Why is weight training not considered cardio??
LittleQuelie
Posts: 37 Member
If I do my sets in quick succession, I am dripping sweat, my heart is pounding and I’m out of breath. How is this not considered cardio?? I MUCH prefer resistance training to the treadmill or elliptical, and find I am more motivated to go to the gym when I know I can do my resistance routine. I’d go as far as to say I HATE cardio - it’s boring and makes me want to die lol. Although I push myself with weight training, I find the short bursts are a lot easier to deal with - they keep me motivated and I find I have a lot more will power to push through and add a couple more reps or up the weight. When I do do cardio, I try to do a bit of HIIT but I hate it so much that I doubt I’m getting the full benefits. Is there any reason why I can’t/shouldn’t do my resistance routine only? I work out with a trainer once per week and aim to get to the gym at least two or three more times, I also play rec court 6x6 volleyball once per week...
EDIT: I should also mention that although my main goal is weight loss, a close second is staying healthy and getting fit. I like that I am starting to see definition in muscles I never even knew existed lol. I don’t go to the gym with the intention of burning X calories, I go because I want my heart, lungs, muscles and bones to be healthy.
EDIT: I should also mention that although my main goal is weight loss, a close second is staying healthy and getting fit. I like that I am starting to see definition in muscles I never even knew existed lol. I don’t go to the gym with the intention of burning X calories, I go because I want my heart, lungs, muscles and bones to be healthy.
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Replies
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Different modes of exercise have different effects, so you need to consider why you're feeling various effects. If you're using resistance training as CV work, you're doing neither efficiently.
Three different types of CV work have different effects. Long duration aerobic work improved stamina, threshold work improved your ability to perform at greater intensity, essentially convert energy, high intensity intervals improve your ability to saturate oxygen in the blood. None of those effects will come from resistance training.12 -
There is a strength training entry in the cardio database. You can use that to enter your exercise calories from weight lifting. If you are doing some sort of custom routine that is outside the norm of weight lifting, you likely need to measure your own calories from a fitness device and enter that custom.0
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From what I understand, it's all about keeping a sustained heart rate in your burn zone. I'm not sure of your age but if you follow this guide you'll know where your heart rate should be to be considered cardio. "To determine your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, a 35-year-old woman's maximum heart rate is 220 minus 35 — or 185 beats per minute. To enter the fat-burning zone, she'd want her heart rate to be 70 percent of 185, which is about 130 beats per minute." Are you maintaining a sustained heart rate in that zone or does it drop below that number in between your sets? For a lot of people it drops which is why it usually wouldn't be considered cardio. BTW I also hate cardio and much prefer strength training, too
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Thanks for the info! I will pay more attention to my heart rate next time I’m in the gym!1
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Just out of curiousity, personality-wise, do you find that you are more goal oriented (wanting to lift heavier or more reps) with your weight trying vs just doing cardio for a specific number of minutes as a chore without specific cardio fitness goals? I know for me, since I started running I’ve been motivated by the potential to run further distance or beating a previous pace. Training towards specific goals has helped keep me engaged. I don’t say that to motivate you to run. Just to consider that having a goal in mind might help your enjoyment as you achieve specific goals. I was recently looking at an article about the benefits of jumping rope that might work toward cardio goals as well.5
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There are different ways to do cardio than spending time on a treadmill, elliptical, or other traditional "cardio" movement. So don't limit yourself to thinking of "cardio" in just those terms.
However, the reactions you are describing--increased heart rate, sweating, and breathing--don't mean the same when one is doing traditional lifting as they do when one is doing traditional cardio. That mistake is made constantly, often by fitness leaders who should know better.
Traditional weight lifting--e.g. lifting 2-12 reps to failure and doing multiple sets--does not have a great cardio effect, no matter how much you are breathing, sweating, or increasing your heart rate. For example, doing squats at a 2-4 RM level is the aerobic equivalent of a moderate walk. Doing pushups at a strength training level (e.g. 8-12 reps to failure) is probably a little less.
This is a broad generalization, but, in general, the more a movement has a resistance effect, the less of a cardio effect it has, and vice versa. So, heavy squats are not "cardio", and running long distances is not "strength training", even for the legs.
You can modify strength-type movements to make them have a higher cardio component, but that usually diminishes the strength benefits.
What I usually advise for people who hate traditional cardio is that you come up with a routine that uses dynamic movements that are more like strength training movements, but at much lighter weights. Or use HIIT or complexes (sounds like you are doing some of that already).
What I don't recommend is modifying your lifting routine to make it more "cardio-y"--like lifting fast or cutting down your recovery time. That just comprises the strength benefits. Do strength training during strength workouts and do the modified activities as a substitute cardio workout, either on a separate day or as part of concurrent training.
In most cases, especially if you are younger, it is possible to achieve a decent cardio fitness level without doing tons of "cardio". Especially if you hate doing it. There is no point to doing something you don't like just to follow some arbitrary "guidelines".12 -
From what I understand, it's all about keeping a sustained heart rate in your burn zone. I'm not sure of your age but if you follow this guide you'll know where your heart rate should be to be considered cardio. "To determine your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, a 35-year-old woman's maximum heart rate is 220 minus 35 — or 185 beats per minute. To enter the fat-burning zone, she'd want her heart rate to be 70 percent of 185, which is about 130 beats per minute." Are you maintaining a sustained heart rate in that zone or does it drop below that number in between your sets? For a lot of people it drops which is why it usually wouldn't be considered cardio. BTW I also hate cardio and much prefer strength training, too
The problem with this is that it does not apply to strength training. The increased heart rate that occurs during traditional weight lifting does not have an aerobic training effect--the physiology is different than an increased heart rate from running on a treadmill.
So it's not the "drop" in HR between sets that diminishes the "cardio" effect. It's that, during strength training, there is little cardio effect, even when HR is elevated.
Like I said in my other comment, this is not something that most people understand. They have been conditioned to think "increased HR = aerobic training", so it is a common and understandable mistake. I have only seen one exercise physiology textbook where it is even mentioned.
And, as I said in my other comment, there are plenty of ways to get "cardio training" without doing traditional cardio, so no need for anyone to "punish" themselves if they prefer lifting.8 -
LittleQuelie wrote: »Thanks for the info! I will pay more attention to my heart rate next time I’m in the gym!
Not when doing weight training!
And when doing cardio the "fat burn zone" is also a pointless goal for most.11 -
From what I understand, it's all about keeping a sustained heart rate in your burn zone. I'm not sure of your age but if you follow this guide you'll know where your heart rate should be to be considered cardio. "To determine your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, a 35-year-old woman's maximum heart rate is 220 minus 35 — or 185 beats per minute. To enter the fat-burning zone, she'd want her heart rate to be 70 percent of 185, which is about 130 beats per minute." Are you maintaining a sustained heart rate in that zone or does it drop below that number in between your sets? For a lot of people it drops which is why it usually wouldn't be considered cardio. BTW I also hate cardio and much prefer strength training, too
Two observations. Specific figures are only useful if you understand your personal metrics. 220-age is meaningless in real terms. If I used that I'd tell you that I'll run a 10Km race at a higher heart rate than my maximum HR.
You need to think about why HR is varying. In CV work it's about increasing oxygen flowing around the body, in resistance work it's less about that.
And, as above, fat burning zone is very outdated.3 -
If you're doing a circuit - not stopping at all between machines - you're doing more "weighted cardio" than "resistance training".
Weight training typically means doing a set of exercises with a set weight, resting for anywhere from one to ten minutes depending on program and ability, and doing additional sets with the same weight. Think "three sets of five" on squats, for instance.
As an example, a ninety minute full body session comprised of three set of five of squats, bench press, and deadlift will have a total time actually moving weight of under ten minutes. Most of the time is spent resting between sets to recover from ATP depletion and get the body's O2 levels back to normal. So, while someone who's doing weight training can spend one, two or three hours in the gym, their actual "time under the bar" is a fraction of that time.
In circuit training, it's more typical to do a set on a machine, and move to the next machine that works a different body group of muscles with no rest between; the recovery for muscle group is essentially from it not being worked in rapid succession.
Which type of training you do depends on your goals.3 -
LittleQuelie wrote: »If I do my sets in quick succession, I am dripping sweat, my heart is pounding and I’m out of breath. How is this not considered cardio?? I MUCH prefer resistance training to the treadmill or elliptical, and find I am more motivated to go to the gym when I know I can do my resistance routine. I’d go as far as to say I HATE cardio - it’s boring and makes me want to die lol. Although I push myself with weight training, I find the short bursts are a lot easier to deal with - they keep me motivated and I find I have a lot more will power to push through and add a couple more reps or up the weight. When I do do cardio, I try to do a bit of HIIT but I hate it so much that I doubt I’m getting the full benefits. Is there any reason why I can’t/shouldn’t do my resistance routine only? I work out with a trainer once per week and aim to get to the gym at least two or three more times, I also play rec court 6x6 volleyball once per week...
EDIT: I should also mention that although my main goal is weight loss, a close second is staying healthy and getting fit. I like that I am starting to see definition in muscles I never even knew existed lol. I don’t go to the gym with the intention of burning X calories, I go because I want my heart, lungs, muscles and bones to be healthy.
Do you have volleyball and find it boring? It's cardio.3 -
The mechanism that raises heart rate during weight training is not the same as the mechanism that raises heart rate during cardio. This is one of the reasons heart rate is a poor way to estimate calories for resistance training.4
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No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!0
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Thank you everyone for your input. I find these message boards a bit confusing to use from your phone - I can’t see how to reply to specific people?0
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I understand getting bored doing cardio, but I think for some people they don’t like it because they are working too hard, thus 5 minutes go by and they are tired and dreading the next 15 minutes. Watching heart rate is good so that you are going at an easy, sustained effort throughout. Once I switched to focusing on keeping my heart rate lower while running, I was checking my watch while I run to keep in zone rather than counting down time or distance. But I knew that I was working towards improving my aerobic base, thus making me a more efficient runner. I had a specific goal which helped remind me WHY I was doing that particular run.
I am training for my 3rd marathon and do CrossFit 3-4 times per week, so my experience may be different than what you’re looking for, but maybe by trying to slow down your cardio (whether on a bike or running or whatever) and thinking of it as more for recovery and endurance for lifelong health rather than for another means to torch calories, it will get better. I also find the easy runs help me perform better at CrossFit.1 -
LittleQuelie wrote: »No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!
For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.
The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.10 -
LittleQuelie wrote: »Thank you everyone for your input. I find these message boards a bit confusing to use from your phone - I can’t see how to reply to specific people?
Are you using the app, or the website through Chrome on your phone? If in the app there should be a button that says "quote below each post on the left, above the row of insightful, inspiring, etc.0 -
I love watching MissFitandNerdy on YouTube. She is passionate about lifting heavy, and that you don't need to do cardio to lose weight/get healthy.
STOP DOING CARDIO11 -
laurainottawa wrote: »I love watching MissFitandNerdy on YouTube. She is passionate about lifting heavy, and that you don't need to do cardio to lose weight/get healthy.
STOP DOING CARDIO
"Cardio" isn't the devil...
Cardio also isn't just one thing. I mean if people should "stop doing cardio" then a good chunk of sports just shouldn't get played. So much for football (rest of the world and American), basketball, any racketsport, cycling, running, skating, hiking, most of the sports played in the Olympics (though there are plenty of people who would prefer the Olympics cease to exist), the list is pretty endless. Also I hope you're ok with doing away with PE, letting kids run outside, etc.
Then again, I'm someone who wakes up before 5am most weekdays to go rowing and bikes twice a week.
Of course you also don't need to lift weights to lose weight, all you need to do is create a calorie deficit.7 -
laurainottawa wrote: »I love watching MissFitandNerdy on YouTube. She is passionate about lifting heavy, and that you don't need to do cardio to lose weight/get healthy.
STOP DOING CARDIO
You don’t need cardio to lose weight. You don’t need exercise at all. You can me comatose and lose weight. All that matters for losing weight is that you consume fewer calories than your body burns.
A “healthy” level of activity involves both aerobic and resistance training. The world health organization (not sure if they have a YouTube channel) has recommendations for both. Your heart is a muscle too.
I would rather gouge my eyes out than use an elliptical (or pretty much anything inside a gym). But I enjoy hiking, biking, playing, running, a whole multitude of activities that are considered aerobic activity.3 -
laurainottawa wrote: »I love watching MissFitandNerdy on YouTube. She is passionate about lifting heavy, and that you don't need to do cardio to lose weight/get healthy.
STOP DOING CARDIO
You don’t need cardio to lose weight. You don’t need exercise at all. You can me comatose and lose weight. All that matters for losing weight is that you consume fewer calories than your body burns.
A “healthy” level of activity involves both aerobic and resistance training. The world health organization (not sure if they have a YouTube channel) has recommendations for both. Your heart is a muscle too.
I would rather gouge my eyes out than use an elliptical (or pretty much anything inside a gym). But I enjoy hiking, biking, playing, running, a whole multitude of activities that are considered aerobic activity.0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »Thank you everyone for your input. I find these message boards a bit confusing to use from your phone - I can’t see how to reply to specific people?
Are you using the app, or the website through Chrome on your phone? If in the app there should be a button that says "quote below each post on the left, above the row of insightful, inspiring, etc.
Ah! Thank you! I’m using the app.
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NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!
For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.
The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.
I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?
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LittleQuelie wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!
For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.
The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.
I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?
You could, of course, also do "cardio" that you actually like on occasion given that a. for general health cardiovascular and strength training are important and b. you mentioned how much joy you find in volleyball. That would also just be fun would it not?
At the end of the day, weightlifting is not cardio. It might be useful from a "killing to birds with one stone" standpoint if it was, but it's not.3 -
LittleQuelie wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!
For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.
The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.
I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?
Check out BitGym and similar apps that take you on a hiking, walking or cycling journey through cities and countrysides across the US and in Europe as you watch on your tablet while doing cardio. Saved me last winter when I couldn’t get out to snowshoe or cross-country ski. There is a subscription fee, but it’s not a lot.
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LittleQuelie wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!
For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.
The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.
I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?
Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.0 -
You can add a form of cardio within you strenght training. If you add box jumps, jumping jacks or burpees in between sets will keep that heart pumping.
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LittleQuelie wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!
For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.
The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.
I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?
Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.
Well you can consider anything anything. But nobody ever trained for a marathon by doing squats and bench presses.6 -
NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »LittleQuelie wrote: »No, I don’t find it boring. I’m talking about traditional modes of cardio exercise. If I could play volleyball everyday I would!
For the record, people were running outdoors, riding bikes, hiking, paddling small boats, etc, long before there were elliptical machines.
The reason I'm making this point is that if you hate the hamster wheel but want to improve your fitness including of your heart, there are a lot of options that are way more enjoyable than picking things up and putting them back down again.
I like picking things up and putting them back down again! I do like hiking, however paddling is not an option for me. Also, I live in a place where the summer time is super short and the winter is extremely long so I’m pretty much relegated to the offerings at the gym for the great majority of my workout sessions. I do have a HIIT routine I do with the rowing machine which I don’t loathe, but I’d just rather not, ya know?
Which I do do. My original question only asked why weightlifting cant be considered a form of cardio.
Well you can consider anything anything. But nobody ever trained for a marathon by doing squats and bench presses.
Good thing I’m not interested in running a marathon, I suppose.
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Does it really matter though, that is the main question.
As in - you like to do your intensive strength training, you like to do your volleyball.
Keep doing them!
You dislike the "traditional" cardio machines (so do I!!!) and HIIT (me too!!!) - so why do them????
Do what you like, and you will be happier for it. Regardless if it's "cardio" or not (which your volleball IS).
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