Strength or cardio for weight loss?

Thinupgirl86
Thinupgirl86 Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just started going to the gym this week since getting my diet under control. My ultimate goal is to lose 65 lbs. from my current weight (210). I have attended a goodlife class daily to help me get reacquainted with the gym as I have not attended since 2017. I am wondering if I should focus on high cardio and slim down before delving into strength training, do both or just mix it up with classes.

Here is an excerpt of what my routine is this week:
Monday- Body Pump class
Tuesday - Body attack & strength training (arms)
Wednesday - Body Pump & strength training (legs)
Thursday - 45 min brisk walk on treadmills & yoga
Friday - 30 min. Elliptical & 1 hour strength training (full body)

Kind of all over the place so I'm looking for some suggestions on what the focus should be. I should mention I am netting 1200-1350 calories per day.

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    Exercise is for health and fitness, not weight loss.

    For weight loss, all you need is a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit is built into your MFP calorie goal, so you should be eating the number of calories MFP gives you plus a reasonable estimate of your exercise calories.

    I agree with this mindset, and think it's pretty crucial for long term success.

    But to your question specifically... both burn calories, so both with help as part of an overall reasonable/healthy lifestyle.
  • donna_mm
    donna_mm Posts: 1 Member
    Hi, just to echo what others have said, I think that might be too much strength training back to back. I take bodypump and it is all low weight high rep whole body strength training, right? So if you do that class, I would not then do another strength training session the same day. You could add in some of the cardio classes (sounds like you do the LesMills programs at your gym) like GRIT cardio, or Body Combat. For something different, if you like to dance, there's Zumba (my favorite cardio). All these classes can be modified (like if you can't do burpees or jumping jacks, they always show you another way). Good luck!
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    My advice would be don't be over-zealous so that you crash and burn/injure yourself/run out of gas. I If you love body pump then 2 days of that and 1-2 (non consecutive) full body weight training, and walking on your active recovery days might work well for you.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Don't do cardio in the gym. Gyms are why people think they hate cardio. Walk, run, bike, ski, swim, engage in carnal relations, find a way of working your heart and lungs that you enjoy and look forward to.

    Lift at the gym. They have a lot of useful equipment you don't want to spend a fortune on at this point.

    They may or may not play a big role in your weight loss. Cardio can burn lots of calories, and it can help you eat less in several ways, like keeping you away from the kitchen, tickling the pleasure center in your brain like food can, maybe even providing motivation like "this would be easier if I weighed less." I eat better when I exercise a lot.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    If you start strength training now, you’ll be happier with your results when you get to goal.

    This is good advice - Look at Starting Strength - or Strong Curves
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    edited January 2020
    I would recommend doing what you think is really sustainable over the long haul. Working out hard 5 days in a row is not sustainable for me, so I’m not going to start that and rely on it for weight loss, because what will happen when life happens and I can’t workout that often? Yeah, the weight will come back. I rely on weight loss purely through diet, and I run 1 or 2 days per week as my schedule allows. Some weeks when it’s crazy town at my house, I don’t get out to run at all, but my calorie goal will take care if it for me. I pull out the barbell and weights when I can, too, usually once or twice per week at home, because I know I’ll never make it to a gym several times per week (WAHM mom of three).

    Now, I will say that if I do happen to run more in a week, or run 5 or more miles in a day, I’ll make note of it and eat more that day.

    Also, I totally get that some people can and will make getting to the gym a priority, and kudos to those people if they can keep that up. I am just not one of them, at least in this stage of life 😁 And when I was younger and before kids, I did run 5-6 days per week! But over time...no, that did not pan out.
  • Roxie8611
    Roxie8611 Posts: 39 Member
    Personally I do both, to me it’s about balance. Cardio helps my overall fitness and strength training sculpts. It depends on your goals to be honest. If you want to lose weight and look good then both are required. If your focus is strength then put more emphasis on that. You catch my drift 😊
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,138 Member
    OP things to consider:
    1 goals and what you enjoy doing.
    2 time you have available.

    Ideally for health you would do some cardio and strength. The NHS in the uk has general guidelines for activity which you can google.

    I personally do weights a lot more than cardio these days. 5 sessions a week weights and 2 cardio. But I’m used to it and I have time. It might not be sustainable for you depending on how fit you are and what your time availability is
  • naomi8888
    naomi8888 Posts: 519 Member
    Thinupgirl86 wrote: »
    Just started going to the gym this week since getting my diet under control. My ultimate goal is to lose 65 lbs. from my current weight (210). I have attended a goodlife class daily to help me get reacquainted with the gym as I have not attended since 2017. I am wondering if I should focus on high cardio and slim down before delving into strength training, do both or just mix it up with classes.

    Here is an excerpt of what my routine is this week:
    Monday- Body Pump class
    Tuesday - Body attack & strength training (arms)
    Wednesday - Body Pump & strength training (legs)
    Thursday - 45 min brisk walk on treadmills & yoga
    Friday - 30 min. Elliptical & 1 hour strength training (full body)

    Kind of all over the place so I'm looking for some suggestions on what the focus should be. I should mention I am netting 1200-1350 calories per day.


    I think this looks like a lot of exercise. If you love doing it then great but I don't think you would need the strength training for arms and legs after your classes. You should do enough for your arms in both classes, remember even in Body Attack you have push ups, etc. Also I think your legs would be pretty challenged after the Pump and Attack classes (especially if you're doing the full one hour and not the express), by Wednesday they should be screaming for a break.
  • astridtheviking
    astridtheviking Posts: 113 Member
    What do you like to do more? What's your favorite class that motivates you to keep going back? That's going to be the thing that helps you the most. I tried for many stupid, pointless years to try to get into cardio because I knew it put me in a greater calorie deficit and finally just decided that I hate it, so I won't force myself. I do strength training 4 days a week and HIIT 2 days per week with 2 rest days. The strength training gives me the energy to keep moving all day and the HIIT is (slowly...) building my endurance. But the magic thing about it is that I like the strength training. I can easily do strength 4 times a week and keep going back week after week because I enjoy it and it's motivating. It doesn't matter if you hit the "perfect" combination for weight loss if you hate your routine because you're just doing it to lose weight. Instead, look for the routine that you love to do and you can sustain for months or years on end.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited January 2020
    Thinupgirl86 wrote: »
    Just started going to the gym this week since getting my diet under control. My ultimate goal is to lose 65 lbs. from my current weight (210). I have attended a goodlife class daily to help me get reacquainted with the gym as I have not attended since 2017. I am wondering if I should focus on high cardio and slim down before delving into strength training, do both or just mix it up with classes.

    Here is an excerpt of what my routine is this week:
    Monday- Body Pump class
    Tuesday - Body attack & strength training (arms)
    Wednesday - Body Pump & strength training (legs)
    Thursday - 45 min brisk walk on treadmills & yoga
    Friday - 30 min. Elliptical & 1 hour strength training (full body)

    Kind of all over the place so I'm looking for some suggestions on what the focus should be. I should mention I am netting 1200-1350 calories per day.

    I would dump the strength training "arms" and "legs" and run an established full body programs...in your case 1-3 days per week of a full body program depending on your fitness priorities. Try to get out of the mindset of exercise for losing weight and start trying to wrap your head around fitness for your overall health and well being and overall fitness. I personally do strength training 2x per week full body as that hits everything twice per week and is enough to maintain some semblance of a reasonable 45 year old physique and maintain my strength and functionality as I age. My main priority is cardiovascular fitness though...so I emphasize cardio over strength training. There are a variety of heart health conditions inherent in my family, so blunting those risks is my first priority.

    I also wouldn't overdo it with strenuous sessions after strenuous sessions....it's very taxing on the body and you're likely to have recovery issues. I don't know a lot about those classes, but I do spin and it is very strenuous...right now any more than once per week is overly taxing on my body and I don't recover well, particularly considering that my 2nd strength session every week is with a trainer and it is also a very strenuous session. I find it beneficial to mix in a variety of intensities throughout the week rather than balls to the wall every session...it is better for my overall fitness, recovery, and overall health.

    I would assume you are taking the weekend for rest and recovery...you may find that taking a day during the week to break things up to be beneficial and then adding an exercise day on Saturday or Sunday and just taking one of those days off. A typical week for me looks like the following:

    Mon - Full body basic barbell routine; 20-30 minutes of easy spinning on a bike afterwards (moderate work load)
    Tues - Spin class 60 minutes (strenuous work load)
    Wed - Recovery Day (walk, yoga, very easy bike, etc)
    Thurs - 45-60 minutes moderate cardio (moderate workload)
    Fri - Full body strength training with personal trainer (strenuous work load)
    Sat - variable...road ride, mountain bike, hiking, etc (workload is variable)
    Sun - Recovery Day (walk, yoga, very easy bike...sometimes do nothing)

    Sometimes I swap Saturday and Sunday depending on how much my *kitten* got kicked by my trainer and other going on during the weekend. In general, my routine can be flexed around to accommodate life.

    Lastly, since you're just getting started with exercise it is likely you will need to ease into things a bit. This looks more like diving head first into a lot of strenuous activity that is likely going to be too much for your current fitness level. What exercise have you been doing to this point? Is your body used to moving? I'd recommend starting with a couple to 3x per week at the gym and working that up to 5x. Doing too much too soon can result in burnout and substantially increase injury risk.

    In your case, you could work up to something like this:

    Mon - full body strength training; 20-30 minutes easy cardio afterward. (moderate workload)
    Tues - Body attack (I'm assuming this is a more strenuous form of cardio, but I don't really know anything about it)
    Wed - Recovery (walk, yoga, easy cardio, etc)
    Thurs - Moderate cardio of your choice (moderate workload)
    Fri - Body pump (combination strength and cardio?) (strenuous workload?)
    Sat - Moderate cardio of your choice (moderate workload)
    Sun - Recovery (walk, yoga, easy cardio, etc)

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