Question about cardio vs. weight training

Okay, so I've kinda become a bit of a cardio bunny.  I can't help it, I'm addicted to the calories burned on the machines I use... I liiike seeing that number of calories burned.

On the flip side, I want to tone up and now that I'm within 10 pounds of my goal weight, now's the time to get serious about strength training / weight training / toning... Buuuuuut...

Weight training burns so FEW calories according to the activity log thingie.  So, I'm talking myself into the idea that while I'm burning fewer calories DURING my workout, I'll be building muscle which will burn calories all day long ... riiiiight?  RIGHT!  YES!!  That's RIGHT!!  Say it with me....

Lol, okay, so why am I not convinced?  Probably because I think I'm doing it wrong... does anyone happen to have a link or website for weight lifting / strength training dummies?

The sites I've seen are "do 3 reps of blah blah what did he say?"  I need pictures... preferably in crayon, mkay?

HALP! 

signed:
The wobbly bits are winning.

I am a personal trainer, ACSM certified, and i can tell you without a doubt in my mind that if you want to meet and maintain a fitness goal, some sort of strengthening activity besides basic cardio is NEEDED! 

You are CORRECT in your reasoning in the 2nd paragraph.  Increased muscle mass does lead to a more active metabolism. 

First off, do you have a gym membership?  If so, ask a personal trainer for advice.  I would even go so far as to suggest that you purchase a few sessions.  Depending on your needs and learning style, you may only need a few.  Big chains like Gold's or Bally's tend to have very expensive PT.  You may have more luck with a smaller corporate or private gym/ studio. 

A lot of people also have luck with yoga, pilates etc. to strengthen and tone muscles.  You would have the option of doing DVD's or videos at home, or working in a class.  I would recommend doing a class, so that a real live person is there to help you if you are doing something wrong, but learning the moves first via a video/DVD may make you feel more comfortable. 

You also may feel more comfortable learning basic weight traning via video or DVD, now that i think about it.  Check out your rental store first so that if you don't like what the video is teaching you, you can take it back!  But you would have to invest in free weights at home. 

Don't know any sites off the top of my head, but let me know if you are really interested at snowhite197@aol.com.  I am sure I could find something.  Let me know!  :)

PS, when you get into weight training and can lift functional amounts of weight, you can definitely elevate your heart rate just as fast as you can while doing cardio, or faster.  So you CAN burn a lot more calories lifting vs. doing cardio.  I have seen it, done it myself, and used it to help others! 

(But if you don't have a good cardio base as well as functional strength, you won't be able to perform the movements to that level.)

Wow... interesting Timing.

Hiya Snowhite, my name is HK and I just joined a gym and had my first personal training session, but I'll be honest that I can't afford a personal trainer on a regular basis, only on a once-in-a-while basis.

I was just saying that I was going to figure this out on my own.  I do have a book called "Weight Training for Dummies' and the gym I've joined has a lot of relatively simple machines (and staff on hand willing to show me how I'm supposed to use the machines)

Mostly, though, I have a definite interest in doing resistance training and both toning and adding mass to my existing muscles, but I just don't have the money to hire a personal trainer more than once every couple of months.

Any advice you could offer would be appreciated :) Otherwise, I was going to do some research and figure things out for myself :)

Hi Raehn,

I'd just like to add one other idea here which is you can start toning without decreasing the amount of cardio you are currently doing. If you workout to a cardio video say for 1 hr or 45 min or whatever a day- just start doing a toning video after that  like 2-3 times a week. it will increase overall calories burned, and you wont loose any ground by decreasing your cardio. I love this one: "I want that body" by tamilee webb. It has 6 toning segments 15 min each, 2 each for arms, abs and buns/thighs. It is great cause you can choose to do any section in any order! If you go to the gym to do your cardio- likewise start staying an additional 15- 20 minutes afterward to do some toning or weight training on the various machines, or with free weights. some great excercizes that almost anyone can do are bicep and tricep curls with light free weights ( mabey try doing 3 sets of 8 using a 5lb weight), squats and lunges while holding free weights ( again- 3 sets of 8 is not a bad start, can increas reps and sets as you get stronger), and the classic crunch for the abs- all of these can be done in limited space in the gym, or on a mat in a corner somewhere. I'm no fitness guru, just a fatso who's watched and done dozens of fitness tapes:)

Thanks for the great tips!  Everything I've done so far, I've done on my own via trial and error and pushing my resistance.  I have been doing basic strength training after my cardio each day, but I fear it's not enough... I'm not getting that stretchy achy burn that stays with me the next day!!

I am NOT a member of a gym, I'm too cheap for that... LOL, but I do work at a correctional facility that has free weights, a weight machine (which I mostly dink around with and have no idea what muscles I'm working when I do use it!), a machine that you do dips and pullups on (no idea what it's called) a sit up kinda machine thingie, treadmills, stairmasters, and elliptical machines as well as a recumbent bike that I hate.  But, hey... it's FREEEE!!!

I have a pilates DVD that I don't use at home mostly because I have hardwood floors and even the stupid workout mat doesn't give me enough comfort and support to complete more than five minutes on my HARD floors... my bones end up hurting, not my muscles!

I'm also going to see about that for dummies book that was mentioned!!  Thanks heaps!!

P.S. I emailed ya, Snowwhite!!  Thanks for the tips!

just another point to add-

you burn a lot of cals from weight lifting POST workout.  so you may not be able to count them, but you are using tons of cals to repair those muscles for 48 hours after your strength training sesh.    it is a massive metabolism boost, unlike cardio, which only raises your metabolism for about an hour after your work out.   we are talking 2 DAYS of boosted metabolism!  seriously, so cool.

I can't afford a gym membership, but am taking a weight lifting class at the local community college.  The first couple weeks the instructor showed us how to use the equipment now we can come and go during "lab hours" and workout and an instructor is there to help us with technique and setting up a plan - what excercises - weights reps etc...  heck for the price of the class $55 2 hours a week (more if we want) and class is 12 weeks can't beat it!

I am also taking a cardio class.  I do have an elliptical at home I use but I like the cardio class to help mix it up. 

As far as calories burned - yea you won't burn as many doing weights, but you will look better faster.  I haven't lost any weight but this summer when I was taking the weight class only I went down a size and got lots of comments on how good I was looking so don't let calories alone guide your decision.

Yep strength training is a definite must in any fitness routine.  That extra muscle mass you build is going to boost your metabolism and help you burn more calories when you are laying around watching Seinfeld re-runs.

Weight training does not necessarily have to involve an expensive gym membership.  There many inexpensive things you could purchase to work out at home.  You can also do bodyweight exercises which are both challenging and effective.

Don't ditch the cardio- it is good for your heart and your mental health.  But definitely add some strength training in there.

I'm with you, I LOVE cardio. Sometimes I have to keep myself from doing too much. You do burn a lot calories, but muscle is burned along with fat. I read that you burn like 70 more calories per every pound of muscle you build. Having more muscle is more efficient. Strength/weight training is a must!

I used to only do cardio at the gym because, like you, I loved watching the calories that I burn add up.  :)  However, after reading so many posts about weight training I decided to give it a try.  The coolest thing that I've found is that weight training makes my body feel AMAZING the rest of the day, surprisingly more so than the cardio (?).  Go for it!  (and of course, all the other advantages already talked about...)  I normally try to do 1 hr cardio & 30 min weights.

I hate cardio but love weight training so I am doing this thing called curcuit training. It's weight trainging but at a cardio level.  you move at a fast pace from excercise to excercise so your heart stays a  fat burning level.

Also I have a great great video that I am sure you would love. It's called cardio sculpt. It's a cardio workout and weightlifting at the same time. It will kick your butt. Hope this helps.

Hi Raehn,

Check out Shape Magazine's site.  TONS of workouts, complete with excellent form instructions and photos (no crayon, but still useful!)

HK,

If you don't have the resources to personal train continuously, doing a few training sessions every few months is still definitely worth it!  Let your trainer know that you are planning on getting a few sessions, then saving up til you can get a few more.  Sometimes they can even lower the prices or if you make a good impression, they may be willing to give you a free session or two or extend the length of your sessions.  What will really impress a trainer is if they see your dedication, by being timely, doing your cardio, watchnig your diet and working out on your own. 

I had several clients that did the same kind of thing when I trained at a corporate gym.  They were some of my favorite clients :) It especially makes a trainer feel good when they see a former client working out on their own doing a stupendous job at an exercise they learned in training. 

Oh also, this may not make sense to you at first, but don't try and 'spread out' sessions with your trainer.  It is easier for them to teach you if they see you often.  They will probably want you to train two to three times a week, and that may mean your sessions will be over in one week or so, but trust them (!!!) because as you learn different exercises, they are learning about your body.  It is incredibly difficult to train someone you only see once every 1 or 2 weeks and it just doesn't leave the same results as seeing a trainer more often, even if it's just a week or two.