Is Cardio-Only a Setup for Failure?
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Honestly, you just have to find whatever it is that you like and stick to it! I don't like running, I don't like treadmills, I don't like weights, I HATE Zumba and I know that so I don't try to do them often.
My favorite exercises are the elliptical, walking, and bike riding. I actually enjoy all three, so that's what I focus on. I also pay more attention to my calories then I do to working out a set amount of time. If it feels like a job to me, I end up quitting.
With all of the different people on MFP, you're going to get a lot of opinions on how you should lose weight and how you should exercise. The important thing to realize is that you have to do what you enjoy or it isn't likely to work.
Strength training is heavily encouraged around here. Many tell you to eat clean, only eat at certain times and a certain number of meals per day, etc. And it does work for some, but that doesn't mean it's great for everyone! I don't like lifting weights, I'd rather have 2 or 3 meals instead of 6 and eat less of what I actually like instead of a ton of food that doesn't even taste good to me. But that's ME. My only point is that you have to find what works for you and do that and not worry about what everyone else is doing! If you hate cardio, try something else! No reason to do something that you don't enjoy!0 -
ive noticed.... im a yo-yo exerciser. heh. when i start (again) its usually only cardio and i have motivation that feels like itll last forever. of course it dies after a while. i used to do something like 45- 60 minutes of cardio on the elliptical or about 30 mins on the trails around my house. ive also noticed that a few of my friends do this. they spend up to 90 minutes doing JUST cardio for about a week, and then i stop seeing their exercise updates. i do the same damn thing!!! why? would strength training keep up the motivation a little more?
it interested me that im not the only one who does this, so im curious to hear your thoughts. why does excessive cardio seem to lead to a complete crash in motovation for the 585268447th time?
Ok. OP. Sorry I got so derailed by one of your responses....
Again, I'm not Personal Trainer, but I'll share my opinion after 2+ years on MFP and losing 50 lbs and achieving a wieght lower than what I had when I had an ED, but now I can do chin ups and squat 145 lbs:
Doing excessive endless hours of cardio burns calories. Training for a marathon can be a great goal. It can be a wonderful active meditation, help you become fit, and be so good for your mental health. It can also get boring as hell and damage your knees....
I used to run A LOT. Well, for my busy life, running 50 miles in one month is a lot. And i damaged my knees and realized if I wanted to put energy into the five million other things I want to do with my life, I can't be a "slave to cardio"....So here's what I figure. HIIT is BETTER than constant rate running, and you simply cannot do a full hour of HIIT. Trust me. I was regularly running 5 miles multiple times a week, and when I switched to HIIT for 20 minutes, it kicked my bum. I'm not talking intervals. I'm talking HIGH INTENSITY intervals. This has the same benefits, and then some, as steady state cardio. You build endurance. YOu also have more after burn. The only down side is, as far as "Logging" goes, it'll show you burning less cals (just due to the fact that you can't do more than about 20 minutes on any given day).
I also took up weight lifting. I have only been doing it since January but I can say for sure that I am not BORED at all by it. It's amazing to see how much and how quickly one can change their body. Case in point: In january, I couldn't do one full chin up. I could do partials, and even that was a miracle for me. Now it's April and I do 9 PULL UPS every time I go to the gym. I can see improvements in how much i can squat, dead lift, etc. These improvements are almost weekly. I can see muscles I didn't even know I had. And when I try things that I used to struggle with (like circus arts, corde-lisse for example) it's THRILLING to see that I can do them with such ease!
I feel like a monkey sometimes!!!!
Bring it ON!
so my vote goes for give up endless hours of cardio if you are bored. Cut it down to 20 mins of HIIT 3-4 x's a week and start lifting heavy. The day will come when your car breaks down and you realize you can push it where it needs to go all by yourself and darn it, it feels GOOD!0 -
oh also, i think its important to remember that there are many ways to do exercise that aren't slaving away in a gym at all:
hiking
surfing
rock climbing
snowboarding
SUP
dancing
^^all of those are cardio, some are resistance training, some are HIIT....depending on conditions, etc. If you're tired of running for 60 minutes but you want to keep up the longer work outs, take up a new hobby.
LIFE IS FUN
FUN IS EXERCISE
Slay it out there!!!0 -
Cardio-only isn't a set-up for failure. It just depends on what you want/need. I need to lose fat AND gain lean muscle. Thankfully, my kickboxing class accomplishes both. I know I need more strength workouts, so, IN class, I try to put a LOT more umph into my squats, lunges, pushups, etc. Doing more, faster, harder...whatever the move requires. But I LOVE the class, and the routines change every time, so I don't get bored. Find something you really enjoy and maybe you won't lose motivation.
I heard cardio will help you lose weight. Weights will help you change your shape.0 -
It's incredibly easy to lose body fat, IF, repeat IF, you keep to 72 grams of carbs per day. Exercise makes no difference either way..
Just curious...why 72 grams and precisely, 72 grams? So 71 won't do it? Or 73? What about the 200+ I normally consume? Should I just forget about the 17 pounds I've already lost?0 -
I don't know... exercise isn't necessarily "fun" for most people. Try and find something you enjoy doing.0
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Subscribe. Just so I can see where this goes.....0
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Exercise has no bearing - at all - on losing body fat.
If you exercise, let's say "300 calories worth," you'll just eat that much more.
It makes no difference to your Calorie Deficit for the day.
If you say "Oh, I'm going to exercise 300 calories, but, still only eat 1600" ... that's silly. Why?
Simply, just DON'T exercise, and only eat 1300.
It's easier to do the latter. Exercise just increases your appetite, beyond the calories-burned.
The ONLY THING THAT MATTERS if you want to eliminate body fat is:
(1) slash your carbohydrate intake to 72 grams per day, and keep it there precisely
(2) your caloric deficit each day.
Exercise is totally pointless, because it will just make you eat more. If you say "oh, but I'll only eat the same anyway" -- then very simply, DON'T exercise and just eat less.
It's incredibly easy to lose body fat, IF, repeat IF, you keep to 72 grams of carbs per day. Exercise makes no difference either way.
the only thing that matters is your Calorie Deficit on a given day !
Instead of doing 200 cals of exercise, just don't eat a couple spoons of yoghourt .. 200 calories.
they walk among us0 -
Maybe you just haven't found something that works for you?
I personally do group outdoor training and don't get bored or tired of it..
But that is because every session we do is different so you don't have a chance to be able to learn to predict what is next.
Try something new and see if it helps, I do cardio for an hour 3 times per week and an hour of toning once a week... plenty of variety :-)0 -
I strength train because I learned that cardio along DOES NOT BURN FAT...you might lose weight, but not fat. And yes, strength training is so much more fun than a one dimensional machine like a treadmill.
I am reading this book I love named The Female Body Breakthrough. It teaches you how to eat, how to pair foods, the foods you should shop for, how to lift and strength train....and she is sooooooooooo against the treadmill and the girl side of the gym.
Good luck....but yes, step your game up. You will feel so accomplished and you will be so amazed at your strength that you will not give up!0 -
I forgot to answer your question, yes its a set up for failure to me. I wasn't getting the results I wanted quick enough. I was slimming down, but I was a smaller version of my big self. The rolls I had before, still exsited. I am in the process of melting this fat off and building muscle. I want to be fit, not skinny fat. So although str8 cardio is beneficial health wise....you will get more bang for your buck if you paired cardio, with weights and challenged your body more.0
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I have done pretty much just cardio for the past 2 months and I havent had that issue. For me, it's easiest to fit in just the cardio, and when school lets out and I am closer to my goal weight I plan to incorporate more strength training. That's just me though. It is, of course, better to strength train in addition.0
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If exercise doesn't matter then why doesn't everyone who loses weight look like a bodybuilder?
No shiznookies. And I kinda want to look like a body builder or maybe even thin and muscular like Lance Armstrong one day.0 -
Marking my spot :-)0
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Exercise has no bearing - at all - on losing body fat.
If you exercise, let's say "300 calories worth," you'll just eat that much more.
It makes no difference to your Calorie Deficit for the day.
If you say "Oh, I'm going to exercise 300 calories, but, still only eat 1600" ... that's silly. Why?
Simply, just DON'T exercise, and only eat 1300.
It's easier to do the latter. Exercise just increases your appetite, beyond the calories-burned.
The ONLY THING THAT MATTERS if you want to eliminate body fat is:
(1) slash your carbohydrate intake to 72 grams per day, and keep it there precisely
(2) your caloric deficit each day.
Exercise is totally pointless, because it will just make you eat more. If you say "oh, but I'll only eat the same anyway" -- then very simply, DON'T exercise and just eat less.
It's incredibly easy to lose body fat, IF, repeat IF, you keep to 72 grams of carbs per day. Exercise makes no difference either way.
the only thing that matters is your Calorie Deficit on a given day !
Instead of doing 200 cals of exercise, just don't eat a couple spoons of yoghourt .. 200 calories.
they walk among us
I'm seriously wondering if this was a troll post...Whoever posted this hasn't been back to clarify/defend his idea. I'm dying of curiosity of why exactly 72 grams of carbs. What if I ate nothing but junk food, as long as I only at 72 grams of carbs? Is this a magic trick none of us has been aware of up this point and this guy has just shared it with us with no further explanation?0 -
Exercise has no bearing - at all - on losing body fat.
If you exercise, let's say "300 calories worth," you'll just eat that much more.
It makes no difference to your Calorie Deficit for the day.
If you say "Oh, I'm going to exercise 300 calories, but, still only eat 1600" ... that's silly. Why?
Simply, just DON'T exercise, and only eat 1300.
It's easier to do the latter. Exercise just increases your appetite, beyond the calories-burned.
The ONLY THING THAT MATTERS if you want to eliminate body fat is:
(1) slash your carbohydrate intake to 72 grams per day, and keep it there precisely
(2) your caloric deficit each day.
Exercise is totally pointless, because it will just make you eat more. If you say "oh, but I'll only eat the same anyway" -- then very simply, DON'T exercise and just eat less.
It's incredibly easy to lose body fat, IF, repeat IF, you keep to 72 grams of carbs per day. Exercise makes no difference either way.
the only thing that matters is your Calorie Deficit on a given day !
Instead of doing 200 cals of exercise, just don't eat a couple spoons of yoghourt .. 200 calories.
they walk among us
I'm seriously wondering if this was a troll post...Whoever posted this hasn't been back to clarify/defend his idea. I'm dying of curiosity of why exactly 72 grams of carbs. What if I ate nothing but junk food, as long as I only at 72 grams of carbs? Is this a magic trick none of us has been aware of up this point and this guy has just shared it with us with no further explanation?
And don't even get me started on the whole no exercise thing...0 -
Exercise is totally pointless, because it will just make you eat more. If you say "oh, but I'll only eat the same anyway" -- then very simply, DON'T exercise and just eat less.
It's incredibly easy to lose body fat, IF, repeat IF, you keep to 72 grams of carbs per day. Exercise makes no difference either way.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Thank you, I needed that.
Somebody has drunk the kool aid (or maybe o =not, it may have carbs in it....)0 -
Honestly if I were doing that much cardio and that was my only mode of exercise I would get bored as well. 90 minutes is a long time to be on a machine.
You should add weights to your workouts as well.0 -
I strength train because I learned that cardio along DOES NOT BURN FAT...you might lose weight, but not fat. And yes, strength training is so much more fun than a one dimensional machine like a treadmill.
BroScience...........
but strength & cardio do compliment each other.0 -
Not me. I love cardio. I've been doing only cardio for years until just recently when I tore my MCL so I started doing heavy lifting until it healed.
I find I like both now.
Um . . . cardio doesn't burn fat? huh?0
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