Cardio vs Cardio/Weight Training for weight loss.
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Sorry, that didn't post right. My question was for PinkPixiexox, but anyone can answer.0
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Two lifting sessions per week should probably be total body each time.0
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Personally, I do my 30-40 minute cardio session first and then do my strength training. I know a lot of people lift first, but I feel like my muscle strength gets depleted doing it that way while doing cardio first helps me to be more energized. I have two kids though so I have to maximize all of my gym sessions because some weeks I can only get there three days due to their schedules, homework, etc.0
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I do heavy weight lifting 3x a week (stronglift 5x5, a full-body workout program), and started immediately along with changing my diet. I don't do any cardio, and have no problem with becoming stronger plus losing weight, even though I am only 10 lbs from goal weight.0
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SunshineGirl351 wrote: »So can someone please tell me when lifting should be introduced after doing cardio? Right away? 2 weeks after? A month after? I want to lose weight, but I see the point of lifting and don't want to be "skinny fat."
Resistance can be introduced immediately, you don't need to wait.
When we're in a deficit, we lose water, fat, AND muscle. By lifting in that deficit we're trying to counter that muscle loss, so most of our weight loss comes from water and fat. Cardio is great for cardiovascular health and calorie burns, but not optimal for muscle retention so some can see bigger loses on the scale from just cardio due to the losses in LBM, where a person who is lifting/doing resistance along with the cardio may not be seeing the scale number drop as fast due to LBM retention (and water retention) may actually be lowering their Body Fat percentage quicker.
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SunshineGirl351 wrote: »So can someone please tell me when lifting should be introduced after doing cardio? Right away? 2 weeks after? A month after? I want to lose weight, but I see the point of lifting and don't want to be "skinny fat."
I was completely and totally out of shape when I first started exercising. I started out with cardio (walking) and stretching. I needed that in order to become more flexible, which I feel has helped me with lifting. I started strength training after a month. I did bodyweight strength training at that time but regular weight lifting would have been fine too, looking back. (Not that I regret the bodyweight stuff, I just mean that I could have gone straight to WL without any problem.)
Okay, I'm not going to delete to save room this time, and just maybe my post may come out correctly. So jemhh, if you could go back in time, would you have lifted at the beginning of your journey?
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I definitely post bigger losses during the weeks where I could only hit the gym once or twice, and I attribute that to my body not holding extra water for muscle repair. Posting smaller losses because you are doing some strength training is so worth it to me. I just feel better, think better, and feel stronger.0
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I do heavy weight lifting 3x a week (stronglift 5x5, a full-body workout program), and started immediately along with changing my diet. I don't do any cardio, and have no problem with becoming stronger plus losing weight, even though I am only 10 lbs from goal weight.
So losing weight is possible without cardio? Does this mean I can slow the cardio down when I get close to my "happy weight" for maintenance?
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SunshineGirl351 wrote: »So can someone please tell me when lifting should be introduced after doing cardio? Right away? 2 weeks after? A month after? I want to lose weight, but I see the point of lifting and don't want to be "skinny fat."
Soon! Immediately! Whenever you want?
Why do you think you need to wait?
I thought that maybe the scale would be nicer to me if I waited. Lol! I suppose I don't have to wait.
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Losing weight is possible without any exercise at all.SunshineGirl351 wrote: »I do heavy weight lifting 3x a week (stronglift 5x5, a full-body workout program), and started immediately along with changing my diet. I don't do any cardio, and have no problem with becoming stronger plus losing weight, even though I am only 10 lbs from goal weight.
So losing weight is possible without cardio? Does this mean I can slow the cardio down when I get close to my "happy weight" for maintenance?
If you slow down your cardio, you'll just have to slow down your eating by the same number of calories to stay at your happy weight.
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IMO, both are essential components of general fitness...neither are necessary purely from a weight management perspective. regular exercise makes weight management easier...increasing your body's energy (calorie) requirements is a nice bi-product of regular exercise...but really, it is highly beneficial to wrap your head around fitness for the sake of fitness.0
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gaelicstorm26 wrote: »Personally, I do my 30-40 minute cardio session first and then do my strength training. I know a lot of people lift first, but I feel like my muscle strength gets depleted doing it that way while doing cardio first helps me to be more energized. I have two kids though so I have to maximize all of my gym sessions because some weeks I can only get there three days due to their schedules, homework, etc.
Okay, smart!
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SunshineGirl351 wrote: »SunshineGirl351 wrote: »So can someone please tell me when lifting should be introduced after doing cardio? Right away? 2 weeks after? A month after? I want to lose weight, but I see the point of lifting and don't want to be "skinny fat."
I was completely and totally out of shape when I first started exercising. I started out with cardio (walking) and stretching. I needed that in order to become more flexible, which I feel has helped me with lifting. I started strength training after a month. I did bodyweight strength training at that time but regular weight lifting would have been fine too, looking back. (Not that I regret the bodyweight stuff, I just mean that I could have gone straight to WL without any problem.)
Okay, I'm not going to delete to save room this time, and just maybe my post may come out correctly. So jemhh, if you could go back in time, would you have lifted at the beginning of your journey?
No, when I look back I am happy with how I did things. I started off at the beginning of January 2014 and just focused on what I was eating. I started walking in February. Then starting in March I did walking/running (C25k) 3x/wk and bodyweight training 3x/wk. I did that until late July when I switched out the bodyweight for weights. For me, easing into things worked really well and I don't feel like I lost out on anything by taking baby steps along the way.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »IMO, both are essential components of general fitness...neither are necessary purely from a weight management perspective. regular exercise makes weight management easier...increasing your body's energy (calorie) requirements is a nice bi-product of regular exercise...but really, it is highly beneficial to wrap your head around fitness for the sake of fitness.
Okay, yes, good point!
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SunshineGirl351 wrote: »I do heavy weight lifting 3x a week (stronglift 5x5, a full-body workout program), and started immediately along with changing my diet. I don't do any cardio, and have no problem with becoming stronger plus losing weight, even though I am only 10 lbs from goal weight.
So losing weight is possible without cardio? Does this mean I can slow the cardio down when I get close to my "happy weight" for maintenance?
You can stop doing cardio all together and lose weight just fine as long as you are eating at a deficit.
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SunshineGirl351 wrote: »SunshineGirl351 wrote: »So can someone please tell me when lifting should be introduced after doing cardio? Right away? 2 weeks after? A month after? I want to lose weight, but I see the point of lifting and don't want to be "skinny fat."
I was completely and totally out of shape when I first started exercising. I started out with cardio (walking) and stretching. I needed that in order to become more flexible, which I feel has helped me with lifting. I started strength training after a month. I did bodyweight strength training at that time but regular weight lifting would have been fine too, looking back. (Not that I regret the bodyweight stuff, I just mean that I could have gone straight to WL without any problem.)
Okay, I'm not going to delete to save room this time, and just maybe my post may come out correctly. So jemhh, if you could go back in time, would you have lifted at the beginning of your journey?
No, when I look back I am happy with how I did things. I started off at the beginning of January 2014 and just focused on what I was eating. I started walking in February. Then starting in March I did walking/running (C25k) 3x/wk and bodyweight training 3x/wk. I did that until late July when I switched out the bodyweight for weights. For me, easing into things worked really well and I don't feel like I lost out on anything by taking baby steps along the way.
Makes sense. Thanks for helping.
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Wow, you all have been do helpful. Thank you so much!
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so*0
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Lifting does throw off the scale numbers from day to day. For example, every single time I squat, the scale goes up 2 pounds because of water retention. I usually have my best weigh in day after a rest day or two. But I can tell by the way my clothes fit that I'm losing fat and it does eventually show up on the scale.
After a while, you should notice the trends of when you are retaining water because of the lifting, then the smaller numbers won't bug you as much.
Weight loss is the long game, so have realistic expectations and stay consistent. There are going to be people that lose weight faster and slower than you, it's irrelevant, you will get to the finish line if you keep going.
Cardio should be done after weight lifting because it exhausts your muscles and makes you more prone to injury because of fatigue. It won't give you as much muscle stimulation. Cardio is about burning calories and gaining endurance, which can be done even with tired muscles.0 -
SunshineGirl351 wrote: »I do heavy weight lifting 3x a week (stronglift 5x5, a full-body workout program), and started immediately along with changing my diet. I don't do any cardio, and have no problem with becoming stronger plus losing weight, even though I am only 10 lbs from goal weight.
So losing weight is possible without cardio? Does this mean I can slow the cardio down when I get close to my "happy weight" for maintenance?
YES, you can lose weight by calorie deficit alone. In fact, you can stop now if you'd like, lol. Not eating excessively is more important than anything. Exercise is for overall health. Weightlifting gives us muscles for sexay-ness
Cardio gives lung/heart/endurance, and a cushion to eat more and/or lose faster, but I. Am. Lazy as all heck, and know if I have to rely on regular cardio to lose and maintain weight, I'll give up in a couple of weeks
Check out this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1
A good number of people in it seemed to have done it without much cardio~0
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