Strength training pointless without cardio?

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butterfli7o
butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Everything I've read here leads me believe the opposite. Yet I have a co-worker, who is very into fitness who said this. I told her my husband purchased an all-in-one gym to go in the garage (similar to a Bowflex) and that he's looking forward to working out. She said without cardio it's pointless. I don't believe this to be true, thoughts? Btw, I also had this mindset until I joined MFP.

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  • sweetNsassy2584
    sweetNsassy2584 Posts: 515 Member
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    LMAO really?!?! each has great benefits but you don't need to do cardio in order to lift weights.
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
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    Common fallacy. Your friend probably reads too many fitness magazines.
  • Natty0506
    Natty0506 Posts: 103 Member
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    It depends on your body type. For me, I need cardio and strength training to lose weight and build muscle. For other people, only weight training works for them. And some people only do cardio.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
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    Totally false. Both provide different benefits but in no way is strength training pointless without cardio. Lifting is a must for all adults.
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
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    No No You really need a good mix of both cardio and weight lifting to get your body in prime condition. Cardio will help cut you up and burn a lot of calories. Where as weights are going to build your muscles while increasing your metabolism and sculpt your body. A good diet is also very important when building the physique you desire. 70% diet 30% gym
  • butterfli7o
    butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
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    I'm sure it depends on the person. But she was making a general statement, that without cardio strength training is pointless. She's a friend, so I just left it at that and didn't wish to start a debate. I don't know if anyone's heard of Orange Theory, it's a new craze around here where they focus on keeping the heart rate up via mostly cardio to lose weight. She's probably there 3-4 times a week. It's a one-hour workout and your HR is monitored the whole time.
  • creature275
    creature275 Posts: 348 Member
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    you dont need cardio to become a powerful lifter but the thing is to be truly consider an athlete you need to be able to do more than just one thing, Ive seen plenty of guys in the gym throw around weight but I think "alright now lets see you run" and I know many of them cannot, and likewise ive seen guys run sub 5 minute miles but who have done so because thats all they are good for and could be out-lifted by some women I know, I think the balance is important but thats just me
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Everything I've read here leads me believe the opposite. Yet I have a co-worker, who is very into fitness who said this. I told her my husband purchased an all-in-one gym to go in the garage (similar to a Bowflex) and that he's looking forward to working out. She said without cardio it's pointless. I don't believe this to be true, thoughts? Btw, I also had this mindset until I joined MFP.

    For overall health you should have a healthy diet, do some cardio and some strength training.
    For weight loss as long as you are in a deficit you will lose, no cardio or strength training required.
    For BF% reduction, you need a modest caloric deficit and a heavy lifting strength training routine, preferably based around compound lifts. The deficit will allow you to lose weight and the strength training will help retain current muscle mass. The deficit can be diet alone or a combo of diet and cardio.

    FYI: I am currently finishing up a cut cycle (fat loss) and I only do 20 minutes of cardio one day a week.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    I'm sure it depends on the person. But she was making a general statement, that without cardio strength training is pointless. She's a friend, so I just left it at that and didn't wish to start a debate. I don't know if anyone's heard of Orange Theory, it's a new craze around here where they focus on keeping the heart rate up via mostly cardio to lose weight. She's probably there 3-4 times a week. It's a one-hour workout and your HR is monitored the whole time.

    I never knew there was a name for that other than "cardio" - the whole point of cardio is to keep the heart rate up, otherwise it wouldn't be called "cardio". The higher your heart rate, the faster those calories toast away. I assume it's named after most cardio machines and their "green/fat burning, orange/cardio, red/too fast" ranges?

    Seriously, though, there's an immediate caloric burn to cardio (earn more food for today = good!), and a longer-delayed but still important body shape improvement and metabolism increase to strength/resistance. You certainly can have one without the other, but if your goal is to become healthier and improve your physique, the optimal answer for most people is both. Teh balance between the two depends on your goals and personal preferences.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I'm sure it depends on the person. But she was making a general statement, that without cardio strength training is pointless. She's a friend, so I just left it at that and didn't wish to start a debate. I don't know if anyone's heard of Orange Theory, it's a new craze around here where they focus on keeping the heart rate up via mostly cardio to lose weight. She's probably there 3-4 times a week. It's a one-hour workout and your HR is monitored the whole time.

    If she doesn't lift heavy then she will be risking losing lean muscle mass doing that much cardio with no strength training, provided she is in a caloric deficit.
  • haines99
    haines99 Posts: 14
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    I am a nwebie (today) http://stevemark122000.hubpages.com/hub/exercise-lose-weight
    I looked at the following link and it made sense - I started using the format yesterday at gym and feel so much better. I was stepping, cycling, running and rowing before with hardly any weights - and was really so tired and sore. Now I feel like a million bucks and my metabolism appears to have increased... all in one day - I also do faster reps with reasonably heavy weight and do not rest between, but change the fcous to the opposite muscle directly after. Before this I was stagnant and was not losing any weight, mass or centimetres (and that has been gym 6 days a week for the previous 5 weeks). I am now gyming 30 minutes per day, twice a day and will keep you all posted to my progress

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