Cardio or No Cardio? Weightlifting plus hiit cardio too much for a newbie??

abel_teklai · May 2016

So I'm wondering how can cardio best aid muscle growth and fat loss. How to most efficiently do both? Is Hiit(High-Interval-intensity-training) the best method or plain steady state cardio? Is there too much cardio that can hamper muscle growth? I've heard some body builders say forget cardio all you need is weight training. Others say weight training emphasis with light cardio. Some say weight training and hiit cardio will help you gain the most muscle and lose fat. So to give you an insight on my situation and I'd love advice on what might work well for me:
My current plan I want to do weights 3 days a week(increase to 4 days after a few months) and do a 10min warmup followed by 20-25mins of weights(thus will get longer as I add more weight training but I'm just a newbie now) and 15 mins of Hiit at the end. Sauna for 15mins at end.
Keep in mind that I just started working out a few weeks ago. I'm an overweight guy(stocky build with a big gut) 225 pounds and 5 feet 11inches. I would love to lose weight while I gain muscle, but I'm worried that maybe the cardio will kill my muscle gains. Or will the hiit enhance it? Help please for best toned results for a newbie

NorthCascades · May 2016

If you're a newbie, just do regular cardio and skip the HIIT fad. Moderate cardio will be easier for you to tolerate and it will give you better fitness gains at this point.

aliciapastorlecha · May 2016

If you really want to loose weight, you can do it while lifting weights and being at a calorie deficit. Building muscle will help you also to burn more fat. In order to loose weight you need to be at a calorie deficit.
Yes, body builders barely do cardio, but in their case they already have achieve a low body fat. If you are starting, cardio won't hurt you at all, it will actually help you to loose weight. Once you are at your weight goal, then you can focus more intensely in building muscle.
I do a lot of weight lifting, I really like it. Right now I am doing my 3 round of Body Beast and I love it. The schedule has one day of cardio, but is cardio with weights and body weight exercises, so your heart rate still goes up.
hope this helps

StealthHealth · May 2016

You're overweight so concentrate on getting your calories right to lose as much fat as needed whilst doing strength exercise to preserve muscle.

You may be able to gain a small amount of muscle during this weight loss period but that should not be your primary focus for good health and aesthetics.

Cardio, either steady state or HiiT is fine if you enjoy it, and the extra calories (of which you may want to eat back about half) may be welcome but I would place the strength work as a priority and factor in a couple of cardio sessions per week for cardiovascular health.

Consider a good structured/progressive strength program such as Starting Strength or 5x5 Stronglifts (there are others).

MalcolmX1983 · May 2016

Warm up - I prefer dynamic
Weights
Cardio
Static stretching
In that order.

I do a mix of hiit and steady cardio.
On lifting days, cardio is about 30mins
15 mins of sprints intervals and 15 mins of steady slow paced jogging.

On non lifting days, I'd do an hour or so of just steady jogging.

Don't over think it man, just find a good lifting routine and stick with it.
As a noob, you'll increase strength, build muscle and lose fat, recomp is not a myth.

It doesn't have to be all hiit, nor does it have to be all steady jogging.
Just do you bro, if you enjoy both, do both, just get some cardio in, that's all that matters.

I'd suggest starting off with a small deficit like 100 cals and take it from there.

Weigh yourself AND measure your body (arms, waist, hips, chest, shoulders etc)
Don't just rely on the scale.
Do this once a week.

Tweak your calories based on the scale and body measurements you're getting.

Don't forget to rest as well, it's not so cool but it does wonders for your gains.

ninerbuff · May 2016

Even as a newbie, muscle gains are going to be minimal unless you're set to progressively train to gain it along with a surplus.
Putting on muscle while trying to lose fat weight at the same time isn't impossible, but it's improbable for most of the general public at a rate that's really noticeable. What you will notice it that as you lose fat, you'll get more definition which shows more muscle. And at that point, many don't really care if they gained muscle or not.
All exercise is for fitness, health and enhancing your body. If you're trying to lose body fat, that's more about calorie deficit. Yes exercise will help to create it, but it's very unlikely that one can do enough exercise to counter bad eating habits.
Lastly, cardio burns calories. There's the mentality out there that one NEEDS to do cardio to burn fat. Cardio exercise burns more calories versus weight lifting for the same duration, but both just still burn calories. Without a calorie deficit, weight and fat loss isn't going to happen to a noticeable degree.
So pick a program you can stick and make sure you're eating in a calorie deficit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

rybo · May 2016

Don't weight train on a time basis. Just follow a program that covers the basics & let it take as long as it takes. I'd do low intensity cardio along with your lifting. Cardio doesn't kill your gains, I wish that thinking would die. As you become more fit you can sprinkle in HIIT as desired if you'd like.

Sassie_Lassie · May 2016

Is this something that you feel you can do and stick to it? That's the most important part.

Eating at a deficit will cause you to lose weight, the lifting and cardio will just increase that deficit.

From my personal experience I have to do cardio (in addition to my lifting). I didn't do it for a long time and stalled in pretty much everything. When I started doing it again 4 days a week I began to lose inches and lean out more.

Cardio or No Cardio? Weightlifting plus hiit cardio too much for a newbie??

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