Weights should be enough?
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billsrule2015
Posts: 46 Member
So if lifting weights increases your heart rate and causes you to sweat and keep burning calories even AFTER you stop lifting, why make the argue you need to also do cardio? Seems to me that weights are enough? Am I wrong?
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Depends on the person. For me lifting and eating at a deficit isn't enough. I have to do cardio in addition to lifting.0
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Government recommendations and recommendation, from universities, legitimate fitness experts will tell you for overall fitness a person needs exercise that includes strength/resistance training, cardio and flexibility.
PS, sweating doesn't necessarily mean you are doing any work.0 -
Cardio is good for endurance and your cardio vascular fitness. For example, I have found that since I started running I have a much lower resting heart rate and my breathing is better (IE I take in more oxygen and I am not constantly breathing in and out).
Weights are great for strength training, sure. But you need some kind of cardio for overall fitness.
Plus - and not sure if this matters to you - but with cardio you burn more calories (normally) per session. So with that in mind you get a little more calories to play with for the day.
I run in addition to cross fit and heavy lifting. It helps.0 -
If you have a very narrow view of exercise--that you do it simply in order to burn calories--then yes, that may make sense. But if you have goals beyond that--improved cardiovascular health or endurance, getting stronger, etc., it makes sense to engage in more than one form of exercise.0
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Packerjohn wrote: »Government recommendations and recommendation, from universities, legitimate fitness experts will tell you for overall fitness a person needs exercise that includes strength/resistance training, cardio and flexibility.
PS, sweating doesn't necessarily mean you are doing any work.
True. I sweat when I eat jalapenos. Doesn't mean it's improving my fitness level.0 -
Cardio isn't necessary if your main goal is just strength training and caloric burn but it does give you that little extra to work with and it is great for the metabolism, hormone regulation, endurance and recovery. Are you just concerned about losing weight or are you interested in your overall health and fitness?0
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billsrule2015 wrote: »So if lifting weights increases your heart rate and causes you to sweat and keep burning calories even AFTER you stop lifting, why make the argue you need to also do cardio? Seems to me that weights are enough? Am I wrong?
"Doing cardio" should be thought of as endurance training. There's no "need" for it beyond serious lifting (IMO), unless you want to improve your treadmill-running abilities or whatever the point is. Or your track & field skills, I guess (which are, uh, rarely mentioned here).
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Cardio builds your cardiovascular system. Can you do so by lifting weights, yes. To the same degree as cardio, no. You can do some circuit training using light weight or body weight movements.0
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Cardio isn't necessary if your main goal is just strength training and caloric burn but it does give you that little extra to work with and it is great for the metabolism, hormone regulation, endurance and recovery. Are you just concerned about losing weight or are you interested in your overall health and fitness?
If cardio isn't "necessary" then please explain why eating at a deficit and just lifting isn't enough for me. Please explain why once I add back cardio I drop weight and inches? And no, I'm not "creating a bigger deficit" because to me a whopping 190 calories "burned" is not enough of a "deficit" to get excited over0 -
liftsalltheweights wrote: »Cardio isn't necessary if your main goal is just strength training and caloric burn but it does give you that little extra to work with and it is great for the metabolism, hormone regulation, endurance and recovery. Are you just concerned about losing weight or are you interested in your overall health and fitness?
If cardio isn't "necessary" then please explain why eating at a deficit and just lifting isn't enough for me. Please explain why once I add back cardio I drop weight and inches? And no, I'm not "creating a bigger deficit" because to me a whopping 190 calories "burned" is not enough of a "deficit" to get excited over
Whether or not you are excited about something has no effect on it being an increase in caloric deficit.0 -
liftsalltheweights wrote: »Cardio isn't necessary if your main goal is just strength training and caloric burn but it does give you that little extra to work with and it is great for the metabolism, hormone regulation, endurance and recovery. Are you just concerned about losing weight or are you interested in your overall health and fitness?
If cardio isn't "necessary" then please explain why eating at a deficit and just lifting isn't enough for me. Please explain why once I add back cardio I drop weight and inches? And no, I'm not "creating a bigger deficit" because to me a whopping 190 calories "burned" is not enough of a "deficit" to get excited over
There could be many varying reasons. I don't know your body but the base reason is that you're not burning more calories than you're putting back in, cardio or no cardio. Cardio just gives you that extra caloric deficit to work with. It could be that you're overestimating the amount of calories burned. Cardio does have an impact on metabolism so doing cardio, along with a strength training program, may increase your overall TDEE. But again, it isn't absolutely necessary. Don't get me wrong, I love cardio. I do it everyday before my lifting routine but only because I love the exertion, the sweat, helps relieve stress, relaxes the muscles, improves blood flow and it gives me some wiggle room to play with on my caloric deficits. You don't have to do cardio, but if you love it like I do, go for it.
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billsrule2015 wrote: »So if lifting weights increases your heart rate and causes you to sweat and keep burning calories even AFTER you stop lifting, why make the argue you need to also do cardio? Seems to me that weights are enough? Am I wrong?
It does get your heart rate up, and you do get some cardiovascular benefits, just not the same benefits as you would actually doing cardiovascular work...just as when you do certain cardiovascular exercises, you get muscular/skeletal benefits...but not at the level you would doing resistance training to specifically train for those benefits.
Both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training are necessary IMO to overall fitness. I've known plenty of guys throughout the years who are solid in the weight room, but couldn't run a 5K if their lives depended on it.0 -
You don't need cardio to lose weight, but lifting weights does not count as cardio in the sense of preventing CV diseases or making you aerobically fit.0
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There's two different things to consider. First, weight management and then secondly just overall health. From a weight management perspective no you don't really need to do cardio. If you consider one's overall health, there are some benefits to it and it would be wise to some cardio, even it's just a 1 or 2 mile walk a couple times a week.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »billsrule2015 wrote: »So if lifting weights increases your heart rate and causes you to sweat and keep burning calories even AFTER you stop lifting, why make the argue you need to also do cardio? Seems to me that weights are enough? Am I wrong?
It does get your heart rate up, and you do get some cardiovascular benefits, just not the same benefits as you would actually doing cardiovascular work...just as when you do certain cardiovascular exercises, you get muscular/skeletal benefits...but not at the level you would doing resistance training to specifically train for those benefits.
Both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training are necessary IMO to overall fitness. I've known plenty of guys throughout the years who are solid in the weight room, but couldn't run a 5K if their lives depended on it.
That's why I picked up running. Thought it was kind of ridiculous that I could squat and deadlift more than my bodyweight, yet wasn't sure I could run a mile. And in real life, being able to run for a bit is a useful skill, as is being able to lift heavy things.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Government recommendations and recommendation, from universities, legitimate fitness experts will tell you for overall fitness a person needs exercise that includes strength/resistance training, cardio and flexibility.
PS, sweating doesn't necessarily mean you are doing any work.
True. I sweat when I eat jalapenos. Doesn't mean it's improving my fitness level.
that would be awesome though0 -
feisty_bucket wrote: »billsrule2015 wrote: »So if lifting weights increases your heart rate and causes you to sweat and keep burning calories even AFTER you stop lifting, why make the argue you need to also do cardio? Seems to me that weights are enough? Am I wrong?
"Doing cardio" should be thought of as endurance training. There's no "need" for it beyond serious lifting (IMO), unless you want to improve your treadmill-running abilities or whatever the point is. Or your track & field skills, I guess (which are, uh, rarely mentioned here).
Nice article by Mike Robertson, a well respected strength and conditioning guy on why you need some long low intensity cardio is needed even for strength athletes.
http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/long-duration-low-intensity-cardio/0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »billsrule2015 wrote: »So if lifting weights increases your heart rate and causes you to sweat and keep burning calories even AFTER you stop lifting, why make the argue you need to also do cardio? Seems to me that weights are enough? Am I wrong?
It does get your heart rate up, and you do get some cardiovascular benefits, just not the same benefits as you would actually doing cardiovascular work...just as when you do certain cardiovascular exercises, you get muscular/skeletal benefits...but not at the level you would doing resistance training to specifically train for those benefits.
Both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training are necessary IMO to overall fitness. I've known plenty of guys throughout the years who are solid in the weight room, but couldn't run a 5K if their lives depended on it.
That's why I picked up running. Thought it was kind of ridiculous that I could squat and deadlift more than my bodyweight, yet wasn't sure I could run a mile. And in real life, being able to run for a bit is a useful skill, as is being able to lift heavy things.
This was my guy, too. He could lift very heavy and did HIIT, Tabata and stuff, but could only sprint, no endurance. He got kind of annoyed that I could run farther than him when he felt he was so much stronger/fitter. So now he has a couple of 2 mile jogs a week. He also stretches now, and I am stronger, we both are in better shape in some ways than when we met. More overall fitness, less specialized I guess.
The body fat for him did not change with running though, diet is working; he slowly glides down toward his target weight.0 -
Rage_Phish wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »Government recommendations and recommendation, from universities, legitimate fitness experts will tell you for overall fitness a person needs exercise that includes strength/resistance training, cardio and flexibility.
PS, sweating doesn't necessarily mean you are doing any work.
True. I sweat when I eat jalapenos. Doesn't mean it's improving my fitness level.
that would be awesome though
Indeed. Had some jalapenos with my Five Guys at lunch today. Feel fitter already.0 -
For me cardio and weight lifting compliment one another. When I run I feel better when I have been actively weight training, and when I do weights I feel like the cardio I did has boosted my endurance. Maybe it's psychological, but it works for me. As others pointed out, your physical activities should be done for fitness goals, while your focus on your diet will be for weight loss. Yes they go hand in hand, but it's so much easier to divide the goals.0
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