Is it better to lift or do just cardio?

Options
GetFit4Health2016
GetFit4Health2016 Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I need to lose 50+ pounds and I've been doing the gym classes only for now. I just started last week. My classes are : Bodypump, Cycle Boot Camp, G-Cycle, Insanity, Step and Strength, Yoga, Ironworks, and soon swimming:smile:

I hear both sides. Cardio first until you've lost 75% of the weight then lift. Then I hear do weights now because it'll help you burn tons of calories.:smile:

I like lifting so it wouldn't bother me to do it now. The only thing is I don't know what I'm doing. Like what exercises to do each day lol.
«1

Replies

  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Options
    Considering you're doing yoga, you may not really need to do additional strength training. Well, I guess you don't need to do it, anyway.

    That said, lifting doesn't burn many Calories, but is a good idea anyway. What it does is help you keep your existing muscle and bone density as you lose weight - so that the weight you do lose (mostly, anyway) is fat.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you

    Take a look at the beginner programs listed on that thread and pick one that: appeals to you, fits your goal(s), and you have access to the necessary equipment.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    Options
    My experience was that it was better to lift and do some cardio on my non-lifting days. I've found that lifting has shaped my body more along the lines that I wanted while cardio did not. Cardio did help me create a caloric deficit and lose weight, but it did not give me the physical appearance that I wanted.

    That said, the best kind of exercise is the one that you enjoy more and will do consistently.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    Options
    BecomingBane wrote: »
    My experience was that it was better to lift and do some cardio on my non-lifting days. I've found that lifting has shaped my body more along the lines that I wanted while cardio did not. Cardio did help me create a caloric deficit and lose weight, but it did not give me the physical appearance that I wanted.

    That said, the best kind of exercise is the one that you enjoy more and will do consistently.

    Yep, all this^^

    I've found I much prefer lifting to cardio. It seems to work best when you use a structured progressive program. I used Stronglifts 5X5 and got really good results. You can check out the program at stronglifts.com. They have an app you can download to track your progress at the gym, too.
  • Colt1835
    Colt1835 Posts: 447 Member
    edited June 2016
    Options
    I just started lifting. I wish I would have started lifting from the beginning.

    ETA: I would say both are important, but put more focus on the one you enjoy the most or the one that gives you the physical appearance you want.
  • Somebody_Loved
    Somebody_Loved Posts: 498 Member
    Options
    I've been doing cardio only (running) for the past year and wish I would have done some sort of strength cross-training from the beginning. I've had several injuries from running as the result of weak muscles, tight muscles, etc. that probably could have been avoided had I been doing some sort of cross-training routine.
  • Theresa_1973
    Theresa_1973 Posts: 51 Member
    Options
    Lifting is a very useful tool in keeping off the weight you lose ... I did purely cardio for the first 3 months (I had 165lb to lose) and then gradually introduced strength training. Nowadays I strength train for an hour, three times week, plus 30 minutes on the exercise bike three times a week and have one rest day a week.

    Building muscle is important because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even at rest - I love my weight training, it gives me an immensely positive feeling and I can't recommend it highly enough, but I find cardio mind numbing, even though it is a necessary evil.

    Both strength and cardio have their place and they both do their own good, but the key is to find something you enjoy. Yoga will indeed increase flexibility and give you a toned look, but weight/strength training will increase your muscle mass, which will in turn increase your calorie burn even at rest.

    xXx
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    Options
    Form follows function. Strength train now. Integrate cardio.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    Options
    You should do both to address both cardiovascular and skeletal health. But from an aesthetic standpoint, I saw much better results when I lifted.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    edited June 2016
    Options
    Theresa_1973 wrote: »
    Lifting is a very useful tool in keeping off the weight you lose ... I did purely cardio for the first 3 months (I had 165lb to lose) and then gradually introduced strength training. Nowadays I strength train for an hour, three times week, plus 30 minutes on the exercise bike three times a week and have one rest day a week.

    Building muscle is important because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even at rest - I love my weight training, it gives me an immensely positive feeling and I can't recommend it highly enough, but I find cardio mind numbing, even though it is a necessary evil.

    Both strength and cardio have their place and they both do their own good, but the key is to find something you enjoy. Yoga will indeed increase flexibility and give you a toned look, but weight/strength training will increase your muscle mass, which will in turn increase your calorie burn even at rest.

    xXx

    I would just like to point out, that while true (the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn) it's a bit disingenuous. You won't build a lot of new appreciable muscle mass while losing weight, and more importantly, for every lb of muscle you gain, it's only an increase of 4-6 calories burned per day.

    The bigger benefit is maintaining muscle mass during weight loss, which maintains metabolic functions. So you will see less metabolic adaption due to muscle loss. And if you are maintaining muscle, you are going to have a tighter body because you will see bigger decreases in your body fat %.
  • GetFit4Health2016
    GetFit4Health2016 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    My body fat is 28%
  • jessiethe3rd
    jessiethe3rd Posts: 239 Member
    Options
    Lift FIRST.
    Cardio secondary and specifically HIIT second.
  • LPflaum
    LPflaum Posts: 174 Member
    Options
    BecomingBane wrote: »
    My experience was that it was better to lift and do some cardio on my non-lifting days. I've found that lifting has shaped my body more along the lines that I wanted while cardio did not. Cardio did help me create a caloric deficit and lose weight, but it did not give me the physical appearance that I wanted.

    That said, the best kind of exercise is the one that you enjoy more and will do consistently.

    I agree. I do a balance of both, HIIT MWF (circuit, bootcamp and OTF) and heavy weights + 30 minutes of treadmill intervals T&R. I've only "lost" 5-10 lbs at most, but i've gone from a solid size 8 to a small size 6 and I look (and feel!) completely different. The weight training has pulled in my stomach, waist, and thighs and i've gotten rid of that gross armpit flab.

    Depending on how you choose to do your weights, there are some great tricks for keeping your HR up so you continue to burn calories during anabolic training:
    If you lift in a class at the gym- do 20-30 minutes of intense HIIT training on the treadmill. I do 30 sec intervals at 4.2mph, 7.2 mph, 5.2mph, 8.2mph and repeat. I can usually keep my HR over 100 for an entire 1 hour weight session after this.
    If you lift alone- Two ways to go about this. 1) start with a 10-15 minute jog, do 30 min of weights, go back for another jog, follow it with another weight session. 2) splice your weight training with squats at tempo (or box jumps, or jump squats...) That will raise your heart rate back up.
  • kendahlj
    kendahlj Posts: 243 Member
    Options
    Do both
  • GetFit4Health2016
    GetFit4Health2016 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Today I did HIIT training. It was 30 secs of low intensity and 15 secs of high intensity for a whole hour lol. We had like 10 sec breaks in between. It was tough and we had weights with some but not much.
  • BalletAndBarbells
    BalletAndBarbells Posts: 334 Member
    Options
    Do what you enjoy as you need to stick to it to make it work for you! However, don't be put off lifting because to have weight to lose - I waited until I'd lost most of my weight before I started lifting and wish I'd started sooner. I now do a mixture of heavy lifting (follow a program - I like SL5x5), pure cardio (such as spinning and running) and circuit training which is a bit of both with HIIT. I think you'll see bets results if you combine but what you do is ultimately up to you!
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
    Options
    Do both
  • drwilseyjr
    drwilseyjr Posts: 225 Member
    Options
    TR0berts wrote: »
    That said, lifting doesn't burn many Calories

    That really depends on how you're lifting.
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
    Options
    Do not lose weight without lifting. Muscle burns more calories than fat. So the more pounds of muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism is, the more calories you burn daily with and without exercise.

    When you cut (eat below your maintainence calories, which is what makes you lose weight) you lose weight in two ways. You lose fat and you lose lean muscle mass. But wait, I just told you the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism so you don't want to lose muscle! That's where lifting comes in. You won't gain any muscle while you're cutting calories (except those few newbie gains) but lifting while cutting ensures you maintain as much of your muscle mass as possible so you don't destroy your metabolism.

    Whoever told you that you need to lose 75% of your weight before you start lifting should stop giving advice.

    Ideally you can do both (I do both), but there are people who only lift and do a higher number of reps for their cardio. I will tell you that I personally notice the biggest difference in my body when I'm actually eating at maintainence because lifting causes this process called recomposition where you gain muscle (which you can only happen at maintainence or in bulk) and subsequently lose fat because your metabolism increase and you're eating to maintain your weight. That's when I lose the most inches. However doing that I don't lose any weight. If I care about the number on the scale, which normally I don't, I cut calories because instead of replacing pounds of fat with pounds of muscle I just lose the body mass.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    Options
    beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »
    Do not lose weight without lifting. Muscle burns more calories than fat. So the more pounds of muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism is, the more calories you burn daily with and without exercise.

    When you cut (eat below your maintainence calories, which is what makes you lose weight) you lose weight in two ways. You lose fat and you lose lean muscle mass. But wait, I just told you the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism so you don't want to lose muscle! That's where lifting comes in. You won't gain any muscle while you're cutting calories (except those few newbie gains) but lifting while cutting ensures you maintain as much of your muscle mass as possible so you don't destroy your metabolism.

    Whoever told you that you need to lose 75% of your weight before you start lifting should stop giving advice.

    Ideally you can do both (I do both), but there are people who only lift and do a higher number of reps for their cardio. I will tell you that I personally notice the biggest difference in my body when I'm actually eating at maintainence because lifting causes this process called recomposition where you gain muscle (which you can only happen at maintainence or in bulk) and subsequently lose fat because your metabolism increase and you're eating to maintain your weight. That's when I lose the most inches. However doing that I don't lose any weight. If I care about the number on the scale, which normally I don't, I cut calories because instead of replacing pounds of fat with pounds of muscle I just lose the body mass.
    The muscle burns more argument is really sort of voided because it is so miniscule it doesn't matter. If you like cardio do it, you will burn more calories in an hour long run in than several
    Hours of weights. Lifting will also slow down your weight loss, and could make you feel even more hungry. I lost 120lbs in a year all of it was diet and walking. When I got close to maintainence I started doing hiit. 6 months after maintenence I ran a half marathon, I feel great. Now I will be working on weights and running, for me now that I'm down to a healthy weight it is easier to focus on exercise instead of the number on the scale.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    Options
    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »
    Do not lose weight without lifting. Muscle burns more calories than fat. So the more pounds of muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism is, the more calories you burn daily with and without exercise.

    When you cut (eat below your maintainence calories, which is what makes you lose weight) you lose weight in two ways. You lose fat and you lose lean muscle mass. But wait, I just told you the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism so you don't want to lose muscle! That's where lifting comes in. You won't gain any muscle while you're cutting calories (except those few newbie gains) but lifting while cutting ensures you maintain as much of your muscle mass as possible so you don't destroy your metabolism.

    Whoever told you that you need to lose 75% of your weight before you start lifting should stop giving advice.

    Ideally you can do both (I do both), but there are people who only lift and do a higher number of reps for their cardio. I will tell you that I personally notice the biggest difference in my body when I'm actually eating at maintainence because lifting causes this process called recomposition where you gain muscle (which you can only happen at maintainence or in bulk) and subsequently lose fat because your metabolism increase and you're eating to maintain your weight. That's when I lose the most inches. However doing that I don't lose any weight. If I care about the number on the scale, which normally I don't, I cut calories because instead of replacing pounds of fat with pounds of muscle I just lose the body mass.
    The muscle burns more argument is really sort of voided because it is so miniscule it doesn't matter. If you like cardio do it, you will burn more calories in an hour long run in than several
    Hours of weights. Lifting will also slow down your weight loss, and could make you feel even more hungry. I lost 120lbs in a year all of it was diet and walking. When I got close to maintainence I started doing hiit. 6 months after maintenence I ran a half marathon, I feel great. Now I will be working on weights and running, for me now that I'm down to a healthy weight it is easier to focus on exercise instead of the number on the scale.

    Lifting would only slow weight loss the first week due to increase fluid retention to repair muscle. Outside of that, it will not slow anything down. If anything, it will increase fat loss and you will yield greater improvements to body fat percentage which is actually what most people want.

Categories