strength versus cardio?

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rouleaux
rouleaux Posts: 31
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello! First time poster, but long time lurker ;o)
Just wondering what other people's opinion was regarding strength training versus cardio. I try to alter strength training (free weights, squats, TRX) days with cardio days (elliptical, treadmill), but I find that often after I do a good strength training workout, my legs are just plain tired! Not sore, but tired, making my cardio workouts the next day rather lack luster... I am a very overt pear shape (34-29-40) with love handles and all the rest, and so really want to strengthen and tone my legs, but I also realize that I need to loose some of the fat/love handles for the muscles to be more visible, and to stop spilling over my jeans with the dreaded muffin top. Should I just suck it up, and try to push harder with my cardio? I really enjoy strength training a lot more, and find my motivation to get on the treadmill, especially with tired legs, is rather poor. I exercise 5 to 6 days a week, and have just recently started to track my calories with MFP - which has inspired me to try to clean up my diet even more (I always ate healthy, just drank way too much red wine!). I'd like to lose 10 lbs, but more importantly, I'd rather lose 2 inches off my hips! Thanks for any advice!

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  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    The calorie deficit should take care of the love handles. Strength training and cardio is a bonus to your health. Just keep going.. maybe experiment with a variety of routines until you find one you're happy with.

    You may consider an extra rest day.
  • Hoakiebs
    Hoakiebs Posts: 430 Member
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    Depends on what your goals are but the fat loss/cardio is going to lose you wheight faster, but you may want to take an extra day off. I would do 2 days of weight training, and 3 days of cardio, taking a day off after each weight day to get ready for the cardio. If you feel guilty about the extra day off, just go for a nice long 30-60 minute walk which will give you a break but still burn some calories.
  • jsteffen80
    jsteffen80 Posts: 136
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    I feel that cardio is a nice addition to a weight loss regimen. But as koosdel said, the only thing that really matters for taking off the fat is your calorie deficit, and you can do that 100% with diet.

    I'm currently lifting heavy for strength 4 days a week, and only have 2 dedicated cardio days. I'll throw in some high intensity cardio if I have a few minutes to spare after my weight lifting, but it's more or less only so I can eat some extra calories for the day. It seems to be working for me!
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    -You could try to vary your cardio (eg swimming) in a way to let your legs recover better.
    -You could try taking your carido outside, which will be much more fun than a treadmill.
    -Rest days aren't a bad thing. Your legs need to recover. So if you've been really training hard 5-6 days per week for a long time (especially while eating at a caloric deficit), give your legs a few days off in a row to let them completely recover.
  • rouleaux
    rouleaux Posts: 31
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    Great advice everyone, thanks!

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