the right exercise for the right goal

i heard that cardio is for losing weight while resistance training is for building muscle so if you wan to gain uscle, you shouldn't do so much cardio. true?

Cardio will grow a really strong heart muscle.

it's not recommended to do strength training more than every other day--so you'll probably want to incorporate cardio anyways.  cardio is really good at fat-burning, so you can use strength training to build muscle and the cardio lower your body fat percentage.

I believe you can strenght train every day as long as you are working different muscle groups.  Each group needs to have time to rest.  As in, don't work your back two days in a row. 

Cardio will help build stamina, make a healthy heart, which is key in everything you do.  It will help with your weight training as well.

The best exercise program contains both cardio and strenght training.  What can vary is the type of strenght training you do.  Heavy low reps for muscle building, light high reps for muscle toning.

I'd just like to chime in on the "toning" vs. muscle building thing. There really is no such thing as toning, per se. The ideal routine involves big, compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, etc.) with as much weight as you can comfortably/safely lift. And when I say comfortably, I mean comfortable in the sense that "good, this does not compel me to kill myself," not comfortable as in easy. Low weight, high rep won't do much but help your endurance. For example, when training for their film roles, the actors in 300 did lots of endurance stuff, i.e. deadlift 135 lbs. for 50 reps. But of course, these guys have to be swinging swords around all day. You will (likely not) be doing this.

I would very strongly recommend reading this page. It's full of really useful stuff geared towards newbies. I'm not an expert, but I know enough to say with absolute confidence that this is the way you--yes you, all of you, everyone, whatever--should be approaching this. Lifting big will not make you big, unless you're eating 4000 calories a day or are some kind of mutant muscle factory, which you very likely are not. And girls? Don't sweat it. You couldn't look like Arnold if you tried. For the ladies, there's this website, but you lads can feel free to browse about too.

One more thing: for those who don't believe me about lifting big and staying small, check this out.

Oh and of course, before trying any sort of exercise/lifting program, please consult a doctor first. Seeing a specialist in sports medicine in addition to your regular doc would likely be to your benefit as well.

Just wanna chime in on ONE thing:  I notice on this site that every one seems to say, " The best workout/fitness plan is to do strength and cardiovascular training"... but aren't you all forgetting a key element of fitness???  It's commonly forgotten, left behind, etc, but it's equally important.  That's FLEXIBILITY TRAINING!!  It won't necessarily help you lose weight, but if you're trying to get fit and healthy and have a well-rounded fitness program, you've got to incorporate all THREE elements of fitness.

Just wanted to add that, since we all seem to forget about it (myself included!).

And good luck to everyone.  Have a fantastic day!!

Gee I have problems with these dichotomies.  Cardio versus Muscle building.  Have you ever taken a good look at a Tri-athlete?

Probably not going to win body-building contests but very definitely muscular.  Try going up Heartbreak Hill in the Boston Marathon without muscles.  Are these cardio exercises or muscle building exercises: gymnastics, karate, rock climbing, rowing?

When I was training for a century ride last summer my program included calesthenics and pumping iron (not that the weights I was using would satisfy Rotak :)) twice a week.