Why bother with cardio?

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Replies

  • jasmineheaven
    jasmineheaven Posts: 189
    Dont you dare talk about cardio that way!
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Having said that even low intensity steady state (LISS) cardio can be a very effective tool in a body recomp programme *shock horror* This is because it adds to your calorie deficit allowing you to eat more (which seems counter intuitive I know.)
    ....
    Don't believe the hype. LISS is a very useful tool.
    Nothing wrong with that - I just ran for nearly an hour, so I'm not knocking LISS at all. But if you "hate cardio", isn't it nice that you can get the same cardiovascular benefits from 15-20 minutes of HIIT as you can from an hour of LISS?
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    Living and exercise use energy. A calorie is a measurement of energy. You need said energy to live and to exercise. Your body can get the energy from food, from fat stores and from muscle stores. So by eating less energy than you use, you force your body to use stored energy. It tends to use both fat and muscle for this energy. Weight lifting helps convince your body to use more fat and less muscle. So yes, eating less and lifting weights results in more "fat burn".

    I know what it takes to live, thank you. Eating doesn't burn fat. Cardio is good to do, but if a person doesn't want to do cardio, they don't have to. That's their body. And as for weight lifting, it's not all that and it doesn't burn more fat than cardio. A person doesn't even have to pick up a weight to burn fat.
  • PlunderBunneh
    PlunderBunneh Posts: 1,705 Member
    I see many improvements in my life since I started up cardio four months ago. I like being able to run upstairs without getting winded, I've noticed my depression is much more manageable, and I really like that I can work it off if I want to go out to dinner with the girls. Plus, my bum is way nicer, much nicer then it was when I lost these same pounds by diet alone.
    I lost 50 pounds with diet only last year, and thanks to no-self control and incredibly stressful life events, I gained 30 back. This time, I'm working out on average 4 hours over the course of the week, splits between jogging on a treadmill and gym time elliptical and stationary bike. I didn't like it at first, and asked the same question to myself many times, why bother if I get the same benefits from just eating less? Once I got in routine though, I started to enjoy my cardio time and started to notice the difference in both my physical and mental health. I'm happier, and my body sure looks a lot better at 198 than it did last year.

    As for you, it may be different. It sounds like jogging and weight lifting get your heart rate up and make you feel great, so stick with it. Maybe just use intense cardio workouts when you hit a plateau, as we all do at times :)
  • tnic86
    tnic86 Posts: 134 Member
    Living and exercise use energy. A calorie is a measurement of energy. You need said energy to live and to exercise. Your body can get the energy from food, from fat stores and from muscle stores. So by eating less energy than you use, you force your body to use stored energy. It tends to use both fat and muscle for this energy. Weight lifting helps convince your body to use more fat and less muscle. So yes, eating less and lifting weights results in more "fat burn".

    I know what it takes to live, thank you. Eating doesn't burn fat. Cardio is good to do, but if a person doesn't want to do cardio, they don't have to. That's their body. And as for weight lifting, it's not all that and it doesn't burn more fat than cardio. A person doesn't even have to pick up a weight to burn fat.

    I'm not understanding your point? Number one: she never said eating burns fat. Number two: she never told them they HAD to do cardio, she is simply teling them that they can also burn fat by lifting weights if they don't like cardio. Number three: yes, you can burn fat by lifting weights, just as one can by doing cardio. By lifting weights, you are building muscle and burning fat. It's kind of hard to lose muscle if you are buliding it?
  • tschmelzer
    tschmelzer Posts: 120
    Dont you dare talk about cardio that way!

    I agree. I do cardio everyday of the week I love it!!! I am physically in much better health. Also, my resting heart rate and blood pressure has improved since I started doing cardio. And your heart is pretty damn important if you ask me! Good luck. As everyone else has said. Eating right jogging a few times and weight lifting a few times a week sounds fine so I don't really know what else you are looking for.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    I'm not understanding your point? Number one: she never said eating burns fat. Number two: she never told them they HAD to do cardio, she is simply teling them that they can also burn fat by lifting weights if they don't like cardio. Number three: yes, you can burn fat by lifting weights, just as one can by doing cardio. By lifting weights, you are building muscle and burning fat. It's kind of hard to lose muscle if you are buliding it?

    She quoted me to dispute what I was saying. My opinion stands.
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    I'm with you on that, wanting to be in shape and not huffing and puffing. I hate cardio. I really really hate it. I do, however, love lifting. Heavy, lots of super and tri sets to get your heart rate up, and although I've been doing that since I was a teenager, I've never been in good cardio shape.
    Try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) - you can get a good cardio workout in about 20 minutes or so. Do it 2 or 3x a week. You can do pretty much any gym machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, stair stepper, rowing, etc) or any cardio activity (running, biking, even swimming) as HIIT.

    2-3 minute warm up at a moderate pace. Then 30 seconds dead sprint, followed by 1.5-2 minutes recovery. Repeat the sprint-recover for a total of 6-8 rounds. 2-3 minutes cool down, and you're done before your favorite sitcom is over.

    Can HIIT be done on an elliptical?
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    I'm not understanding your point? Number one: she never said eating burns fat. Number two: she never told them they HAD to do cardio, she is simply teling them that they can also burn fat by lifting weights if they don't like cardio. Number three: yes, you can burn fat by lifting weights, just as one can by doing cardio. By lifting weights, you are building muscle and burning fat. It's kind of hard to lose muscle if you are buliding it?

    She quoted me to dispute what I was saying. My opinion stands.

    Your opinion is very wrong, though. Someone was correcting you for spouting misinformation.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    I'm with you on that, wanting to be in shape and not huffing and puffing. I hate cardio. I really really hate it. I do, however, love lifting. Heavy, lots of super and tri sets to get your heart rate up, and although I've been doing that since I was a teenager, I've never been in good cardio shape.
    Try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) - you can get a good cardio workout in about 20 minutes or so. Do it 2 or 3x a week. You can do pretty much any gym machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, stair stepper, rowing, etc) or any cardio activity (running, biking, even swimming) as HIIT.

    2-3 minute warm up at a moderate pace. Then 30 seconds dead sprint, followed by 1.5-2 minutes recovery. Repeat the sprint-recover for a total of 6-8 rounds. 2-3 minutes cool down, and you're done before your favorite sitcom is over.

    Can HIIT be done on an elliptical?
    Absolutely. I usually do it on an elliptical when I do it, because you control the pace (unlike a treadmill, where you constantly have to reset the thing) and it gets your upper body involved a little too. Just set the elliptical to a reasonable resistance - probably a few settings lower than what you would put it on for a normal workout, because those sprints will start to kill you if you set it too high.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    Your opinion is very wrong, though. Someone was correcting you for spouting misinformation.

    My opinion wasn't wrong. It still stands, a person doesn't have to like it. I'm done talking about it.
  • Yakisoba
    Yakisoba Posts: 719 Member
    lolthisthread
  • HeatherR930
    HeatherR930 Posts: 214 Member
    I think the percentage is way off, cause I know that I have tried losing by just eating healthy many times and have never been able to. And weight loss itself, ya you could say that, but to do it correctly you want to build up some muscle along with losing the fat, or you are just going to be incredibly weak and skinny.

    Just a quick search brought up these reasons that cardio is good for you:

    •Weight loss
    •Stronger heart and lungs
    •Increased bone density
    •Reduced stress
    •Reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer
    •Temporary relief from depression and anxiety
    •More confidence about how you feel and how you look
    •Better sleep
    •More energy

    I agree with all of this! I've heard diet/exercise is 90%/10% & 80%/20%, but I believe it's more half & half. After all, I'm not just trying to achieve weight loss, I'm trying to achieve HEALTH! If weight loss is all you're after, maybe those percentages are true, but it's more than that to me. The benefits of cardiovascular exercise listed above are enough reason to push myself & huff & puff on the elliptical!
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    I'm with you on that, wanting to be in shape and not huffing and puffing. I hate cardio. I really really hate it. I do, however, love lifting. Heavy, lots of super and tri sets to get your heart rate up, and although I've been doing that since I was a teenager, I've never been in good cardio shape.
    Try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) - you can get a good cardio workout in about 20 minutes or so. Do it 2 or 3x a week. You can do pretty much any gym machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, stair stepper, rowing, etc) or any cardio activity (running, biking, even swimming) as HIIT.

    2-3 minute warm up at a moderate pace. Then 30 seconds dead sprint, followed by 1.5-2 minutes recovery. Repeat the sprint-recover for a total of 6-8 rounds. 2-3 minutes cool down, and you're done before your favorite sitcom is over.

    Can HIIT be done on an elliptical?
    Absolutely. I usually do it on an elliptical when I do it, because you control the pace (unlike a treadmill, where you constantly have to reset the thing) and it gets your upper body involved a little too. Just set the elliptical to a reasonable resistance - probably a few settings lower than what you would put it on for a normal workout, because those sprints will start to kill you if you set it too high.

    I will definitely try this, it sounds like just the solution I need to being limited to 30 minutes for working out.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    I'm with you on that, wanting to be in shape and not huffing and puffing. I hate cardio. I really really hate it. I do, however, love lifting. Heavy, lots of super and tri sets to get your heart rate up, and although I've been doing that since I was a teenager, I've never been in good cardio shape.
    Try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) - you can get a good cardio workout in about 20 minutes or so. Do it 2 or 3x a week. You can do pretty much any gym machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, stair stepper, rowing, etc) or any cardio activity (running, biking, even swimming) as HIIT.

    2-3 minute warm up at a moderate pace. Then 30 seconds dead sprint, followed by 1.5-2 minutes recovery. Repeat the sprint-recover for a total of 6-8 rounds. 2-3 minutes cool down, and you're done before your favorite sitcom is over.

    Can HIIT be done on an elliptical?
    Absolutely. I usually do it on an elliptical when I do it, because you control the pace (unlike a treadmill, where you constantly have to reset the thing) and it gets your upper body involved a little too. Just set the elliptical to a reasonable resistance - probably a few settings lower than what you would put it on for a normal workout, because those sprints will start to kill you if you set it too high.

    I will definitely try this, it sounds like just the solution I need to being limited to 30 minutes for working out.
    Good luck! The only other thing I'd recommend is to not do HIIT two days in a row. Your body will need time to recover. You can do regular cardio or weights on the in between days if you like though.
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