Skip to content
  • Register
    • We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

    Weights or cardio??

    Posts: 102 Member
    edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
    i was complaining I haven't been able to lose like I could before I hit 34 years old. My doctor told me I should be doing more weights than cardio. I tried this for a week and was not happy with the results. I just feel I need more cardio than weights. It has worked in the past. What is your experience? I usually do 30-45 minutes of cardio then about 15-20m of weights.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Replies

    • Posts: 1 Member
      Weights continue to burn calories a lot longer after you stop working out and they are very good for you indeed for all sorts of reasons. You should measure as well as weigh as although fat and muscle weight the same, obviously, muscle takes up far less space than fat and as you develop lean muscle your measurements and your body will change. Up your weights but every other day though as the body needs time to repair itself after a weight session. Swop around your cardio and weights times every other day or at least add 20 mins or so onto the weights session. Also as soon as the weights become easier you should move onto the next weight up. You should barely be able to push the last few weights in a set . Once you can then try the next weight. Hope that helps a bit. I have loads to lose but have had PT for years and years and they always disapprove of people that pound away on cardio machines without spending more time on weights. Your body just gets used to the cardio.
    • Posts: 17,456 Member
      What kind of weights are you talking about?

      If you're talking about a progressively heavier free weights routine of compound lifts then I doubt you'd be able to manage after 40 mins cardio

    • Posts: 2,229 Member
      You tried weights for a week and you weren't happy with the results? What results from doing weights for a week did you have? And for a good idea of what weight training can do for you, you should check out the threads of the ladies who are lifting heavy. Honestly, you'll be amazed at what weight training can do for your body.
    • Posts: 276 Member
      A week? Really? Come on.
    • Posts: 7,866 Member
      pianoann wrote: »
      Weights continue to burn calories a lot longer after you stop working out and they are very good for you indeed for all sorts of reasons. You should measure as well as weigh as although fat and muscle weight the same, obviously, muscle takes up far less space than fat and as you develop lean muscle your measurements and your body will change. Up your weights but every other day though as the body needs time to repair itself after a weight session. Swop around your cardio and weights times every other day or at least add 20 mins or so onto the weights session. Also as soon as the weights become easier you should move onto the next weight up. You should barely be able to push the last few weights in a set . Once you can then try the next weight. Hope that helps a bit. I have loads to lose but have had PT for years and years and they always disapprove of people that pound away on cardio machines without spending more time on weights. Your body just gets used to the cardio.

      Basically ignore all of this.

      Notwithstanding that some resistance work is very useful, for a number of reasons; retention of lean mass, injury risk mitigation, skeletal effects reducing the risk of later life osteoporosis etc

      It's all about balance.
    • Posts: 30 Member
      You need to alternate the days you do weights & cardio. Do Cardio 4 times a week and weights 3 days a week. There are a lot of good training ideas on www.bodybuilding.com
    • Posts: 96 Member
      I find a good mix of cardio AND weights definitely changes my body and how I look in clothes. I'm 34 and can't live without my weights.
    • Posts: 7,682 Member
      you arent going to see results in a week with weights. Ive been doing weights for almost 3 years(eating at a deficit since sept of 2014) and have lost a lot of fat and inches but not much weight,but my body does look better. It takes time.I do cardio too just not on the same day.
    • Posts: 143 Member
      If you want to do both do weights first then cardio. Although it seems that it doesnt, weight training works your body just as much as cardio without feeling as tired. That way you still have the energy to do cardio after youve done weights.
    • Posts: 102 Member
      I understand I'm not going to see results in a week but with reaching my calorie goals and busting it with weights I did gain. So it is hard to see that if only for one week. I hate to think I eat perfect and I don't see any change or feel a change with weight. I like the ideas of a mix between the 2 I will try that! Thanks to those of you that gave positive responses!
    • Posts: 595 Member
      It's perfectly normal to show a "gain" on the scale when you start any new exercise program (or increase intensity), and especially with weight training. It's just fuel and fluid retention. Any soreness you feel after exercising... that's inflammation and inflammation is fluid retention. That fluid retention can mask weight loss. But it's temporary.
    • Posts: 782 Member
      As everyone else will tell you, weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Lifting while losing weight can help you retain muscle vs losing muscle mass in the process. Have you figured out your maintanance calories? You mentioned eating perfect. How are your macros/calorie intake? Here is a good place to start with that.

      http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
    • Posts: 7,124 Member
      When it comes to doing weightlifting and cardio I find that there needs to be a healthy balance between the two along with adequate rest time. I do 3 days a week of heavy weight lifting and 3 days a week of HIIT exercises along with one day a week of rest.
    • Posts: 8,281 Member
      pianoann wrote: »
      Weights continue to burn calories a lot longer after you stop working out and they are very good for you indeed for all sorts of reasons. You should measure as well as weigh as although fat and muscle weight the same, obviously, muscle takes up far less space than fat and as you develop lean muscle your measurements and your body will change. Up your weights but every other day though as the body needs time to repair itself after a weight session. Swop around your cardio and weights times every other day or at least add 20 mins or so onto the weights session. Also as soon as the weights become easier you should move onto the next weight up. You should barely be able to push the last few weights in a set . Once you can then try the next weight. Hope that helps a bit. I have loads to lose but have had PT for years and years and they always disapprove of people that pound away on cardio machines without spending more time on weights. Your body just gets used to the cardio.

      Only if you follow a mediocre cardio program. Your body also "gets used" to resistance exercise if you don't progressively increase the weight. Progressive workload increase applies to cardio too.
    • Posts: 111 Member
      Eileen_S wrote: »
      When it comes to doing weightlifting and cardio I find that there needs to be a healthy balance between the two along with adequate rest time. I do 3 days a week of heavy weight lifting and 3 days a week of HIIT exercises along with one day a week of rest.

      Yup, balance is a good thing
    • Posts: 5,178 Member
      amberfiore wrote: »
      i was complaining I haven't been able to lose like I could before I hit 34 years old. My doctor told me I should be doing more weights than cardio. I tried this for a week and was not happy with the results. I just feel I need more cardio than weights. It has worked in the past. What is your experience? I usually do 30-45 minutes of cardio then about 15-20m of weights.

      How often and what type of weights? If it is lifting heavy or doing some serious bodyweight exercises for 20 minutes per day, this should get you results after a while (obviously not in 1 week). If it is waving around the lowest dumbbells you can find for 20 mintues twice a week, then this is not going to help at all with any goals.

      In any case, if the complaint is about weight loss, then you either need to invest some serious time and energy into training (as in hours per day) so you will not have to change your diet, or change your entire lifestyle to be far more active than whatever you did while gaining weight, again without changing your eating habits, or, focus on diet changes and limiting calories eaten, not increasing calories burned.
    • Posts: 1,062 Member
      Try kettlebells. You can use them for either cardio or strength training depending on the weights & reps you use. I like Pat Flynn & Lauren Brooks various routines.
    • Posts: 34,971 Member
      amberfiore wrote: »
      I understand I'm not going to see results in a week but with reaching my calorie goals and busting it with weights I did gain. So it is hard to see that if only for one week. I hate to think I eat perfect and I don't see any change or feel a change with weight. I like the ideas of a mix between the 2 I will try that! Thanks to those of you that gave positive responses!

      Anytime you start a different type of workout or change the intensity of one, you'll go through a short period of water retention.

      Even so...it was one week. One. Week. If you are expecting some dramatic changes in one week, you are going to be forever disappointed.
    • Posts: 18,771 Member
      amberfiore wrote: »
      i was complaining I haven't been able to lose like I could before I hit 34 years old. My doctor told me I should be doing more weights than cardio. I tried this for a week and was not happy with the results. I just feel I need more cardio than weights. It has worked in the past. What is your experience? I usually do 30-45 minutes of cardio then about 15-20m of weights.

      Try a year of weights and then get back to us. A week is nothing.
    • Posts: 195 Member
      Why not both?
    • Posts: 139 Member
      I am 43 yrs old and I know what you mean about things changing. When I decided to "get in shape" I was doing cardio. About a year ago I hit a plateau and nothing was changing. I started weight training about 6 months ago. I train 3 days a week with weight and cardio 3x a week, alternating. I have since put on 10 lbs and yet everyone thinks I am still losing weight. It doesn't happen overnight or even a week, but it happens and it is AMAZING! I am going to continue because I have seen the results and I want more of it.
    • Posts: 111 Member
      For me I put cardio first to keep the ticker working better.
    • Posts: 19,809 Member
      First - stop looking to exercise to cause weight loss.
      Second - stop expecting results in a week.
      Third - don't expect "results" every week.

      Settle in for the long haul doing something sustainable (food & exercise) and enjoyable - or if not enjoyable at least not miserable!
    • Posts: 71 Member
      BOTH. No expert, but here is my real life experience: Started strength training 2 days/wk for 40 minutes with weights, mix of machines and free weights, with a trainer June 2014 to lose weight before my daughter's wedding. No planned cardio, just tried to walk more and drink more water/watch my nutrition. Started C25K at home on treadmill around Thanksgiving, now I try to walk or run about 3 miles on 3 days/week. I don't think I would've ever started or kept up with the cardio if I had not gained strength and endurance from the weight sessions.

      About 10 months later = 30 lbs lighter and 4 sizes smaller. I'm 50. Gave birth to eight kids (no C-sections, no multiple births). Sit at a desk 7-10 hrs/day. This weekend, I wore a bikini (curr profile pic) for the first time in my life! Ultimate compliment was the fact that my kids were actually impressed vs. embarrassed :)
    This discussion has been closed.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Quick Links

    Categories