Cardio and/or weight training during weight loss, thoughts needed

When I go to the gym I typically run for 1.5-2.0 miles then lift then do some cool down cardio.

As someone who uses cycling as my primary cardio exercise, I tend to focus on leg and core exercises.

But everyone is different. You'll need to find what you like, and what works for you. You're not going to do something that isn't fun and doesn't yield results.

weight training will help preserve muscle cardio atleast 2 times a week

Combining weight training and cardio is an excellent plan. I run and lift weights at the gym on alternating days. The running keeps my fitness up, helps strengthen my bones and gives me more calories to eat. The strength training helps ensure that I'm not losing much muscle (and was building it earlier when I was eating more so I could) and keeps me stronger both for running and every day life.

chapiano wrote: »

Both.

Cardio strips muscle and fat so the strength training helps to target the fat

Don’t be afraid that doing cardiovascular exercise will limit your muscle growth. If you’re eating a nutritionally sound diet and replenishing your glycogen stores after a workout, you’ll build a lean, defined body through a balanced training routine of strength training and cardio.

Source : Here

Now I've to tell you a frightful fact. Excessive cardio plus improper dieting will cause you to KEEP YOUR BODY FAT!

Let me put this in a simple formula for you to see clearly-
Excessive cardio + improper dieting = less muscle mass and slower metabolism = no weight loss = Yo-Yo dieting

So don't ever combine these 2 together!

Cardio exercise is an exercise in endurance. I'm sure you want an exercise program that endures for a life time, for the good of your body?
So, don't indulge in excessive cardio, thinking it'll burn up more of your body fat, faster.....
You go too hard and too fast, you get "burnt out" instead in your muscle mass and your body weight stays plateau!
Cardio moderately, strength-train and eat a healthy diet, you'll then lose weight and stay fit! ]
Source : Here

Basically this whole article :http://breakingmuscle.com/hypertrophy/cardio-doesnt-kill-gains-and-you-should-be-doing-it

MarieFromOz wrote: »

Hello all! I have a big focus on being fit, not skinny... So currently I fast-walk an average of 3 miles a day for exercise. In my past life, I love lifting...
I am trying to drop weight through CICO and exercise. I wonder what everyone's thoughts are on combining cardio and weights training. What combination of the two is best? Why is focusing on one more effective than another?

In my mind... the strength will come (and cardio adds to strength, too)... but the weight loss is priority. (I have 65 pounds to go to get down to a "healthy" bmi).

Thanks all!!

This is all relative to your fitness goals and what YOUR priorities are. Both are important to your overall fitness and there are plenty of people who just follow a pretty balanced approached...for myself, I'm a cycling enthusiast and I do lift, but only a couple times per week in support of my cycling...I spend way more time on my bike.

Athletes? No. People with a high BMI on a weight loss journey? Yes. As you lose weight you lose muscle and fat

Hi peps
In my view any workout is better than none. I would not put stock in a bmi score only because that does not take into account body shape you will know yourself what feels comfortable in weight
I will say well done for keeping it up
Good luck

You can't really do both at the same time. Lose the fat and your muscles will become more defined as your body fat % drops

In a way, this kind of question is hard for me to process.

While weight training is a (moderately) specific thing, lots of activities amount to strength training, and will build muscle (though typically not as rapidly as weight training will).

But I've never been able to figure out this "cardio" idea - there are a million, zillion, billion things that will improve cardiovascular fitness (over doing nothing): How and why do we talk about it as if "cardio" were one thing?!?

Moreover, some of the "cardio" things are also (to a certain extent) "strength" things: How and why do we talk about them as if cardio & strength were completely separate, never-the-twain-shall-meet things?!? I've never seen a serious cyclist with puny, weak legs, for example. Or a serious hockey player, for that matter. Serious swimmers don't much seem to be skinny-fat, either.

For me, it's important to be strong, and have good cardiovascular fitness. But there are lots of paths that will reach a reasonable (though clearly sub-elite) level of both. I'm gonna pick the path that's the most fun for me, because that's the one I'll stick with. I know it's just me, but if I thought I had to get on a treadmill or the elliptical daily, I think I'd just Stop Now.

Mostly, I row (cardio + strength), spin (cardio + a tiny bit of strength), lift in the rowing off-season (strength), and throw in some stretching/yoga (because flexibility is important to me, too - even though it doesn't help a lot with weight loss, other than via the body-awareness route).

Motorsheen wrote: »

Lift Heavy
Eat Clean
HIIT

.... this works for me

although, diet is the biggest part of the equation (imho)

This! Muscle burns fat 24/7, the more muscle you have, the more fat you'll burn. Also another important thing that most women don't do, make sure you are eating enough. Of the right foods, of course. I eat approx 1500-1800 cals a day and lift. I don't do a lot of cardio and when I'm lifting heavy I don't need much cardio at all to maintain.

*

chapiano wrote: »

You can't really do both at the same time. Lose the fat and your muscles will become more defined as your body fat % drops

How can one not do both at the same time? Many people are able to do both, while sustaining the muscle mass they have. Perhaps a person may prefer one or the other, but that doesn't mean they CAN'T do both.

If you're referring to someone running while simultaneously lifting a barbell over their head, please disregard my previous comment.

I'm doing both.

• Weight lifting + adequate protein to preserve as much muscle as possible as I'm losing weight
• Cardio, so that I can actually eat as much as I'd like

AnnPT77 wrote: »

In a way, this kind of question is hard for me to process.

While weight training is a (moderately) specific thing, lots of activities amount to strength training, and will build muscle (though typically not as rapidly as weight training will).

But I've never been able to figure out this "cardio" idea - there are a million, zillion, billion things that will improve cardiovascular fitness (over doing nothing): How and why do we talk about it as if "cardio" were one thing?!?

Moreover, some of the "cardio" things are also (to a certain extent) "strength" things: How and why do we talk about them as if cardio & strength were completely separate, never-the-twain-shall-meet things?!? I've never seen a serious cyclist with puny, weak legs, for example. Or a serious hockey player, for that matter. Serious swimmers don't much seem to be skinny-fat, either.

For me, it's important to be strong, and have good cardiovascular fitness. But there are lots of paths that will reach a reasonable (though clearly sub-elite) level of both. I'm gonna pick the path that's the most fun for me, because that's the one I'll stick with. I know it's just me, but if I thought I had to get on a treadmill or the elliptical daily, I think I'd just Stop Now.

Mostly, I row (cardio + strength), spin (cardio + a tiny bit of strength), lift in the rowing off-season (strength), and throw in some stretching/yoga (because flexibility is important to me, too - even though it doesn't help a lot with weight loss, other than via the body-awareness route).

Overall, I agree in principle with the spirit of your remarks. There are many different ways to achieve fitness, staying consistent doing activities you enjoy is usually more important than trying to find the "best" exercise, and there is way too much discussion of "strength vs cardio".

Just wanted to add that not all exercises are alike. Technically, there is what I call an "aerobic" component to any exercise movement/activity, and a "resistive" component. Usually, they have more of a reciprocal relationship--e.g. The greater the aerobic effect of an activity, the less the strength effect, and vice versa.

So, the training effect of any given activity (or how a given activity is performed) will depend largely on the condition of the individual. A training effect can only occur when the stimulus is high enough to activate the adaptation process. I agree that most exercise activities are not exclusively "cardio" or "strength". However, they are also not interchangeable, i.e. They will not have the same effects. Running will result in a "strength" increase for a sedentary individual; running up hills will result in a "strength" increase in someone who only runs on the flat; sprinting will result in a "strength" increase in someone who only does endurance running. But those "increases" will plateau very quickly once the runner has adapted to the new stressor, and none of those will have the same effect as heavy squats. It's a similar situation with rowing, cycling, etc.

It always comes down to understanding the physiological effects of each exercise activity and matching the workout activity and structure to one's individual goals. It is also important not to overly extrapolate the results of elite training to the average exerciser.