above 120 and switch out from treadmill, cycling and elliptical.
  • xLucky_Virgox
    xLucky_Virgox Posts: 6 Member
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    I felt my legs losing weight on a mini stepper but didn't feel any results anywhere else so I got a wieder ultimate body machine. I see changes in my arms now, I love it. I have a long way to go. I recently heard about this balance we should have and would like to know more. I'm happy doing both cardio and strength training, I would like to do it the right way.
  • VoodooChummy
    VoodooChummy Posts: 53 Member
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    Lately I've been doing short 400m-800m runs between sets of weights and exercises like pull-ups, dips, etc... It's just enough to elevate heart rate to about 90% then do most lifting around the 80% range. The runs probably total 10-15 depending on distance and number of sets.
  • suejenfb
    suejenfb Posts: 54 Member
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    I do circuit training which is the best of both, weight training that counts as cardio. I do some cardio too.
  • bleemoore81
    bleemoore81 Posts: 17 Member
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    I am def hour glass. Which I don't mind but the middle seems to be not as small anymore so want to get that back and look more hour glass again. Muffin top is not very fashionable lol
  • thatonegirlwiththestuff
    thatonegirlwiththestuff Posts: 1,171 Member
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    Cardio sucks. I big fat hate it. I only do it at the end of a lifting session if I'm not brutally tired. And then it's 20 minutes on either the stairmaster or bike. And that's only 3-4 times a week. On a good week.
  • UFITYETXX
    UFITYETXX Posts: 38
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    Following
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    What are your goals?
  • Sarahliquid
    Sarahliquid Posts: 201 Member
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    I do 10 min of cardio to warm up. Then about 45 min of lifting.
  • bleemoore81
    bleemoore81 Posts: 17 Member
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    What are your goals?

    Lose inches in arms waist hips and thighs, so basically all around.. And I am ok with not losing the weight if I can do inches. I was always around 130 and now more like 145-148 depending on the time of month.. I am now working on my diet which I didnt do so well with before. But overall I need to tone up and lose inches everywhere.
  • Onegirlarmy824
    Onegirlarmy824 Posts: 11 Member
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    Right now I am doing 5-6 days a week of cardio 45-60 mins and 3-4 days a week of 40-45 mins lifting. I was seeing a personal training for a few months but had to stop due to financial issues and this is the plan that she is having me do while we take a break. Prior to uping it I was doing 3-4 days week of lifting for about 30-40 mins and 3-4 days a week of cardio.
  • Natmarie73
    Natmarie73 Posts: 287 Member
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    What sort of cardio are you doing OP? And more importantly what is your heart rate during the cardio.
    My trainer told me that for me to lose fat I should do an hour or so of cardio every day but only at a brisk walking pace as a lower heart rate will burn fat more effectively than aerobic excersise. I don't know how true this is though but it seems logical seeing as weightlifting is an anaerobic excersise and also good for burning fat.

    Currently I do weights 4 times a week for about 40minutes as heavy as I can. I am also training to run 10km so I will run 3 times a week doing 1x 3-4k run, 1 x 3.2k run and 1 x 5-9k run. Then I'll cycle 3 or 4 times a week as well approx 40 - 50 kms each time. Finally, if I have time I will try to fit in a long walk once a week to train for my trek to Everest Base Camp. I'm aiming to be able to walk at a brisk pace for up to 7 hours. My goal average heart rate for my cardio is around 132 bpm. All that on 1700 cals a day.

    I don't know if I'm doing too much cardio or not enough myself, as I am not really losing fat as quickly as I hoped to.
  • nikkihk
    nikkihk Posts: 487 Member
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    No need for cardio unless you want to work on your stamina for a marathon or something... fat loss happens in the kitchen not the gym. I just do weights 3 days a week for 1 1/2 hours. Heavy lifting only though, no light weights... I think cardio just taxes and depletes the muscles, they need a day of rest in between workouts and with more working out? You kinda of hinder the process.
  • janjanorama
    janjanorama Posts: 19 Member
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    I do 3/4 weight sessions a week, in the gym and will warm up for 10/ 15 mins with cardio, either using the spin bikes, or battle ropes and sled. if I want to do any additional cardio I try and do it out in the real world by either cycling or walking (If i do it in the gym I just get bored and go pick up the weights, at least if I go a couple of km on my bike, I can't just quit, I have to cycle home again!) I do it as much for the joy of getting out though as I do for the exercise.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    My trainer told me that for me to lose fat I should do an hour or so of cardio every day but only at a brisk walking pace as a lower heart rate will burn fat more effectively than aerobic excersise. I don't know how true this is though

    My instinct is that your trainer talks bo***ks, but that in itself is as much an over simplification as what your trainer says.

    Essentially by operating at the lower intensities your ability to operate for longer is enhanced, and as a result of operating for longer you're going to expend more. The whole "Fat burning zone" idea is very outdated and understanding of training effect is much more sophisticated now.
    I don't know if I'm doing too much cardio or not enough myself, as I am not really losing fat as quickly as I hoped to.

    If your objective is a competitive time in the 10K then you're doing a reasonable amount, although you need to up your distances on the runs and start including tempo and interval training. For my 10K training at the moment I do a long run of anything up to 18k, a short run of 3-5k at recovery pace, then three tempo or interval sessions of between 6 and 9k per week, I also do one pace cycling session of 20-30K to balance out my leg development.
  • SuperC_85
    SuperC_85 Posts: 393
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    I do 4 x 25 - 30minute weight training sessions per week.
    With cardio MAYBE once a week I get a session in, when I feel like it.

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