Afraid of cardio

mamarquez906
mamarquez906 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
when I began to lose weight a lot of my working out consisted of cardio. Although I did lose about 30 lbs I lost of lot of my chest and butt and didn't like how soft I was. Lately I been doing lots of weights and less cardio and now I'm bulking up again my thighs are larger they don't fit in my jeans I still have stubborn areas like my stomach it's not defined and my legs are thick but not defined the only area I see some definition is my arms and back. I want to lean out a bit I am somewhat on a diet I eat pretty healthy for the most part. I need help on ways to lean out with out going over board on the cardio and losing my chest again thanks anything helps :)

Replies

  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    edited February 2015
    Eat less. Do something other than cardio (like hitting the weights).
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Don't be afraid of cardio. Some cardio in addition to your weight training will go a long way because it will help you maintain a comfortable deficit. Your issue is some extra body fat that refuses to go away. That's probably genetic as you may be pear shaped, and only bringing the body fat down will somewhat deal with these areas.

    Sad truth is, if your chest went down before it will likely go down again if you lower body fat. It wasn't the cardio's fault, it was just that you probably lost quite a bit of fat and a portion of it from your chest. Be prepared to have to choose at some point between more defined stomach and legs and a fuller chest.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    Lean out = lose weight slowly so you lose as much fat and as little muscle as possible. You accomplish that by eating fewer calories than you burn. You can add in some cardio to increase that deficit if you want--and it is good for your heart to do so!--but it's not necessary, strictly speaking.

    The fat is going to come off where it comes off, and that's genetic. A lot of women lose weight from their chest first, stomach and/or thighs last. There isn't anything you can do about it, barring surgery after the fact. Just lose slowly enough and hope for the best.

    I love the photo! Your arms are super impressive! I can't imagine you have all that much fat to lose elsewhere. :)
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    Eat less. Do something other than cardio (like hitting the weights).

    Agreed.

    Get your diet in check and continue with the lifting. Perhaps supplement with HIIT if you want a little cardio.
  • HeySwoleSister
    HeySwoleSister Posts: 1,938 Member
    A defined abdomen means lower body fat. For most women, nice boobs mean slightly higher body fat. Boobs and abs don't tend to coexist in nature, except for those who would be VERY well-endowed at a higher body fat % or those who have boobs made of something other than fat. (sacs of saline, for example, or photoshop, which are the ways most of those magazine ladies manage to have both)

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    Eat less. Do something other than cardio (like hitting the weights).

    This. You need a caloric deficit to lose some body fat, hit your protein minimums (~1g/lb of lean mass, or 0.8x your total lbs weight), lift heavy, and do some cardio if you want. I do ~1 hour of cardio only.
  • mamarquez906
    mamarquez906 Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you all for your advice :) . I really have to get organized because according to mfp I've been under my calories almost everyday I don't get to eat often because of school and work and I know that's slowing everything down. I don't know if maybe different type of cardio would be better like jumping rope or something else. I guess what I need is a good excercise program that incorporates some cardio, my last question is does the order matter like should I do cardio before or after weights does it make a difference?
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    I've heard to do cardio first, I think that's mostly because you don't want to risk being tired & sloppy with your form on the weights.
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
    I do light cardio after lifting, so that I can put my main focus on the lifts when it's a lifting day. I will do a cardio day on occasion too and am going to rework to do 5k training later this month but the jog will be different time of day if on same day as lifting.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    So you've pretty much swung extremes... perhaps moderate your exercises a little bit better.
    I've heard to do cardio first, I think that's mostly because you don't want to risk being tired & sloppy with your form on the weights.

    opposite- weights first- cardio second- for the reason you listed above- better to hammer the weights when you're fresh - you can slog through a run easier than you can slog through a lift.
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