Why Don't Petite Women Do Cardio?

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Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,035 Member
    DebSozo wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Lol, well my gym is full of petite women who focus on Zumba. And man do Zumba people get offended if someone is in their "spot" in the studios.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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    Zumba is fun! Lol- Funny about the territorial feisty ladies.

    Do you see good results with cycling? I've heard rumors that cycling is good for getting smaller. I tend to bulk up and want to avoid that. I'd rather get elongation and the Pilates type feminine body. I take after my dad, I'm afraid to say.
    Well you can't change your muscle insertion points, so depending on how much muscle you already have, having a lower body fat percentage will show how you're proportioned. If you already have a lot of muscle, it's hard to lose it, and in most cases you don't want to or you lower your metabolic rate even more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • Nireedk
    Nireedk Posts: 36 Member
    Theres this book called Petite Advantage Diet by Karas and he goes into a lot of details about why cardio kills and the way to go for petites is weight training and recomposition. Lets see if I can do a chapter report here ...
    1) cardio can destroy joints
    2) excessive cardo messes immune system
    3) some people don't practice good posture on cardio machines and posture is very important for petites to "look" lean
    4) 1980's kicked off the new fitness revolution ... coincided with obesity epidemic ... seems like flawed system
    5) weight training emphasizes posture - every 1/8 inch counts
    6) cardio can mess heart muscle and other muscles
    7) cardio increases your appetite
    8) people think, oh i exercised/cardio burn so I can eat or I don't have to move around as much the rest of the day

    IDK - Karas describes it as a belief system whether you believe in cardio or not.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    DanceDiva234 wrote: »
    Ok, so I am very short at only 5'0 and a half. I have about 10-15 pounds to lose. Whenever I come across other shorter women some swear they only strength train and do not do any cardio. I know this is not for everyone, I know many definitely do cardio including myself.

    My question is: What is their reasoning? Will cardio lead to weight gain because of building muscle? Basically, should I rethink doing cardio to lose weight?

    Maybe it is an odd question, but many petite women I've seen begin to make me rethink my ideas of how I would like to shed off pounds. I know I can't lose all the weight and maintain the weight lost only by dropping my calories. Without cardio, I don't see how only strength training can lead to weight loss.

    ?? I know lots of shorter gals that do cardio.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    edited February 2017
    I'm petite. 5'1 and 102lbs.

    I do cardio, either- aqua fit, Pilates, Zumba, belly dancing, walking, rowing, etc x2 a week. I don't run.

    I also lift (or do body weight exercises) x3 a week.

    Strange book- I have no idea where the idea came from.

    Cheers, h.

    ETA Oh *kitten*, zombie thread and even worse- I posted on p1. :(
  • kessdarln
    kessdarln Posts: 2 Member
    I am 4'11" ... I don't know if cardio or weights are better but I do know I dislike weights and Zumba is the only thing I do like. Most of all, I hate walking or jogging with others because most of them have long legs and it is not fun trying to double step.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    Sounds like you’ve found your best exercise. Good!
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    My maintenance calories are very low so I do cardio to burn more so I can eat more.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    I'm 5'1. i pretty much ONLY do cardio (in various forms)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    As someone who does a lot of road racing (at least, I did before COVID), I promise there are lots of petite women doing cardio.
  • CholeRoad
    CholeRoad Posts: 47 Member
    @nooshi713
    Have you thought about or tried reverse dieting to increase your calories?
  • CholeRoad
    CholeRoad Posts: 47 Member
    I am short and I do lots of cardio.
  • tbilly20
    tbilly20 Posts: 154 Member
    The title of this thread made me think there was going to be joke involved. I opened expecting to hear the punchline.... I feel let down.

    “Why don’t petite women do cardio?”

    Perhaps the task is too big? Maybe it’s a tall order?
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited March 2021
    tbilly20 wrote: »
    The title of this thread made me think there was going to be joke involved. I opened expecting to hear the punchline.... I feel let down.

    “Why don’t petite women do cardio?”

    Perhaps the task is too big? Maybe it’s a tall order?

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    It's kinda like

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  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    CholeRoad wrote: »
    @nooshi713
    Have you thought about or tried reverse dieting to increase your calories?

    I have tried slowly increasing my calories and it causes weight gain. I have years of data on myself to know what my maintenance is.

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