Weight lifting vs. Cardio
Jkowals123
Posts: 133 Member
I have about 35 pounds to lose. Should I continue with all cardio until I reach my goal weight then add weights? If I do start weight lifting now should I do it before cardio or after?
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Replies
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If you want to lift and plan to lift, the best time to start is now. If you do not want to lift now, there is no reason to lift later either. Either you like weight lifting or think it will help with fitness/health, or you do not. There is no set weight when it becomes more or less appealing.0
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I would start to lift now. You will not gain weight from lifting weights. Muscle building is a very slow and gradual process. The weights will however help elevate hormones and calorie expenditure. Hope this helps0
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Third the start lifting now.
It will help retain your muscles while you are losing.
Do a 3 day 2 day split. Which you do for the 3 days is up to you, but a lot of the weight lifting programmes for beginners are 3 days.
I do mon/wed/fri for weights with a 10-15 min warm up on the rowing machine. It gives me a bit of cardio for the day and engages all major muscle groups.
You don't have to start with a big heavy barbell. Start with hand weights and body bars, and watch lots of videos on form.
You could also start with a body weight routine, then move onto weights. Nerdfitness does a good one.
Cheers, h.0 -
Start lifting now! And yes you do it before you do cardio (like running). My trainer says you don't wanna use all your energy on running then lift. Also start slow. You don't wanna hurt yourself right off the bat. You got this! Lifting free weights helps engage the whole body. You feel it everywhere. I just did my measurements after on week. Down 2 lbs and 3 inches total! I'm ecstatic0
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Strength training should never be put off0
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Definitely lift now.
I generally lift and do cardio on separate days but it's up to your own preferences and goals. Aren't you a big runner? I think I remember that. You probably want to do it on different days.0 -
The only regret I have is not starting lifting earlier.0
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Do both. Like lisalsd1, my main regret is not starting lifting over a year ago when I started losing weight.0
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All of these responses are exactly what I wanted to hear. I've been wondering this for a long time. A lot of people were telling me that I should do cardio to lose the weight and then lift to fill in the yucky skin at the end, but I always wondered WHY? I started lifting anyway, and even though I plateaued in weight (because I wasn't tracking likely) I still lost inches anyway.
The first time I lost weight it was all with body weight exercises, I lost a lot of weight, but when I was at the weight I am right now, I didn't look nearly as good as I do right now.0 -
Lift now, start light. It is easier and safer to start very light and increase as you feel you can. Avoid injury, start light.0
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I never believed in cardio only. While that helps the cardiovascular system and will cause weight loss, ignoring the muscular / skeletal part of your body will hurt you when you get older. You might very well gain weight at first as you've lost "fat" weight already, so you would most likely be putting on muscle pounds. Don't measure by the weight number alone...look at your bodytone. As far a cardio vs. lifting first, generally I'd say lifting, but it really depends on your workout. Cardio, within reason, can be a good way to lube up the body. So doing 10-15 minutes cardio first, then lifting, then ending in more cardio works for me, and I lift heavy. I also try to separate my cardio when possible. I.E. lift then go back to gym or use cardio machine at home to burn off energy with cardio. Remember also, a nice brisk walk works well too...don't have to run or do it all on machines.0
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Start strength training now !0
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Lift now!!!
I love what lifting has done for my body. I'm still 20 lbs from my goal weight but I am losing inches fast and nothing jiggles!0 -
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The title of the thread should be weight lifting AND cardio. They compliment each other.0
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TheChrissyT wrote: » All of these responses are exactly what I wanted to hear. I've been wondering this for a long time. A lot of people were telling me that I should do cardio to lose the weight and then lift to fill in the yucky skin at the end, but I always wondered WHY? I started lifting anyway, and even though I plateaued in weight (because I wasn't tracking likely) I still lost inches anyway.
The first time I lost weight it was all with body weight exercises, I lost a lot of weight, but when I was at the weight I am right now, I didn't look nearly as good as I do right now.
Now that I've started lifting I don't know what I'd do without it. I feel so much better! My running is better and my body as a whole feels better. I dropped 30 pounds when I started running but I didn't do any weights. I felt better but I still wasn't happy. I had no tone. Now, I can feel my body transforming and I feel stronger. It's amazing!
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Why not both at once? Dancing with weights can be fun!0
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TheChrissyT wrote: » All of these responses are exactly what I wanted to hear. I've been wondering this for a long time. A lot of people were telling me that I should do cardio to lose the weight and then lift to fill in the yucky skin at the end, but I always wondered WHY? I started lifting anyway, and even though I plateaued in weight (because I wasn't tracking likely) I still lost inches anyway.
The first time I lost weight it was all with body weight exercises, I lost a lot of weight, but when I was at the weight I am right now, I didn't look nearly as good as I do right now.
I've been wondering this SAME THING!
I've been reading through the threads about lifting and looking at how great people look when they've been lifting and wondering why so many people wait until they're down in weight before starting to lift because it seems like having more muscles from lifting would help so much in burning all the extra fat I've got going on. All the comments about doing "body recomp" after getting to goal weight is so confusing to me. I'd rather do it at the same time as working on getting to my goal weight.
I'm just starting in this weight-loss thing (for the x-dozenth time) and this past week I decided I'd start doing some body weight strength exercises every other day and do aerobic videos on the other days (because I think they're fun). I've only been doing it for a week, but already I can tell that this is a lot more fun than just doing cardio day after day. I feel like I'm getting stronger! And it feels awesome!0 -
KyleneSusan wrote: »TheChrissyT wrote: » All of these responses are exactly what I wanted to hear. I've been wondering this for a long time. A lot of people were telling me that I should do cardio to lose the weight and then lift to fill in the yucky skin at the end, but I always wondered WHY? I started lifting anyway, and even though I plateaued in weight (because I wasn't tracking likely) I still lost inches anyway.
The first time I lost weight it was all with body weight exercises, I lost a lot of weight, but when I was at the weight I am right now, I didn't look nearly as good as I do right now.
I've been wondering this SAME THING!
I've been reading through the threads about lifting and looking at how great people look when they've been lifting and wondering why so many people wait until they're down in weight before starting to lift because it seems like having more muscles from lifting would help so much in burning all the extra fat I've got going on. All the comments about doing "body recomp" after getting to goal weight is so confusing to me. I'd rather do it at the same time as working on getting to my goal weight.
I'm just starting in this weight-loss thing (for the x-dozenth time) and this past week I decided I'd start doing some body weight strength exercises every other day and do aerobic videos on the other days (because I think they're fun). I've only been doing it for a week, but already I can tell that this is a lot more fun than just doing cardio day after day. I feel like I'm getting stronger! And it feels awesome!
That's really great! Finding things to do that are fun is half the battle. LOL! And you're right. The more you strengthen your body the better off you'll be overall. One thing that doesn't get mentioned often enough is how lifting helps with bone density. That's enough reason in itself to start picking up heavy things (or doing body weight).
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I started both at the same time. Definitely getting stronger, there is some increased definition, but am losing weight as well (19lbs so far).0
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I did strength training for the first time Thursday and I have to say for the first time I left the gym feeling accomplished. I used to go and do the elliptical and leave feeling tired, but Thursday I left feeling exhilarated. I could feel my heart rate go up and I got just as sweaty as my cardio only workout. I had a feeling when I left the gym that I did something and I could feel it all over my body in places the elliptical couldn't touch. I will definitely be doing strength training from now on. I already feel less flabby so to speak.0
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i would suggest getting into a good structured lifting program like strong lifts or all pro beginner routine and then add in some cardio on your off days.0
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I like your suggestion @ndj1979. I wish I'd have had the confidence to do that at the beginning. I thought I was too old and small back then; I wasn't.
Cheers, h.0 -
This is giving me the motivation to get into weight-lifting again! Before the new year and the holidays, I was lifting about once or twice a week and ran 3 or 4x a week. Then life got busy and I only did cardio 3 or 4x a week, and ate more takeout. I've since gained 6 lbs and am working on losing that and the rest of the 5 lbs. I hope the weights will get me back on track! Plus, I joined a gym recently and my boyfriend loves to lift when he comes with me, so that encourages me to lift as well! The circuit training at Planet Fitness makes it easy to do!0
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LHWhite903 wrote: »Why not both at once? Dancing with weights can be fun!
No offense, but dancing with weights in your hands is not lifting weights.
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Muscle does burn fat. But the only gripe about this is that your muscle is under fat, so you have these newly developing muscles under your fat that will be pushing your fat out. Meaning your body will expand some at first.
There shouldn't be much weight gain at first, there may be because of the developing muscle adding that extra pound or two. But once you get enough it'll help in burning fat.
I however didn't start weight lifting right off the bat. I focused on cardio first. The problem is that growing muscles need actual food and if you starve them because you're losing weight your body will start eating your own muscle, and no muscle means no extra fat burn.
It's hard to juggle between that.
I waited for the loss, have 5 pounds to go so I started lifting. I'm eating 2,500+ calories a day and still no weight gain but I'm building in muscle mass no problem. My arms are getting nice and thick and the rest of my body is toning now that I'm eating more.0 -
It seems weird that the body would burn muscles first before fat. I mean, if I'm exercising at all after not being exercising previously, and doing stuff that even that isn't specifically strength but just walking, then I'm burning something for calorie energy and it seems like it'd be the fat, and that my muscles are getting stronger just because I'm using them more frequently and more strenuously.
But I guess I don't really know how this works...
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The only exercise I really get is walking 2.5-3 miles daily at lunch. I've used machines before and I like strength training a lot. But I Started stronglifts 5x5 yesterday. I'm already hooked. My body feels so good after lifting.0
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Simplistically put:
The body burns fat and to a lesser extent muscle at the same time while losing weight. This is inevitable and can't be avoided.
(I can't remember the percentage breakdown)
However, doing some kind of strength training keeps the muscles working. If the muscles are working the body keeps repairing them and is less inclined to use them as an energy reserve. This will help lessen the loss of muscle while losing, not negate it.
Otherwise- use them; or lose them.
Having an adequate protein supply helps in muscle repair and retrention amongst other things and that is why it is important to hit that micro first for a lot of people.
Someone else, hopefully, will come along
And expand on or correct this explanation of how I understand the benefit of lifting while losing.
Cheers, h.0
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