Please HELP! More strength less cardio???

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cannpeck
cannpeck Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been working out 5x a week for the last 3 months and have only lost 1 pound per month
I am now 5'4 at 135lbs and wanting to get down to 125lbs. I strength train 2x per week and cardio 3x per week. I was just recently told to stop doing all the cardio and to add more strength training. I was told I should only have to do about 15mins of cardio a day. Does this sound right? I don't think it does. Right now I do about 40 mins of cardio Monday, wednesday. 20mins cardio thursday. strength train for 30mins on tuesday and fridays with 20 mins of cardio to cool down. Can anyone please help me, am I doing things right cause I am not seeing any results

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  • irishgal4
    irishgal4 Posts: 3 Member
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    I do 60 min of cardio 5 times a week and I am not loosing either. I think fewer calories is what I need to do.
  • FitStrongHealthy
    FitStrongHealthy Posts: 220 Member
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    Well if you've been at it for 3 months and you've lost 1 pound per month, then that means you've lost 3 pounds so far which is a really good loss in my opinion. I wouldn't worry about what that person said about cardio and strength training, just exercise to fit your health and fitness goals. If what you're doing now is working, then stick with it.

    If you're not seeing the results you'd like, maybe it's time to tweak something. Tighten up on your logging by weighing all solids and measuring all liquids, if you're not already. Eat back some of your exercise calories (50%-75%), if don't do that already. Maybe change up your exercise routine a bit to keep things different.

    Also, just remember that weight loss is not linear. Not everyone loses weight at the same rate, some lose slower or faster than others. And remember that it's not going to all come off over night, you just have to be patient and stick with the plan.
  • CarlydogsMom
    CarlydogsMom Posts: 645 Member
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    What exactly do you mean by "stength training"? Free weights? Machines? What are you lifting, how many reps, etc etc. I've seen on these forums that "strength training" means alot of different things to people.

    Also, you're on your "last 10 pounds," which means weight is going to come off VERY slow, like even less than half a pound a week--so one pound per month is not bad. Face it, you're not going to lose those last ten pounds in a month or so; it'll take several months. Which is FINE. Use this time to prepare for maintenance by developing habits of exercise and diet/lifestyle that you can live with long-term. Figure out what you want to do, how you want to live, and how you want to eat for your future during this time period. Don't fret, be patient.
  • cannpeck
    cannpeck Posts: 3 Member
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    strength training i do free weights and machines. 2 sets of 12 reps. i work out my legs at the same time as my upper body...ex: hammer curls as i am doing lunges, squats as i am doing shoulder presses....etc
    It is just very hard to keep motivated when you don't see the scale move, makes you second guess the things you are doing
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    I don't think the problem is your workout. I think you need to take a look at your diet, how much you're eating. If you aren't measuring/weighing your food with a food scale, start there first. Weight loss happens in the kitchen, not the gym.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Tighten your logging, its not the exercise, but the fact you are eating more than you think.

    Weight loss might start in the kitchen but the gym can provide an important complementary boost to a deficit. It starts and ends with consistent deficits.
  • winram11
    winram11 Posts: 12 Member
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    I'll go a step further than what is stated above (all good points): Don't eat back calories.

    Measure, weigh, portion control all you eat, then exercise, but if you're on MFP - which you clearly are - don't fall into that trap of eating back what it presumes you burnt in calories via exercise.

    It's not as simple as calories-in-calories-out, because a lot of what we eat is under-valued (a 500cal meal is actually 800, etc) and it's much much worse when it comes to exercise. One machine or system will say you burned 200 calories, another will say 500.

    TLDR answer: re-evaluate your food intake and keep exercising in any way you feel comfortable but take the exercise calories off the formula.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    With 10 pounds to lose, your losses are going to be slow. A pound a month sounds reasonable. That said, composition can count for A LOT. If I were you, I would focus on strength training -- doing a program with compound lifts with progression built into it. I would continue to eat at a slight deficit. But that's just me.
  • PatsnYanks
    PatsnYanks Posts: 4 Member
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    Check out aworkoutroutine.com
  • cannpeck
    cannpeck Posts: 3 Member
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    thanks for all the help, greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    if you're not losing weight, you are eating too much...it doesn't have anything to do with how many days of this or that you do.

    also keep in mind that if you don't have much weight to lose, it is a very slow process...you simply don't have the fat stores to drop weight quickly.
  • Oldbitcollector
    Oldbitcollector Posts: 229 Member
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    Work out for fitness. Track what you eat to deal with your weight.

    They both go hand in hand...
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
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    Your cardio may have made your metabolism more efficient. Try substituting your long cardio sessions with short interval sessions. And lift heavier and push harder. That has consistently helped me. I set my macros and try to meet them and I never go hungry--no starvation mode here.

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