Cardio beats weights for shredding fat?
PJilly
Posts: 22,179 Member
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/206094/20110830/aerobic-cardio-better-than-weight-resistance-training-weight-fat-loss-health.htm
My apologies if anyone has already posted this article. I did a quick search first and didn't see it anywhere. Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I am definitely a proponent of lifting weights to gain lean mass, but I feel like cardio does do more for me in terms of fat loss, and I've recently (as of yesterday) decided to focus more on cardio than weights for other health reasons, so I thought this new study was interesting and timely.
My apologies if anyone has already posted this article. I did a quick search first and didn't see it anywhere. Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I am definitely a proponent of lifting weights to gain lean mass, but I feel like cardio does do more for me in terms of fat loss, and I've recently (as of yesterday) decided to focus more on cardio than weights for other health reasons, so I thought this new study was interesting and timely.
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And more apologies for mentioning twice in one paragraph that I thought it was interesting. I ought to read my posts more thoroughly before hitting "Post Topic."
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Im with you in that! Started today, main focus will be cardio!!0
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Im with you in that! Started today, main focus will be cardio!!0
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agreed, I lost alot of weight in not alot of time, I haven't done any real strength training at all, I just run 4 to 5 miles a day. When I started I was just walking. I lost little muscle mass along the way, maybe 10 pounds. I figure once I get below my goal I will pack on some muscle by lifting weights.0
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Good article, thanks for posting the link. I do 3 days of cardio and 2 lifting until I get to my goal weight than I will probably switch and do weights 3 days and cardio 2.0
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It is my understanding that they work together to promote weight loss and healthly living. Weight lifting/strength training develops muscle more efficiently than cardio does - muscle promotes effecient use of oxygen which builds a faster metabolism. So, I really don't think that one is "better" than the other. For health reasons I have not been able to do any strength training for a month now and minimual cardio and can hardly wait to get cleared this week.
Also, if you have reached the age of 40 and are female folks really promote strength training to help maintain healthly bones.0 -
Nice article. I try to do both but more cardio.0
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I totally agree with Kimjoan.0
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I do both, I mean you can lose more weight with cardio because fat weighs less than muscle, but weight training will firm up your muscles so you'll burn more fat doing day to day activities thus burning more fat overall. If you look at two people of the same weight but one has more fat and one has more muscle, you'll see a big difference0
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I love cardio workouts, and not a big fan of strength/weight training either. I have no motivation on my own, but what helps me get in that routine sometimes and finding a workout video that involves cardio, weights/strength. I feel pretty good. I believe once i hit my goal weight, might be doing more strength/weights more often to tone up more..increase core training and so on.
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You know what's easier than cardio for losing weight? Eating less lol0
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sigh. I so hate cardio....0
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Dont forget, one of the main difference is you can do cardio every day. You shouldnt do resistance every day, certainly not the same muscle groups...0
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I do both cardio and strength training. Strength training doesn't always involve the use of weights. Your own body can be used for strength training. Resistance bands and loops can be used for strength training.
Cardio is good for fat loss. With cardio along, you will lose lean body mass as well.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I will speak for myself. I have a high body fat percentage. I'm in the obese range. I don't care about losing scale weight, my focus is on losing pounds of fat. There's a difference between losing scale weight and pounds of fat.
Eating my version of healthy, more cardio and some strength training will get me to my body fat percentage goal.
I want to build lean muscles, but I mostly want the fat to go.
Cardio is my friend. I love doing Boot Camp, interval workouts, high intense workouts.0 -
I think the key here is that cardio is better for people who are overweight and need to significantly reduce their visceral fat. Once you have lost a good amount of fat, you really should start adding strength training into the mix as others have pointed out.
As for me, I don't need to lose any more weight, so I rarely do long periods of cardio anymore. My 4x's a week 6 mile runs have dropped to 1 mile sprints and I lift heavy 3 times a week. I've never been leaner in my life since adapting this schedule.0 -
Here is a comment I posted to a previous thread about this article/study:
You always have to look at the details. The abstract reports that this was a study based on subjects who were obese and sedentary and that looked at the effects of different types of training on visceral fat. So before anyone jumps to conclusions, we have to make sure we understand the scope of the research.
The groups were divided into aerobic only training (AT), resistance-only training (RT and full aerobic, full resistance (AT/RT).
AT did equivalent of 12 miles/wk at 75% peak VO2
RT did 8 exercises, 3 d/wk, 3 sets, 8-12 reps
Results showed that AT and AT/RT showed statistically significantly greater decrease in visceral fat. RT showed decrease in subcutaneous fat but not visceral.
Unfortunately, our medical library only has abstracts. In this case, reading the full study is crucial to a greater understanding of the results.
For the mass media, this makes for an attention-getting headline. In terms of practical significance, it might broaden our knowledge, but I don't think it changes what we already know about exercise intervention for this population.0 -
I would love to be able to still do heavy lifting, but my body doesn't like it as much as it used to. Fortunately, my bone density is awesome for my age (50), and my body fat percentage is reasonable (21-22%). I'm glad I lifted when I was younger. I've had surgery on my cervical spine, and heavy lifting causes me considerable pain as well as numbness in my face, arms and hands. I still do light resistance and cardio, and I seem to be able to maintain my fitness level doing those things on a regular basis. My fingers are crossed that what I've done before and am doing now will be enough to keep my bones healthy and strong.0
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Cardio is a way of life for me, even before I've gained all this weight. When I reach my goal, cardio will still be higher on my page than strength training.0
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You know what's easier than cardio for losing weight? Eating less lol
what fun is that? :laugh:0 -
You know what's easier than cardio for losing weight? Eating less lol
wrong.0 -
hrm...cant see how normal cardio, like running etc would be better?
go and do a BB complex like this:
5 reps of each. 3 times through:
Hang cleans
Front squat
Overhead press
back squat
Overhead Press
Use a weight that you can overhead press 10 times.
Then tell me you dont feel like you got anything out of it.
You will be building muscle, and getting a great cardiovascular workout.
I throw them in on some of weekend random sessions.
I've seen mates want to cry and go home afterwards.
ALSO. Squats. I've always said the "fix everything!" Including excess fat issues!
Punch out a few sets of 10-15 reps with 1 minute or less of rest...use a decent weight! Like a weight you could probably only manage for 10-12 reps, and breath those squats out!
Long, boring, steady state cardio has its place, for sure. But try anything like the above....then compare it the long boring stuff.0 -
hrm...cant see how normal cardio, like running etc would be better?
go and do a BB complex like this:
5 reps of each. 3 times through:
Hang cleans
Front squat
Overhead press
back squat
Overhead Press
Use a weight that you can overhead press 10 times.
Then tell me you dont feel like you got anything out of it.
You will be building muscle, and getting a great cardiovascular workout.
I throw them in on some of weekend random sessions.
I've seen mates want to cry and go home afterwards.
ALSO. Squats. I've always said the "fix everything!" Including excess fat issues!
Punch out a few sets of 10-15 reps with 1 minute or less of rest...use a decent weight! Like a weight you could probably only manage for 10-12 reps, and breath those squats out!
Long, boring, steady state cardio has its place, for sure. But try anything like the above....then compare it the long boring stuff.
Workouts like this are the core of my exercise. In 20-30 minutes I am huffing and puffing, my heart rate is way up and was sustained there. This falls under the broad category of Metabolic Resistance Training which is cardio strength training. It can be done with our without weights, and I have seen more fat loss from it in a shorter time than a bunch of cardio. I still do cardio type exercises like cycling because I love to cycle, but come colder weather I will not be able to do it until spring, so I am glad I have something that works better for me than long boring cardio.0 -
Not sure how you can argue against this... I doubt most people can do significant amounts of cardio when they start off and a good chunk of people on this site seem to be eating back their calories.You know what's easier than cardio for losing weight? Eating less lol
wrong.
Maybe it's different for ladies on a 1200 daily goal but for me, eating 2k calories is much easier than eating 3k and exercising off 1k. Eating 3k alone is a lot of work for me.0 -
Not sure how you can argue against this... I doubt most people can do significant amounts of cardio when they start off and a good chunk of people on this site seem to be eating back their calories.You know what's easier than cardio for losing weight? Eating less lol
wrong.
Maybe it's different for ladies on a 1200 daily goal but for me, eating 2k calories is much easier than eating 3k and exercising off 1k. Eating 3k alone is a lot of work for me.
I'm not trying to be contrary-- my situation is unique. I was eating 1200-1400 calories for over 2 years, training for a 1/2 marathon and blew my thyroid to hell. Not eating enough calories was my downfall.0 -
Cardio only made me skinny fat. I am now lifting heavy and upping my calories in order to undo the damage0
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Yeah, in that case, you were probably burning almost as much as you're eating. Endurance athletes definitely need to be eating back their calories since they burn such a large amount!
Not sure how you can argue against this... I doubt most people can do significant amounts of cardio when they start off and a good chunk of people on this site seem to be eating back their calories.You know what's easier than cardio for losing weight? Eating less lol
wrong.
Maybe it's different for ladies on a 1200 daily goal but for me, eating 2k calories is much easier than eating 3k and exercising off 1k. Eating 3k alone is a lot of work for me.
I'm not trying to be contrary-- my situation is unique. I was eating 1200-1400 calories for over 2 years, training for a 1/2 marathon and blew my thyroid to hell. Not eating enough calories was my downfall.0
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