"No one who does only cardio looks good"

Looks good by who's standards? If you are talking about people obsessed with muscle definition, no, you won't look good with just cardio. "Just cardio" usually requires you use the largest muscle groups to get an oxygen debt, therefore building stamina. If you do aerobics, such as a step aerobic program, you are exercising other muscle groups as well. I say it is BS that you will be skinny fat just doing cardio. Skinny fat is when you are not overweight, but out of shape as well. If you are cardio healthy you usually DO have muscle tone, just (maybe) not muscle definition. And it depends on your body type, age, and how much weight you have lost as to what your body will look like when you reach your goal weight. Some people, such as myself, will never have muscle definition for one reason or another. People who go for the 5% body fat look are just as bad as media hype about thin model-type bodies being the only acceptable "look" for women. If want it and can achieve it, knock yourself out, then you might be acceptable to other people for which looks are the only qualification for acceptance.

I agree with the guy that made this statement.

With cardio only, I was skinny fat. I'd fit into a size 4 pair of jeans but still have a muffin top.

Then I started lifting and well, now my size 4 jeans fit perfectly, I weigh more than I did with cardio alone. And my curves are still in place.

A mix of both is good. I find a good short HIIT workout after lifting very beneficial...

If someone had a muffin top wearing size 4, that person was not wearing the proper size. That person may have fit into a size 4, but probably should have been wearing a 6.

I would agree with the size 6 if the size 6 fit me without my needing to pull them up every other minute, thus making them uncomfortable.

It's all relative, really.

i think this is true for men, but not for women.....

women are not that different then men, except if they workout just as hard they will not get as big due to hormonal differences.

you missed the point, the point was that i feel women can look good only doing cardio, they can look good with very little muscle mass at all.............but a man with no muscle mass..............not so good. And before all the cardio only fellas chime in.........everyone's definition of good is different.............

I do mostly cardio just to burn off some of the outer layer of fat so when I do start to do alot of weight training the muscle will show thru.

^^^ this is my plan too. just started TRX and strength training along with my cardio regimen.

But, cardio only is not necessarily only cardio. Some would call swimming cardio - ever look at a swimmer's body? skinny fat my *kitten*.

99.9% of elite swimmers lift weights, a lot of weights, as part of their training routine.

On the other hand, alot of elite women that lift do alot of running/cardio

Saw someone on MFP write this as a reply to a different topic today. This can't be true..... right?

Of course it can't.

There are people who don't exercise at all who look good. And, anyway, everybody likes different body types. If you like very defined, big muscles, then you might think that.

Saw someone on MFP write this as a reply to a different topic today. This can't be true..... right?

Of course it can't.

There are people who don't exercise at all who look good. And, anyway, everybody likes different body types. If you like very defined, big muscles, then you might think that.

Exactly. I don't want an extreme amount of muscle definition. I don't think that women who have it look BAD, i just isn't the body type I want. I want to not jiggle anymore, but I also want to look soft. I don't think weights are counteractive to my goal, but I won't be lifting for hours and trying to cut my body fat way, way low. It just isn't my goal for myself.

Not true.. I do mostly cardio and ballet and I just look very skinny and toned. But ballet shapes the legs really well.

Ballet is pretty hardcore exercising though.

Whilst that does seem like a somewhat sweeping statement, I do kind of agree. Doing just cardio only will burn calories, but strength training really does help with the toning side. I do a mixture of running (well, jogging) circuit training and kettlercise. The kettle bells offer a great way to use and tone muscles without making them huge. I've recently discovered that for the first time ever, I seem to have the start of defined stomach muscles and thinner, more toned legs which is all from the kettle bells/circuits. Running without a doubt burns the most calories, but I couldn't do it without having done lots of strength training and squats at my classes as that helps to support my knee and leg muscles and reduces the damage that running can do.

My advice and I'm no expert I assure you - is mix it up a bit. Cardio can be very boring all the time (esp running) and you do still burn calories from weight training.

Whilst that does seem like a somewhat sweeping statement, I do kind of agree. Doing just cardio only will burn calories, but strength training really does help with the toning side. I do a mixture of running (well, jogging) circuit training and kettlercise. The kettle bells offer a great way to use and tone muscles without making them huge. I've recently discovered that for the first time ever, I seem to have the start of defined stomach muscles and thinner, more toned legs which is all from the kettle bells/circuits. Running without a doubt burns the most calories, but I couldn't do it without having done lots of strength training and squats at my classes as that helps to support my knee and leg muscles and reduces the damage that running can do.

My advice and I'm no expert I assure you - is mix it up a bit. Cardio can be very boring all the time (esp running) and you do still burn calories from weight training.

even lifting extremely heavy weights will not make a woman huge as for one you will not gain muscle on a caloric deficit, and a woman does not have enough testosterone to bulk.

I tripped over a dead horse on the way to reply to this post.....

:grumble:

everyone thinks cardio is the answer!! and this may be true if you only have like 10 lbs to lose.. but weights are what helped me lately... start seeing the results i wanted!!..

cardio makes u look good with clothes on! weights make u look good naked!! ;]

I don't think it's true, depends on your definition of "good!" I think people who do only cardio tend to look soft, where the people who lift weights look toned/muscular. Depends on the look you're going for.

You can be toned and muscular, but still be soft. I have 130+ lbs of lean muscle mass, but it doesn't show thanks to all the fat I can't seem to shake.

everyone thinks cardio is the answer!! and this may be true if you only have like 10 lbs to lose.. but weights are what helped me lately... start seeing the results i wanted!!..

cardio makes u look good with clothes on! weights make u look good naked!! ;]

Actually the less you have the more important strength training becomes. As the less fat you have to lose the more liekly your body is to break muscle down to use as fuel, instead of fat. Strength training will help retain that lean muscle as you lose the last bit of fat. That being said strength training the full time will lead to a lower BF% at every point on the scale during your weight loss vs. cardio or diet alone.

"Skinny girls look good in clothes. Fit girls look good NAKED!!!"

Every time I see this I shake my head. The only person that's going to see me naked (besides me and maybe the cat) is my husband, and he doesn't care what I look like as long as I'm naked, period. Oh, and willing.

So, if I'm not 'fit' by someone else's definition, that's too darn bad. I'm healthy and I feel pretty damn good about myself and what I've accomplished and how dare anyone else try to tell me otherwise.