Cardio for weight loss? How much for best results?

clafairy1984
clafairy1984 Posts: 253 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I am unsure as to how much Cardio i should be doing to burn fat. I do a weights class 3 x a week, and cardio is currently;

Mon- HIT Cardio
Tues- Spin
Wed - 30 mins xtrainer
Thurs- Combat cardio
Fri- Step
Sat- HIT Cardio

Is this safe and effective to burn fat? I have 18lbs left to lose.

Replies

  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    As long as you are eating less calories than you are burning you will lose weight. Unless you have a medical condition, or an injury you are getting over that amount of cardio looks fine (in particular the HIIT cardio).

    Why not try chucking in some resistance training as well. If you are feeling good on it and not too fatigued then it's all good.
  • clafairy1984
    clafairy1984 Posts: 253 Member
    what do you mean by resistance training?
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
    Weight lifting or bodyweight exercises is what he means by resistance training. It's actually even better than cardio in some ways for fat loss.
  • clafairy1984
    clafairy1984 Posts: 253 Member
    I weights lift for an hour 3 x a week
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,438 MFP Moderator
    Weight loss/fat loss is determined by your calorie deficit. Cardio is for cardiovascular health. Resistance/Weight training is for muscle health. Both cardio and weight training should be done. Cardio will help burn some additional calories which can help you eat more but resistance training is what will help maintain your metabolic functions, provide strong bones (helps prevent osteoporosis) and will help maintain muscle mass. From all the people I have helped and with myself, results were much better when I concentrated on weight training. I rarely see people happy with their bodies if they do all cardio.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    edited August 2015
    psulemon wrote: »
    Weight loss/fat loss is determined by your calorie deficit. Cardio is for cardiovascular health. Resistance/Weight training is for muscle health. Both cardio and weight training should be done. Cardio will help burn some additional calories which can help you eat more but resistance training is what will help maintain your metabolic functions, provide strong bones (helps prevent osteoporosis) and will help maintain muscle mass. From all the people I have helped and with myself, results were much better when I concentrated on weight training. I rarely see people happy with their bodies if they do all cardio.

    this…
    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    I weights lift for an hour 3 x a week

    are you on a structured program like strong lifts or just doing whatever..???
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    What's a weights class...is it progressively heavy lifting, ideally free weights and compound movements at the core or are you messing around with light dumbbells

    Also it matters what you eat and how many calories you allow for your exercise ...you need to stick to your defecit?
  • clafairy1984
    clafairy1984 Posts: 253 Member
    It's Les Mills Body Pump
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    It's Les Mills Body Pump

    IMO this doesn't count. It's great for beginners, though.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    edited August 2015
    Dont see why cardio cant also be for burning calories if thats your thing. It does however take a lot of cardio to burn significant calories. Do both.

    How much is enough? depends what your aims are. the calories burned are determined by your weight, duration and intensity. Its importnat to fuel your exercise.
  • dontgiveup2319
    dontgiveup2319 Posts: 145 Member
    ASKyle wrote: »
    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    It's Les Mills Body Pump

    IMO this doesn't count. It's great for beginners, though.

    Bodypump counts. I do bodypump and we use the bar with whatever weight we choose. There's a lot of people in there that just do bodypump for lifting and they look amazing! I think you're doing really well! I'm pretty much doing the same amount of cardio and lifting as you and I'm losing weight good.
  • thelizabethare
    thelizabethare Posts: 39 Member
    dontgiveup2319 wrote: »
    ASKyle wrote: »
    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    It's Les Mills Body Pump

    IMO this doesn't count. It's great for beginners, though.

    Bodypump counts. I do bodypump and we use the bar with whatever weight we choose. There's a lot of people in there that just do bodypump for lifting and they look amazing! I think you're doing really well! I'm pretty much doing the same amount of cardio and lifting as you and I'm losing weight good.


    I have to agree with ASKyle. As far as beginning your journey with weight lifting, Body Pump is an excellent way to start to really learn proper form and technique and perhaps what weights work for you. However, there have been multiple studies done that show no vast improvement in muscle toning or even muscle gain what so ever from attending Body Pump. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Body Pump and look forward to attending classes, but I also know that to get the results I want I actually have to do true heavy lifting. I would suggest taking up a program like strong lifts when you feel like you've had enough of Body Pump.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I used to do bodypump classes. Some folks added really light weights to their bar, and others added obscene amounts!
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    thelizabethare wrote: »
    However, there have been multiple studies done that show no vast improvement in muscle toning or even muscle gain what so ever from attending Body Pump.

    I don't know what "muscle toning" is, but i'm curious to see one of these studies you're referring to.
    If the weight is challenging, Body Pump should be enough to minimize muscle loss while losing fat (which is the main reason to lift while in a calorie deficit).
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    thelizabethare wrote: »
    However, there have been multiple studies done that show no vast improvement in muscle toning or even muscle gain what so ever from attending Body Pump.

    I don't know what "muscle toning" is, but i'm curious to see one of these studies you're referring to.
    If the weight is challenging, Body Pump should be enough to minimize muscle loss while losing fat (which is the main reason to lift while in a calorie deficit).
    I watched some of a body pump video ..it looks like an aerobics class and based on wiki definition it was designed to get bodybuilders out of free weights section and into a more cardio class

    That is not progressive weight lifting and is not, I would contend, the best way to preserve muscle mass when eating at a defecit...I think you would benefit from a progressive (building weights each session) programme like strong lifts

    But not if you don't enjoy it

    So going back to OP you're doing 9 aerobics style sessions per week? Isn't that a little excessive?
  • clafairy1984
    clafairy1984 Posts: 253 Member
    How much would you suggest? I was under the impression, the more cardio the better. Have read that an hour cardio a day is ideal for weight loss
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    How much would you suggest? I was under the impression, the more cardio the better. Have read that an hour cardio a day is ideal for weight loss

    As much as you feel comfortable doing, which you enjoy and which also doesn't cause you to become injured.

    It's really down to you and your life.

    Personally, I think if weight loss is your primary goal then:
    • accurate logging
    • 2-3 resistance training sessions a week of between 30-60 minutes
    • 2-3 cardio sessions a week of between 45 - 60 minutes

    would cover all the bases more than sufficiently. The plus side of more cardio / activity in particular is that it acts as a buffer against inaccurate or inconsistent logging and you can eat more generally and still remain in a calorie deficit.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,438 MFP Moderator
    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    How much would you suggest? I was under the impression, the more cardio the better. Have read that an hour cardio a day is ideal for weight loss

    Unfortunately, a lot of that is misguided and doesn't necessarily apply to those calorie counting. Many will suggest cardio as a means to burn calories to achieve a deficit. You are in a more controlled environment, which makes it better. Ideally, so you get strong (and potentially see some noob gains and have good cardio), I would do a standard progressive lifting program like New Rules of Lifting for Women or StrongCurves, and cardio. I would do each 3 days a week for balance. This way, you will work both your slow (endurance) and fast (power) twitch muscle fibers.

    Honestly, what are your ultimate goals? Do you want to have low body fat (ab definition), do you want to be strong, do you want endurance etc..


    Les Mills Pump does count as resistance training, but it works slow twitch muscle fibers... aka, it works your endurance. For those who have not done pump, its is an endurance style (3-5 min reps) that goes after various muscle groups. In one set (that 3-5 min), you can do squat, deadlift, lunge and reverse dead row or wide row, OHP and deadlift. Workouts range from 20 minutes to 60 minutes so there are a range of sets. So the program is based around compound lifts, but not progressive in the traditional sense. Each workout is a full body workout and some people can really add a lot of weight. Personally, I am never sore with this types of workouts, but I had to stop because they weren't friendly to my tendinitis.

    Overall, if you are really having fun, you can probably get away with doing Les Mills 3 days a week (try to add more weight each week to see progression) and HIIT/Combat/Cardio the other 3 days a week. You will still see strength gains from Les Mills, but not nearly the amount as a more structured lifting program.

    But overall, your program should be one you enjoy and more importantly, one that addresses your ultimate goals. i will tell you from personal experience, that I have seen much greater body changes while doing a hypertrophy style (8-15 rep) workout program than I did with Les Mills.

  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    I think you should start off with less cardio and increase it gradually. It is too easy to kill yourself with loads of cardio and in my experience it only has a minimal effect on weight losee. Personally I find it easier to eat less than to do loads of cardio. I've heard of people doing like 2 hours a day cardio which is just crazy.
    You would however benefit a lot by after your weights workout putting in 10 minutes or so interval training. Deosn't have to be a longe time. This is the optimal time to do cardio as you ahve already depleted your glycogen with the weights.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    It's Les Mills Body Pump

    i would say look into starting strength, strong lifts, all pro beginner routine, or something like that. Get on a progressive lifting program that incorporates big compound movements….
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Calorie deficit causes weight loss. That means that if you need 2,000 calories of food to maintain your current weight with no exercise, then if you eat 2,000 your weight will stay the same. If you eat less than 2,000, you will lose weight. If you eat more, you will gain.

    Exercise is one way to create a calorie deficit. If you run a mile you might burn 100 calories. If you still ate 2,000 calories, you would be netting 2,000-100 = 1,900 cals. You'd lose weight! The problem is that studies show that a calorie deficit by eating less is more effective in the long term than calorie deficit by exercise alone. It is very easy to overestimate how many calories you are burning. Many people equate exertion (I'm tired and sweaty!) with calories burned (Must have burned a ton! Let's get burgers!)

    All that said- I love cardio. I eat back my exercise calories and do a lot of cardio.
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