Cardio VS. Weights for all over shrinkage!

I am very new at this so bear with my question. I just started doing couch 2 5k, will continue all 9 weeks and then continue running a 5k, 3 days a week. That will count as my 3 days, 30 minutes of cardio, correct? I am not a member of a gym, but I have a couple of weights. Can somebody point me in the right direction for strength training I can do at home (as a busy mom with 3 kids trying to fit this all in). Thanks so much!

Nope... always been under and around 115 pounds with usually 16-18% body fat and ALOT of muscle. A blanket 1500 calories is not acurate for everyone and is for the "average" if you will. I am only 5'1 and I don't eat as much as a 6 foot tall guy. btw

Even at 5'1" and 115lbs Your "cut" rate is still around 1500 (maybe higher depending on how active you are) Your BMR is close to 1200. If you want to eat 1000, have fun with that, but please don't give other people bad advice.

I am very new at this so bear with my question. I just started doing couch 2 5k, will continue all 9 weeks and then continue running a 5k, 3 days a week. That will count as my 3 days, 30 minutes of cardio, correct? I am not a member of a gym, but I have a couple of weights. Can somebody point me in the right direction for strength training I can do at home (as a busy mom with 3 kids trying to fit this all in). Thanks so much!

Their are TONS of things you can do at home! Check out the animations from the body4life website. They have ones with weights, balls, or just you and the ground/stairs. Hope this helps and I am not a member of a gym either. I do mine at home!

http://bodyforlife.com/library/tools
(click on Exercise Animations)

Thanks for that site! The animations made me giggle a little bit, but it is helpful.

I am very new at this so bear with my question. I just started doing couch 2 5k, will continue all 9 weeks and then continue running a 5k, 3 days a week. That will count as my 3 days, 30 minutes of cardio, correct? I am not a member of a gym, but I have a couple of weights. Can somebody point me in the right direction for strength training I can do at home (as a busy mom with 3 kids trying to fit this all in). Thanks so much!

Their are TONS of things you can do at home! Check out the animations from the body4life website. They have ones with weights, balls, or just you and the ground/stairs. Hope this helps and I am not a member of a gym either. I do mine at home!

http://bodyforlife.com/library/tools
(click on Exercise Animations)

Thanks for that site! The animations made me giggle a little bit, but it is helpful.

Yah sorry its a little old but hey its been around for a while and it gives you ideas!

Yep, heavy weights have made a difference for me too. I hired a trainer to show me proper technique, and saw results within the first two weeks. If you're circuit training with weights your heart rate stays elevated, so no need for a separate cardio session! :happy:

Nope... always been under and around 115 pounds with usually 16-18% body fat and ALOT of muscle. A blanket 1500 calories is not acurate for everyone and is for the "average" if you will. I am only 5'1 and I don't eat as much as a 6 foot tall guy. btw

Even at 5'1" and 115lbs Your "cut" rate is still around 1500 (maybe higher depending on how active you are) Your BMR is close to 1200. If you want to eat 1000, have fun with that, but please don't give other people bad advice.

Its not bad its just what works for my body…1200 is about my BMR and I stay anywhere from 1000-1200 calories depending on what I eat that day. Usually in the 1000-1099 range. The last time I did the body for life I was at around 115 pounds with 16-18% body fat which means I have alot of muscle. Someone said it wasn't possible to gain muscle but it works for me (see my profile pic and the abs??).... And if I ate 1500 calories it would take me forever to get to where I want instead of a couple of months. Right now I am at 112 with 18% body fat but I am trying to go leaner instead of bulky muscle which runs heavily in my family so more carbs, less protein, more reps, and so on…

My only problem with this is that "BMR" stands for basal metabolic rate... otherwise known as, the lowest calorie limit for what your body needs to function properly. If you are eating below your BMR, your body is not getting enough calories to function @ 100% capacity, plus if you exercise on top of that, you may actually be netting somewhere in the 700-800 calorie range. Not to mention it is hard to get enough nutrients on so little sustenence...

You WILL lose weight in a large calorie deficit - no doubt about that. And it's good that your family has a good history of muscle mass, that's probably what's helped you preserve what muscle you do have. But eventually this kind of diet will backfire and you will make it harder for yourself to keep weight off in the future because you were not eating enough to maintain your body's functions and you were not losing weight through gradual caloric deficit and exercise...

edit: Leaving work now so I probably won't respond, just wanted to wish you the best and let you know I was just trying to offer a warning on the low calories and how it could end up negatively impacting you and your goals in the future, take care and have a good evenin'.

Not a problem ... and I appreciate it!! I have come to the conclusion that my body is crazy weird compared to most and this works for me. Been doing this for years, 10 or so now. Usually I don't lose weight and sometimes gain because I gain so much muscle but I always stay in the 114-116 range year round while loosing 2-4% body fat. I use to do it for just swim season just to trim up a little and it lasts all year through December until after the holidays when I noticed I ate a lot of pumpkin pie (again I don’t gain weight but loose the muscle from not working out and its replaced with a little fat from the holidays and so on) Then I started doing it for fun to win the big fat looser body fat % at work and now this year for the baby weight. Well the baby weight is gone now I am just toning a couple of small areas. I am too busy to workout year around and usually can only do quick bursts of dieting and working out before I lose my will power (props to those who do it year round, not me with 5 kids and working full time!). No negative effects as far as I can see right now. My metabolism is crazy fast still. I am shooting for 16% body fat and I am at somewhere around 18.9 or 18.7 right now... can't remember what I was last week. But anyway there you go! Thanks for being nice about it though auroranflash…. Some people just don’t get that every body is different and what works for one doesn’t for the other and to not be mean about it! I appreciate that! Have a good evening too!

I think you should keep doing both. When I was losing inches AND lbs when I first started about 3 years ago, I was doing cardio 5-6 days a week, and strength training 3 days a week.

The majority of my clients have come to me because they were cardio junkies and weren't getting anywhere. Then I MADE them lift heavy weights. They got results and after a while went on their own.
So weights it is......................

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Thank you for this post. I had the same question when I found this. I have been walking a lot lately and don't see results that I am looking for. I will have to try the advice from this.

how much do you began with if your heavy lifting?