Cardio for weight loss is a waste of time??

Missy0104
Missy0104 Posts: 77
edited October 2 in Fitness and Exercise
This is the philosphy the trainer at my gym tried to convince me of. Their ploy to get me to sign up for weekly sessions was to say that cardio would do nothing but burn fat and muscle and that basically I should focus more on the strength training for the weight loss and stick to cardio for the health aspects.

I argued the whole "calorie in - calorie out" benefits to the cardio exercise but he basically stated that I was burning muscle as well as fat causing my metabolism to crash even further. Again, I think he was really trying to sell personal training sessions but it was rubbing me the wrong way and NOT the best way to go about it.

I wasn't arguing that strength training wasn't crutial and in fact went to him for the sole purpose of getting a good strength training routine into my week to go along with my cardio but to come out and basically say that the cardio is doing nothing for my weight loss bothered me and went against everything I THOUGHT I knew....

Needless to say I didn't feel comfortable doing any further training with him. I'm going to continue with my daily cardio and 2-3x/week strength training on my own. I'm no professional but to me that seems like the best win-win plan for me to get to my goal for now.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts though. I know there are trainers on here and would love to get their opinions on his theory....
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Replies

  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,412 Member
    bump
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Since i have been maintaining i have been doing a lot more strength than cardio, and while i hadnt lost any weight up till last week, i was still losing inches like crazy, so i am a big fan of strength training.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Steady state cardio that lasts any length of time will burn muscle along with fat. (look at long distance runners, no muscle) Then look at a sprinter's body, they hardly do any cardio, all high intensity for short bursts which is anaerobic, like strength training.

    For cardio you can do less at a higher intensity, you would burn the same number of calories in a shorter amount of time. check out HIIT as an alternative to your regular cardio 1-2 days/week.
  • soloral
    soloral Posts: 14
    He is somewhat right.

    Strength training, lets you get more muscle which in turn would burn more calories over the day.

    But what he should of sold you on was the intensity of the cardio, because you can build muscle with cardio.

    Look up HIIT cardio exercises.
  • strattonkitts
    strattonkitts Posts: 1
    Let me guess, you go to Coops gym? Have they discussed with you their diet plan? I am not an expert, but it doesn't seemed balanced to me....both the diet and exercise plans.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Well. I guess for me - results are what speak to me. I do cardio every single time I go to the gym. I also do strength training AND I do circuit training.

    I've lost 60lbs and am currently maintaining my weight. I guess for me - I don't really care what someone else's OPINION of cardio is. If it is working, why change it?

    Another reason I'll continue doing it? Went to the hospital recently and had to have an EKG done. When they read the results the nurse AND the doctor both said "Wow! Textbook perfect! What do you do?" I told them "Cardio" and they said "Well, keep it up. Rarely do we see a textbook perfect result!"

    For me, that tells me all I need to hear. :)
  • lauristewart
    lauristewart Posts: 379 Member
    A combination of the 2 is important, but cardio is what burn off calories immediately. I don't think that was good advice at all!! But I do agree you need a good mix of both.
  • ClareB1974
    ClareB1974 Posts: 224 Member
    I do strength training and cardio. Over the childrens' summer holidays, unfortunately cardio gave way to other stuff with them, although I always made sure I did my strength training. I ate no differently then than I do now and did before the summer. My average weight loss was much lower over the last six 'cardio-free' weeks than it was before and a sneaky peek on the scale this morning suggests that the weight loss is back up to where it was before the holidays.

    I can't argue the science as I'm not qualified, but I can tell you my experience.

    :)
  • LUCYRENEE
    LUCYRENEE Posts: 23 Member
    I agree with you!! The best plan has both cardio and strength training. Alternating them seems to be what I've heard. I am not an athletic trainer, but as a nurse I believe cardio is important-for your heart and overall health. Have you ever been to Jazzercise? It is a great blend of both and to great music.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    One of my trainers said that diet was 80% of weight loss. He did programs that were a mix of cardio and strength. I am doing alright, but I prefer cardio over weights and stuff any day!
  • teraann4
    teraann4 Posts: 2 Member
    bump
  • elfie9863
    elfie9863 Posts: 337
    I think he is full of hooey. I have done cardio only, one hour a day on the elliptical, and lost a little over 10lbs in 4 weeks. I am thinking that I will do some sort of strength training at about the 20lb mark and begin toning up. My experience with gyms is that those "trainiers" are there for the money. I bought my own elliptical and set it up right in my living room. It has been the best thing I have ever done and is WAY easier than going to they gym.

    Just my opinion.
  • ecs1516
    ecs1516 Posts: 51 Member
    I agree with you. Can't understand what he would mean. It seems like your doing the right thing you have lost 58 pounds so far.
    A personal trainer wrote in our newspaper that you need to do a program that contains all types of fitness to be fit. Cardio, weight training, Flexibility, core strength, and coordination.
  • Kristy085
    Kristy085 Posts: 65 Member
    I've been doing cardio at least 3 times a week for almost a hour since February and have lost 35 pounds. I do my own strength training at least 1-2 times a week. I've gained muscles and lost fat/inches. Maybe it's the different ways our body responds to certain exercises. I'd like to know more about this topic, too!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Yes, the trainer is pretty much right. You need a combination of cardio and strength training, not just cardio. I'm a step instructor and avid cardio girl, but I didn't see the results I wanted until I added heavy lifting. I balance this out with moderate carbs and high protein to fuel both types of workouts. If I understand what he was saying, he wasn't saying that cardio is getting you no where, but that you desired physique is dependent on the strength training more, and your overall fitness is dependent on your cardio (which you can actually do less of at high intensity to get benefit). Your trainer is actually not an idiot, just not conforming to your preferences.
  • FoamyRiver
    FoamyRiver Posts: 276 Member
    I think you made a wise decision dumping the trainer. I agree that both are important but I know that when my weight loss started lagging it was because I had started doing more strength training and less cardio. I bumped up my cardio and the pounds started coming off again. However, I didn't reduce the amount of strength training I was doing so I also saw an increase in inches lost and more definition to my body.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
    Thanks - I googled HIIT and will definitely try that during my cardio days!

    I know cardio is really important for health as well as weight loss but it irked me the way he played off my efforts as a complete waste of time.

    I did do a kettlebell workout last night which seemed to be the best of both worlds. My muscles are screaming at me today yet I was sweating buckets during the workout. :)
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    I think that's complete bullsh|+. It's happened several times with me that I wasn't doing enough cardio and wouldn't lose weight and as soon as I added back in JUST 30 minutes cardio after strength and an hour cardio on cardio-only days, I started losing again. I'm doing that now: 30-45 minutes strength 3x/week followed by 30-45 minutes cardio, and then on non-strength days I do 45 minutes-1 hour of cardio and I'm losing just fine.


    You need cardio. You have to have BALANCE. That's all weight loss is about is balance. It's the biggest thing, I think. Experiment and find what works for you.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Unfortunately, the trainer is correct in a sense... If your doing only cardio, you will be losing muscle along with fat. If you don't retain some of that muscle mass, then you're going to look skinny fat. Plus muscle burns more calories then fat at rest.. so you are burning extra calories everyday, without even doing anything extra.
  • ashesoh1234
    ashesoh1234 Posts: 132 Member
    I love doing cardio. It's great for my stress level and for my emotional health. It's great for my heart! I do strength training, too. I don't neglect strength. But I love cardio! So I'm sticking with my cardio.
  • TMcBooty
    TMcBooty Posts: 780 Member
    i think cardio is important on its own until u get to a weight u are comfortable with and then u start building muscle to tone up. its not fun to build muscle under fat.
  • sgillespie1971
    sgillespie1971 Posts: 5
    I do cardio every time I go to the gym I have lost 34 lbs so far. I understand the strengh part of it but in my opionon you do what ever is working to get to your goal weight. Then to maintain start with strengh building.

    Steve

    BW:286 8/2/2011
    CW:252 9/8/2011
    Goal:210 1/1/2012
  • njbooklover
    njbooklover Posts: 77 Member
    bump
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,024 Member
    I have been following the New Rules of Lifting as my workout since November... it preaches that same exact thing. I did very minimal cardio for the first probably 8 months of the program. One day a week I would get a HIIT session in on the cross trainer.

    The biggest thing I have taken away from the book is to never do carido and strength on the same day. Pick one and focus all of your energy on doing just that... go all out. It has been working very well for me.

    I have started to do some running, and do enjoy it but I think it does take a little away from my workouts.
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
    I lost 80 lbs the first 8 months or so, never did a sit up or lift a weight. I could only handle a treadmill at the time

    then I started, slowly, lifting weights, doing crunches and using the weight machines, lost another 70 lbs doing both cardio and weight training

    I like cardio more than lifting, it helps me get my heart rate up there and the eliptical took care of 18 inches of fat on my waist line...

    Im not an expert like your instructor, but personally, I tossed my 52 inch waisted pants for my 34 inch Im wearing as I type this...........talk to people with experience, see what helped them............Best wishes, Lloyd
  • jlowensby
    jlowensby Posts: 142
    Yes, the trainer is pretty much right. You need a combination of cardio and strength training, not just cardio. I'm a step instructor and avid cardio girl, but I didn't see the results I wanted until I added heavy lifting. I balance this out with moderate carbs and high protein to fuel both types of workouts. If I understand what he was saying, he wasn't saying that cardio is getting you no where, but that you desired physique is dependent on the strength training more, and your overall fitness is dependent on your cardio (which you can actually do less of at high intensity to get benefit). Your trainer is actually not an idiot, just not conforming to your preferences.

    Agree 100%
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    i think cardio is important on its own until u get to a weight u are comfortable with and then u start building muscle to tone up. its not fun to build muscle under fat.

    Don't worry about building muscle under fat, it will not happen if you are in a caloric deficit, all the strength training will do is ensure you don't lose the muscle you do have, and help you become stronger. muscle needs a caloric surplus to actually increase, unless you are new to lifting you may gain 2-3 pounds of muscle even in a caloric deficit (beginners gains)
  • Soulbird81
    Soulbird81 Posts: 86
    Cardio is a great heart workout and burns fat but doesn't build muscle.....in my opinion it is better to have more strength training than cardio BUT this philosphy is more so when you're nearer your goal weight. Cardio will help you get to a smaller version of what you already are BUT strength training goes a long way in shaping the body that you want to have so that you don't end up with a bunch of saggy body parts.

    Too each their own, I am sure there are going to be people that argue for one side over the other and vice versa. I agree that more strength training than cardio is what I will keep doing and what I know works for many people. I think he should have done a better job of explaining to you why strength training is better for your weight loss than cardio than what you stated here.

    If you want to read up on this check out any book by Tosca Reno. She explains the difference and what it does for your body beautifully.
  • irisherin82
    irisherin82 Posts: 66 Member
    Strength training is important when trying to lose weight. It helps tone your body that way you don't end up with a ton of loose skin. 1lbs of muscle is smaller than 1lbs of fat. And I have read that muscles do help you burn more calories. A perfect routine would be to do about a 5 to 7 min cardio warm up, followed by a strength training session (15 to 20 mins) and 20 to 30 mins of cardio.

    I had a personal trainer a few years ago, and this was typically what a session was like with him, and I was dropping weight faster than when I was doing just cardio. I prefer cardio because I do feel like you burn more calories, but as you gain more muscle or strengthen your muscles your calories burned will increase as well.
  • Essexgirly
    Essexgirly Posts: 13
    I agree with other people, i have lost 91 lbs by doing Cardio and weight training, along with regular walking and i find thats what works for me.

    I always believed that Cardio was the fat burner and weight training was to build muscle mass so your body burns more calories even when resting!

    Sounds to me like that person was after some income from Personal Training sessions!
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