Is Cardio-Only a Setup for Failure?
Replies
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Because most cardio is the same repetitive motion? And doing that for 90 minutes (which IMO is too long for a session) can seem endless.
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
endless? on some machine maybe, but no . . . have you never been dancing or surfing or paddleboarding or bike riding or something cardio for 90 minutes outside? glorious . . . . sometimes 90 minutes is not near enough time
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I don't think it's about cardio vs strength. It's a matter of finding exercise you enjoy. You may be very gung-ho to lose weight and get fit, but if you are not enjoying yourself you are likely to stop after a while. If you like strength training more, then you'll probably stick wth it. If not, you aren't any more likely to stick with that than cardio.
It might be a good idea to change your workout every so often so that you don't get burnt out. This would also introduce a lot of different exerc ises and you might just find one you like enough to do regularly.0 -
i think cardio only is great for getting started, but once it gets easy you will want more of a burn and you will branch out into other things0
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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.
I hear zombies like couch potatoes -- kind of a delicacy. veal-like.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?
Simple. Eat your exercise calories. They taste the BEST!!!!
For me, I hate the daily grind on the elliptical, but I do 45-50 minutes of it every day I'm not on my bicycle commuting to work (14 miles each way, now THAT'S a workout!).
What's my motivation? Not having a tight food budget when I get home.
I also rotate out music when I work out, just to keep it less boring.
But the food is the motivation for me. It's working, at least for now. When I get bored of it, I'll find something else.
PS: I'm also training for the Trek Across Maine, a 3-day 180-mile bicycle ride. My weekend exercise is spent in the saddle, and I'm trying to increase the number of days I commute via bicycle.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.
"fun" is an opinion and we all have one. But you are incorrect about cardio not burning fat. Of course it does.0 -
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?
Obviously it's exactly 30 more than 42, which as anyone knows is the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.0 -
Ah, it makes sense now! Thank you for that amazing insight!!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?
Obviously it's exactly 30 more than 42, which as anyone knows is the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.0 -
For me, I'm BORED STIFF if I do the same weight training program for more than 6-8 weeks, including any kind of cardio. I only do HIIT 2-3 times a week at 20 minutes a pop. It goes by fast.0
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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?
Strength training is far less boring, and burns fat much more quickly (assuming a healthy diet) than just cardio. Look around these forums...you'll see women who are jumping onto the strength training bandwagon left and right. They see VISIBLE, MEASURABLE results in just a couple weeks, versus months of cardio, for 1/2 the results. Stronglifts 5x5, and Starting Strength are two excellent programs (free) to get you started.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.
Truly terrible advice. Bravo, sir, bravo.
:flowerforyou: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?
He's a troll alright...but he's done this in other threads as well. Only in those he tried to defend himself...got steamrolled by science and critical thinking...and now just seems to hit and run instead.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!
Amen!! Reaching short term, measurable goals keeps ANYONE motivated!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.
I hear zombies like couch potatoes -- kind of a delicacy. veal-like.
You have an excellent point! I'm training up for the zombie apocalypse. Those greedy, dead, brain suckers will get the slow, weak ones first! Then the slow, weak ones will turn into zombies and they will be...slow and weak!0 -
It has nothing to do with cardio or weights. You don't have the will power or resolve to fix your weight problem. Maybe examine your lifestyle and where you're failing diet wise before trying to place the blame on working out.0
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bump for later:)0
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Perfect recipe for being skinny fat and unfit:flowerforyou: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.0 -
Marking my spot :-)
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BOOM!!!:drinker:0
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Have to disagree here. Exercise has a lot of other benefits than just weight loss. It strengthens your heart, your lungs, your muscles. Without it, it's pointless. The two pieces go together. Have I lost weight by just cutting things down? Yes! I definitely did. I lost size, everything. I didn't have more energy. I didn't feel better overall. I couldn't walk or bike that far without my lungs screaming at me and my asthma kicking up. Now I can do a lot more activity before my lungs complain and it feels great. I may not be a lot smaller yet, but I feel better already and my energy levels are already better than even four months ago.0
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plus, if you're eating right you just get skinny. If you work out you get toned and fit. Skinny looks good in clothes, fit looks good naked.
i love that!0 -
I lost 103 pounds doing cardio only for one year! I did protion control and Treadmill everyday for at least one hour a day! I started strength training after one year and it is ok but bores me. I only do strenght trainingg cause my Doctor wants me to. You need to stay focused and remember why you are doing this to begin with. Mix it up but continue doing your work out you will feel so much better if you get in shape and even then keep working out! Good luck and I wish you much success!
thank you! it sounds like mixing things up and experimenting with different things to find out what i like is the key here0 -
I mix it up. Complex moves (strength and cardio at one time), HIIT on the elliptical, dance (salsa, belly dancing, etc), walking, yard work, hiking. I establish a daily and weekly exercise goal as far as minutes, but I vary what I do to get there. I do strength training 6 days a week, cardio 2-3 times a week, but the cardio is never more than 35 mins and it is HIIT to make it more effective.
Find multiple activities you like to do for exercise and mix them up based on what you prefer. I don't feel I need more than 30 mins or so in one cardio session to get satisfactory results.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!
i really appreciate this response; thank you! hehe a monkey
way to go with your progress. the boredom seems to be it.. i want to start weight training SO bad its unreal. my schedule and wallet doesn't permit me a gym membership though, so for now its just body weight exercises and small hand weights i found around my house. i havent tried hiit, so i shall look into it 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.
I have this really great, slightly used bridge for sale. Interested?0 -
I love lifting and I love the results!!! Cardio I love also, especially running!0
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To answer the original question, I believe there needs to be a combination of both cardio and strength (not heavy lifting) and it should be changed up because our bodies get used to the same routine. Don't exercise to loss weight - do it for a healthy body. I have family who are in their nineties and they still are active, shovel show, sweep, rake/cut grass, etc. They do it slower and get upset if you try to do it for them. Still, they are moving and keeping their muscles and heart going. May we all be healthy in our nineties.0
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Because most cardio is the same repetitive motion? And doing that for 90 minutes (which IMO is too long for a session) can seem endless.
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
I agree. When I lift weights, I move from place to place a lot, usually not staying in the same section after I finish a set. So, I'll do one thing, then go across the gym to do something else, then back again to do more in the first section. It's a change of scenery, and sometimes, the scenery is quite nice!
Anyway, I prefer lifting to cardio, personally. It keeps my interest for longer and it makes me feel like a total bad@ss.0 -
To answer the original question, I believe there needs to be a combination of both cardio and strength (not heavy lifting) and it should be changed up because our bodies get used to the same routine. Don't exercise to loss weight - do it for a healthy body. I have family who are in their nineties and they still are active, shovel show, sweep, rake/cut grass, etc. They do it slower and get upset if you try to do it for them. Still, they are moving and keeping their muscles and heart going. May we all be healthy in our nineties.
Why not heavy lifting? I love heavy lifting.0 -
It is a simple concept:
You eat to lose weight
You exercise for good health.
Both are necessary to live a healthy life!
^ That's MFP gold, right there.
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bump0
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OP, ignoring all this other stuff, the reason I haven't kept up a cardio routine is I get bored. It's too easy for me to put it off till tomorrow or promise myself I'll catch up. I never do.
I agree with the people who have said setting goals is a good idea.
For me what's made the difference is a routine - I go to the gym every weekday at lunchtime. If I feel like my body needs a rest day, I'll take one, but I know my routine is every day at 12ish, I get out of my chair and pop down to the gym. Maybe a routine will help you stick at it?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.
This guy is amazing Posts that same crap everywhere on every post, nutrition or exercise based 
Complete bro-science that doesn't even go with common sense, like most bro-scientists try to do to seem legit. Truly fascinating. Suggestion for you mister temp666, stop eating. Really amazing caloric deficit, no need to even exercise!
For the OP, you can at least vary your cardio a lot if you want to stick to that. SOOO may options available : Bike, swimming, rowing machine (that one is evil), running outside somewhere you have never been, etc.
Lifting is also pretty repetitive anyway, and somewhat harder to vary I find, so maybe that won't help in itself if you are trying to find variety.
What works for me too is to log and keep data on my cardio like crazy. Everything I can track and measure and follow over time, that really drives me and motivates me to do better and go back outside and run.
Good luck 0
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