How much cardio/strength training should I do?

rhinomidget
rhinomidget Posts: 52 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
So, at the moment I do about 20 - 25 minutes of cardio and 15 - 25 minutes of strength training.. (I am a female of 100 lbs who is 5'1) and I was wondering if that was enough? I do cardio every day but about 3 days out of the week I'll do just cardio for 30 - 35 minutes, while the other 3 (I take one day off) i will do cardio AND strength training... is this enough to lose belly fat/"tone" up? Thanks :)

Replies

  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    Enough for what?
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,865 Member
    edited November 2014
    Given that you've got a fairly vague, generic, outcome that you're after then it sounds reasonable in terms of time. The more pertinent question becomes what you're actually doing for those sessions, and what your current fitness level is.

    I'd suggest using some form of structured plan for both your CV and your resistance training, as that'll encourage you to improve your performance/ fitness over time and avoid stagnation.

    Note that according to your figures your BMI is already on the bottom edge of healthy verging on underweight, so you'll need to be eating at least at maintenance, if not slightly higher to gain a bit of weight.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    No way to tell without knowing your goals? if it's just to be fit in general, I'd split it 50/50.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    yoovie wrote: »
    No way to tell without knowing your goals? if it's just to be fit in general, I'd split it 50/50.

    Agreed.

    I'd also suggest doing cardio 1 day, strength the next. Put all your focus/energy into that 1 type of workout.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    jacksonpt wrote: »
    yoovie wrote: »
    No way to tell without knowing your goals? if it's just to be fit in general, I'd split it 50/50.

    Agreed.

    I'd also suggest doing cardio 1 day, strength the next. Put all your focus/energy into that 1 type of workout.

    This^^^ IMHO, at your ht/wt and a goal of dropping BF/"toning up" you'll need to up your concentration in strength training.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    lilylenz wrote: »
    So, at the moment I do about 20 - 25 minutes of cardio and 15 - 25 minutes of strength training.. (I am a female of 100 lbs who is 5'1) and I was wondering if that was enough? I do cardio every day but about 3 days out of the week I'll do just cardio for 30 - 35 minutes, while the other 3 (I take one day off) i will do cardio AND strength training... is this enough to lose belly fat/"tone" up? Thanks :)
    wut?

    lol.

    You lose weight with diet.

    You get fit with lifting and cardio.

    Increase your weekly lifting and card to 360+ minutes a week.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    also choose a lifting program instead of just doing random exercises.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    lilylenz wrote: »
    So, at the moment I do about 20 - 25 minutes of cardio and 15 - 25 minutes of strength training.. (I am a female of 100 lbs who is 5'1) and I was wondering if that was enough? I do cardio every day but about 3 days out of the week I'll do just cardio for 30 - 35 minutes, while the other 3 (I take one day off) i will do cardio AND strength training... is this enough to lose belly fat/"tone" up? Thanks :)
    wut?

    lol.

    You lose weight with diet.

    You get fit with lifting and cardio.

    Increase your weekly lifting and card to 360+ minutes a week.

    Why? Is 360 a magic number or something? I do less than that and still managed to lose the weight and get stronger/leaner.
    yoovie wrote: »
    also choose a lifting program instead of just doing random exercises.

    I definitely agree with ^. Also, what kind of strength training are you doing? Are we talking bicep curls with 5 lbs in each hand or are we talking lifting that actually matters?
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    oi! be careful there!!! for some girls, my best friend for instance, who is 5'7 and 118 pounds of no muscle - 5 pound weights are heavy for her and she can only do 4 or 5 curls at a time.

    Never forget that heavy is relative! not everyone jumps into day one with 35# curls :D
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    I've always been a believer in letting your diet do your work as far as weight loss goes, not mindless cardio.

    FWIW - I lift 5 days a week and do 1 cardio session a week; 2 at most if I have the time.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    (although to be fair, you shouldnt need them for much more than a month or so if you are training for progress.)
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    an hour a day is a great place for a sedentary person to start with. They're currently at 20-25 minutes weekly, plus 15-25 minutes of "lifting", based on the OP.

    You lost weight due to a caloric deficit. You got leaner due to a caloric deficit. You got stronger, assumably due to a progressive lifting program.

    There's no magic here. Want magic? T-nation's Pharma subforum offers it.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Leadfoot_Lewis wrote: »
    I've always been a believer in letting your diet do your work as far as weight loss goes, not mindless cardio.

    I agree with this mindset.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    yoovie wrote: »
    oi! be careful there!!! for some girls, my best friend for instance, who is 5'7 and 118 pounds of no muscle - 5 pound weights are heavy for her and she can only do 4 or 5 curls at a time.

    Never forget that heavy is relative! not everyone jumps into day one with 35# curls :D

    lol, I can't even do 35s.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    jacksonpt wrote: »
    Leadfoot_Lewis wrote: »
    I've always been a believer in letting your diet do your work as far as weight loss goes, not mindless cardio.

    I agree with this mindset.

    thirded. the only cardio i do is my walking commute and when im lifting weights faster after i finish the heavy stuff.

  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    yoovie wrote: »
    oi! be careful there!!! for some girls, my best friend for instance, who is 5'7 and 118 pounds of no muscle - 5 pound weights are heavy for her and she can only do 4 or 5 curls at a time.

    Never forget that heavy is relative! not everyone jumps into day one with 35# curls :D

    lol, I can't even do 35s.

    i can only do them for DB rows
  • branflakes1980
    branflakes1980 Posts: 2,516 Member
    edited November 2014
    For me personally I struggled for a while finding the perfect balance of weight training and cardio. As people above have stated I would start at 50/50 and adjust until you find what works for you. It took me 6 months to get it right. And right ended up being lifting 4 days a week wtih 20 min HIIT after and 1 day of solid cardio for 40 minutes. I am sure that as I progress this will change as well. You will have to adjust from time to time in order to keep seeing progress. Good luck to you.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    yoovie wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    yoovie wrote: »
    oi! be careful there!!! for some girls, my best friend for instance, who is 5'7 and 118 pounds of no muscle - 5 pound weights are heavy for her and she can only do 4 or 5 curls at a time.

    Never forget that heavy is relative! not everyone jumps into day one with 35# curls :D

    lol, I can't even do 35s.

    i can only do them for DB rows

    funky shoulder gimpiness for me.
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