Cardio or weights ??

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robotxkassie
robotxkassie Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I dont trip off my weight, whether it stays the same, lose or gain a lil. My main concern is to lose fat on my stomach while mainting my leg muscle i have gained. Right now i currently do 20 min cardio before i do weights (focus on legs). But im not seeing changes in my body besides definition in my legs and butt. I really wanna lose the fat on my stomach, but not sure the best approach. Should i be doing more cardio based workouts to lose fat first, then add weights? Or is there a way to incorporate both to where i dont loose muscle and still drop the fat?

Replies

  • CowboySar
    CowboySar Posts: 404 Member
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    Just my two cents, keep doing both. You cant target where the fat comes off from. It will take from where it wants and will eventually get to those spots. I am still holding fat in my stomach as well, but am noticing the inches slowly coming down on stomach.... Persistence is my advice.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    sardelsa wrote: »
    Unfortunately you cannot spot reduce fat.. certain areas of the body, for many it is the stomach region will be the last to go.

    Definitely continue your strength training, weight loss will come down to being in a deficit.

    To give you the best chance of maintaining muscle and losing fat:
    -Eat a a slight calorie deficit (cardio is fine but don't overdo it and burn out)
    -Follow a progressive resistance program (for best results)
    -Adequate protein (around 0.8-1g per lb lean body mass /goalweight minimum)
    -Lots of patience and consistency.

    This.

    Maybe take a look at this link as well.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
  • Janice6543
    Janice6543 Posts: 92 Member
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    I like both. Hard cardio wins for calories burnt per minute, but I am trying to maintain my strength while dropping weight. So far I'm down 15 lbs over 4 months and halfway to my goal with no noticeable loss in strength.
  • Raynee21
    Raynee21 Posts: 31 Member
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    Can I ask you what you do for butt and leg growth?
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    Calorie deficit. Keep your cardio if you like it. Definitely keep the lifts to maintain lean mass as you lose fat.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    Raynee21 wrote: »
    Can I ask you what you do for butt and leg growth?

    for butt and leg growth a surplus of calories and heavy lifting
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    Raynee21 wrote: »
    Can I ask you what you do for butt and leg growth?

    You will probably get more answers if you start a new thread. Running a program like Strong Curves (a glute focused lifting program) .. for growth ideally eating at maintenance if not surplus.
  • Sambo_fitness
    Sambo_fitness Posts: 137 Member
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    Do both!!!!
    I get way more booty/leg gains from lifting heavy than jumping around doing plyo.
  • PikaJoyJoy
    PikaJoyJoy Posts: 280 Member
    edited January 2018
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    gearfreegains wrote: »
    I’ve been told by a (very fit) trainer to not do both strength training and cardio in one session as it’s too much for the body so I mostly go by that rule.

    @ Raynee21

    For butt + leg growth definitely try squats. For just legs seated leg extensions, leg curls, calve raises.

    It's usually the ideal pushed to do cardio on off days from lifting, but doing both on the same day isn't unheard of. Overall it'll depend on your goals which you do first and how many hours in between your cardio and strength training workouts.

    So if you're a runner training for a race, you'd make it a focus to do cardio first (like in the AM) and try to get your strength workouts in the PM.

    But if strength is your main goal, then you'd do that first and do the cardio right after (if you can't do it at a later time).

    ETA: And not sure why you wouldn't just focus on squats for the leg growth. I've never heard anyone steer away from squats for leg growth and hit up the leg curls and such. It's an ideal exercise for both, as well as deadlifts. If you were targeting just the glutes, I'd more suggest weighted glute bridges or hip thrusts then (while still doing squats, that is).
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    gearfreegains wrote: »
    I’ve been told by a (very fit) trainer to not do both strength training and cardio in one session as it’s too much for the body so I mostly go by that rule.

    @ Raynee21

    For butt + leg growth definitely try squats. For just legs seated leg extensions, leg curls, calve raises.

    How fit a trainer appears has zero to do with their knowledge.
    His blanket statement, while applicable to some, is certainly not true for everyone. So many factors go into what is needed or can be done in one session. Many people who train for both strength and endurance events have to do both in one session. It would be nice to separate them all the time, but it's just not always possible.

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