Strength Training or Cardio for Fast inches lost?

stinastudios
stinastudios Posts: 117 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all! I have a question I'm hoping you can help me answer.

I am getting married on April 19th of next year, and I would ideally like to lose at least another 40-50 lbs. by then if not more. I know that in the long run strength and cardio are both important parts of losing weight and inches. That is not my question.

On August 4th, I will be trying on wedding dresses for the second time. I would like to try to lose as many inches off of my body as possible in the slight less than a month that I have so I can be my very best for the day. So my question is, what is the best way to lose those inches in a month's time, cardio, strength training, or both? Or something else?

I also wouldn't mind diet/bloat-reducing help, since the last week or so I will be trying to cut down on sodium and diet soda/etc. to reduce that.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

-Stina

Replies

  • MrTypical
    MrTypical Posts: 24
    A month isn't much time. Your best bet is cardio and weight lifting together. Cardio doesn't mean jog for 2 miles at a snails pace though. Focus on sprinting. Also cut out sodium all together to try to get your water weight down.
  • suntan64
    suntan64 Posts: 1
    Hello there... Have you tried the seventeen day diet? I would buy the book and try that along with exercise according to the book. Several friends have had great success with it. Good luck..
  • stinastudios
    stinastudios Posts: 117 Member
    Okay, one thing i didn't mention. I'm currently around 275 lbs, 5'8", and would like to eventually get down to 160 or a bit lower. My knees have some issues, and there's no way I can jog for any real length of time. So should i focus on power walking, with little "sprints" of jogging, or use an elliptical instead? I know the elliptical burns more calories in the same amount of time, but I'm not sure if walking/jogging would have other added benefits over the elliptical.

    Edited to add: I do plan to eventually jog/run/sprint, I'm looking for ward to it, actually, but at this point it's not a healthy or effective way for me to exercise.

    (And I'm looking up the 17 day diet, might be helpful!)
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    Strength training = more inch loss and less weight loss

    Cardio = More weight loss and less inches lost

    Both = The best way to do it!

    I do Elliptical + weight lifting
  • NoxDineen
    NoxDineen Posts: 497 Member
    Your subject line should read: Strength Training or Cardio for Fast inches lost!

    Do both. I believe if you're new to strength your best bet is a full body strength routine 3x a week (recovery days feel like wasted time to me sometimes, but your body really needs them for max results).

    You also have to commit to eating properly though. No criticism intended, for all I know you eat great, but for me that was the "AHA!" realization.

    Good luck and congrats!
  • MrTypical
    MrTypical Posts: 24
    If you have bad knees don't do sprints. Eliptical, swimming, biking, anything low impact where you can get your heart rate up. A few quick "sprints" of any type of excersie are better than a long slow "jog". Also check with your doc. If you have heart issues, sprints could kill you.
  • sthrnchick
    sthrnchick Posts: 771
    Although I still occasionally, and I must admit a little outta guilt, do cardio...I feel weight training has made a HUGE difference in my body shape...beginning pic from March 1, 174 pounds, and second pic from this weekend, 148 lounds...Not a huge scale change...but dropped over 13" overall.

    Untitled.jpg

    Untitled-7.jpg
  • stinastudios
    stinastudios Posts: 117 Member
    If you have bad knees don't do sprints. Eliptical, swimming, biking, anything low impact where you can get your heart rate up. A few quick "sprints" of any type of excersie are better than a long slow "jog". Also check with your doc. If you have heart issues, sprints could kill you.

    No heart problems here, no blood pressure issues either, other than the knees and the general breathing strain I can exercise fairly strenuously without issue, it's just that the level of what's considered strenuous for me is currently not set that high.

    I have also started swimming laps, so far only on the weekends, I can usually do about an hour to an hour 15 minutes, and not all slow laps, either. I wish it was something i could do more often, but variety is good, right?
  • MrTypical
    MrTypical Posts: 24
    Yep variety is good it keeps it fun. You have two seperate issues though, not really seperate you just qualified them as seperate. Your short term goal of quick inches and your long term goal of a long healthy life. Don't let sucess or failure of the first goal impact the second goal. The process for both goals is the same. Step 1 is get you diet in order. Eat 500 fewer calories than your body wants each day. It will make up the balance by eating your fat and muscle. You can minimize the muscle loss by lifting weights. Almost everyone (male and female) has great success with Starting Strength my Mark Ripptoe. Don't eat less than the 500 cal deficiet or you will lose muscle, not a good thing. Muscle burns calories and give your body it's shape as the fat is used up. For diet don't worry to much about what you eat, just watch your calories and avoid processed food as much as you can. Body recomposition is a slow process. It doesn't happens overnight. The best way to fail at your weight loss goal is to expect immediate results. What you can expect is a 1 pound fat loss each week. If your losses go much higher than 3 lbs it means your losing water weight and/or muscle. You should compare your body progress from month to month not day to day.

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