How much cardio and/or strength training should I do to slim down?

Try out several different things, because the best exercise is the one you'll actually do.

In the short term, cardio will burn more calories, which means more fat lost. In the long term, strength will build more muscle, which will help keep the fat from coming back. If you like both, no reason not to do both (I do). Just make sure you listen to your body when it tells you you're doing too much.

SingingSingleTracker wrote: »

lepeep717 wrote: »

Hello. I am fairly new to exercise and was wondering how much cardio and / or strength training per week is best to lose weight and slim down? I'm a woman trying to lose about 12 pounds and eliminate excess fat (I have the most fat on my belly).

I have a gym membership where I go to Zumba and Spinning 2 - 3 times per week. Along with calorie counting I've lost on average 1 pound per week in the last 4 weeks.

Should I add strength training and if so how much? Should I take a class like Kettleballs, try out the weight equipment or are there any online videos I could follow (preferably to good music). Thanks in advance!

Strength training would be good to help retain as much muscle as you can while you are on a calorie deficit. The body will burn through whatever it can to lose weight for fuel - muscle, fat, glycogen.... What to work on with weights? Machines are fine as would a Kettlebell class. Core work, legs, upper body - just ease into the first couple of weeks to adapt.

Sounds like you are on the right path averaging a pound loss per week. Keep up the deficit to get rid of those remaining 12 pounds as the stomach area can be the "last" area that finally gives in to the deficit for both men and women. You can certainly use both cardio and strength training to increase the CO side of CICO equation. The rate you are losing is a very good rate as it is. Keep in mind that with weight work you will have some water retention that might look like you have stalled on the scale from time ttime, but keep measuring your inches to see the loss in the stomach area.

This. Try out a couple of different strength workouts and see what you like. If you're going to do weight machines or free weights (aka, not a class), see if you can find a progressive program designed to help you consistently improve your strength. This is a good resource: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/find-a-plan.html

I would recommend weight training because many people end up disliking how they look after they lose weight. People usually think, hey if I lost all this fat then I can look like one of those sexy models or actresses. They attempt to achieve these goals by starving themselves (maybe a bunch of cardio added in for good measure) and what they end up is with a skinny boney person with a bunch of hanging skin around it.

The sexy curves many women seek is actually a result of muscular redenfinition. To do this, you have to not only lose the body fat, but also replace it with muscle. As many already said, you lift to retain the muscle (and in specific cases you can gain some muscle) during a calorie deficit and eat enough protein. If you really want to gain muscle, you actually have to (in most cases for long term development) lift while eating at a slight calorie surplus with enough protein.

So how do you lose fat and gain muscle? Ahh the Holy Grail. Unless you follow a really complicated "recomposition" plan, you have to lose the weight slowly while intermittenly concentrate on muscle development (cut/bulk method). Throughtout the entire cut/bulk period, you manage what you eat in terms of calories, lift heavily, and eat plenty of protein. You then go through periods of losing fat (eating at a slight calorie deficit) and alternate with periods of muscle development (eating at a slight calorie surplus).

Either method (recomposition or cut/bulk) will shrink the fat and slowly replace it with muscle so you don't look like a hanging skin of bones (that skinny fat look).

Offcourse, you could really make it easy by just accepting yourself and be happy with how your body looks naturally. But I just see it too many times on people's profiles that their goal is to look sexy naked and blah blah blah blah. If that is your thing, then gaining muscle will eventually have to be a part of your program. Whether you do it intermittingly as you lose weight, or afterwards after you look like a bag of skin and bones.

If you want to look good, weight lifting is your go to.

Weight lifting = body composition
Cardio = heart health