Weight Lifting and Cardio

chgn4me
chgn4me Posts: 28 Member
edited December 17 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone! I am a newbie trying to get into shape. I am trying to lose my pooch and tone up my body. I have no idea about weightlifing and am starting to research it more but I was wondering if anyone had any idea's or recommendations about doing both cardio and weightlifting or should you just chose one? I love doing cardio like Zumba because it is fun but I really want to tone up. Any ideas or recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

Replies

  • 311melissa
    311melissa Posts: 18 Member
    Hi,

    You really need to do both. I go to a boot camp that has a mix of cardio, strength training, and core (abs) exercises. I plan to also do Zumba on my off days starting next week. As we age, our muscles atrophy so it's important to keep up a strength training routine as well as cardio.

    Melissa
  • fifteenorphans
    fifteenorphans Posts: 5
    No reason you can't do both! Doing things you like to do is important when you're starting out, as it's much easier to stick to something you enjoy. If you're going to lift weights, good form is important so you should do plenty of research and get someone who has some experience to help you get started. It's fine to do cardio and weights on the same day (some say doing resistance training before cardio helps increase fat burn by using up glycogen stores more quickly, I'm not entirely conviced, but do your own due diligence on that) or you can alternate by doing cardio one day and resistance training the next. IMO that's a better split if you intend on going hard on both those things, as the cardio days will give (some) of your muscles a break from lifting. Besides that, don't be afraid of lifting heavy weights (it won't make you look like a bodybuilder!) and be sure to get enough fuel before and after workouts. Best of luck with it.
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