We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Cardio or strength training

angelgina74
angelgina74 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Opinions please?

Replies

  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    Alternate days of each?
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    angelgina74 wrote: »
    Cardio or strength training

    Yes.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    both
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,487 Member
    What are your goals? To just loose weight? Well neither is necessary to loose weight.

    But if you want to get lean and mean or just maintain the muscle mass you have, lifting, lifting, lifting..

    If you want to bulk and gain mass, lifting lifting, lifting and then when you want to cut, lifting, cardio, lifting. Cardio will help you loose body fat while you continue to lift but it is not necessary.

    I wish I had started lifting in the very beginning.. even while trying to loose weight, you can maintain the muscle mass you have..
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Not or. And.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    False dichotomy.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited November 2015
    For weight loss (only)....simply eat less OR do cardio, and then get a bit more to eat.

    For fitness and health.......do both

    Each discipline has it's own health benefits. I used to be one of those cardio only people. The problem was I got to goal, and was still a bit "fluffy" looking.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    as a matter of general fitness, both are pretty damn important.
  • biggsterjackster
    biggsterjackster Posts: 419 Member
    Both, cardio for burning calories, strength training for building muscles.
  • release_the_kraken
    release_the_kraken Posts: 304 Member
    Definitely defined by what your goals are.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Why not both? Strength training helps retain muscle while you lose the fat and makes you stronger. Cardio helps create a deficit and is good for your heart.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    Both!
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    Beer!
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    rjmudlax13 wrote: »
    Beer!

    My reason for cardio.
  • workout_junkee
    workout_junkee Posts: 473 Member
    Both
  • dlm7507
    dlm7507 Posts: 237 Member
    For older people like me, strength training is critical. When you eat in deficit to loose weight you loose lean mass along with muscle. With age you loose muscle and mobility. A double whammy unless you do something about it since the muscle loss is essentially aging you faster. The something is strength training. I mix low rep strength sessions and metabolic conditioning sessions (kettlebells). I quit running decades ago. Recently, in danger of missing a flight I ran halfway around LAX while carrying my carry on (going too fast for rolling). I was in shape for it without having done anything called cardio for over thirty years. The point, you can have the aerobic fitness for life without steady state cardio. It's all about your objectives. I decided to loose weight and not let it do all the muscle loss damage of diet and cardio without strength training. If you train hard, at my age doing cardio and strength gives me big recovery issues (another curse of aging) so I had to choose "or".
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Strength always priority. Cardio twice a week.
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    Both
  • GillianLF
    GillianLF Posts: 410 Member
    Both.

    Cardio has greatly improved my heart, lungs and breathing techniques for when I work out. Cardio gives me more calories which means I dont feel deprived on my weight loss journey.

    Strength training has given me definition, I have a much stronger core and stamina, I feel fitter.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I'd say both. But I don't listen to my own advice, and only lift. Though doing cardio when I just started losing was a great help as I could eat a bit more.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories