weight lifting vs cardio

hey guys, just wondering if anyone has an opinion....

i am trying to lose 25 lbs..25 yr old female...5'7.5" medium frame

i used to only weight train 2x/week max, then got into a rut where i have not been going to the gym.  i joined cc a few days ago and i am starting to get back into the habit!!  my husband says i need to do more weight training and only a little cardio..so here was the plan i was thinking of doing..

3 days/wk weight lifting x 60 min (15-20 min cardio on those days)

1-2 days/wk of longer cardio sessions (45-60 min) ..most weeks will prob end up only being 1x/wk.

 

any thoughts or suggestions??

thanks so much for the support!!!

Unless you're trying to increase cardio ability then you don't really need to do cardio.

 

OTOH a well designed weight session can provide a fair bit of cardio work.  

Yep, zeke is right. Weights are far better for fat loss than cardio. Here's my favorite link on the matter:

LINK LINK LINK

 I like your routine, it will help promote some muscle growth and strengthen bones as well as strengthen heart and lung muscles.  Your getting the best of both.

 I  would keep the cardio as a part of your rountine.  You need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight and the cardio will aid in this.  That's why most weight lifters trying to add muscle don't do much cardio because it eats up to many of their calories they'll need to promote muscle growth.

 Also, change it up every few weeks.  Your body will adapt and you need to keep it guessing.

thanks for all the helpful responses!  i will keep you updated on my progress

Cardio is absolutely Necessary to lose weight.  Your work out plan is just right.  I weight train 4 times a week....Legs, Arms, Shoulders, Abs...(heavy lifting) then I follow that by doing 30 -60 min cardio (elliptical vigorous).  Cardio is a must if you want to burn the excess fat on top of your muscles.....If you lift too heavy you will gain weight....so stick to low weight high reps.....You might want to switch the cardio up also...Do it i in the beginning some days...and at the end other days.....This will help you burn more fat...Biggest thing is eating..It doesn't matter how much you work out if you do not cut your calories and eat right...Try adding a protein shake.....This will burn excess fat and create lean muscle mass.....(Muscle Milk Light by Cytosport)

Cindylou, I'm sorry but that's wrong. You do not need cardio to lose fat. As I stated, studies show that cardio and dieting does not promote any more fat loss than dieting alone. Add in weights, that's when the fat loss really ramps up.

Take your cue from Body Builders.  They have become very efficient at building muscles and losing fat.  The key though is that they don't do both at the same time because it is very difficult.  What they do is cycle, they go through a period of muscle building where they are eating a high protein calorie surplus diet that allows them to build muscle but they also put on fat.  Then they switch to a high cardio calorie deficit cycle where they cut their body fat to ridiculously low levels while maintaining muscle tone with less intense weight lifting.  If you want to lose fat, stick with heavy cardio and a calorie deficit while incorporating some resistance training to preserve muscle mass.

If you want to lose fat, stick with heavy cardio and a calorie deficit while incorporating some resistance training to preserve muscle mass.

That's not at all what bodybuilders do, but ok. I give up.

My "heavy" cardio is.

 

3x10 sets of squats or deadlifts with short rest between sets.

Followed by

 

3x10 dumbbell setup per leg with short rests . On a good day I'll push these sets to 15 reps.

 

It sure is a lot more challenging then riding a bike in steady state.

LOL, to each his own.  My typical steady state heavy cardio burns 5000 cals per session, how many cals. does your 10 minutes of weight lifting burn?

Edit to add: But what does that have to do with the poster's question?

This subject always brings up a lot of debate  lol

You need to do both but I would emphasize weight lifting...go heavy  whoohoo.

Zeke is right if you have your weight routine well planned its easy to get your height rate elevated for long periods of time to count as cardio.  Plus with a heavy weight session you are going to be burning at a slightly higher metabolic rate for up to 38 hours.  That does not happen with cardio

Here's something to try to really ramp up your fat burning.  Instead of sustained pace cardio, try High Intensity Interval Training.  It's fun and won't take as long to do. 

Basically, you do 8 sprints at full effort for a period of 15-20 seconds each with a 1-1/2 minute "rest" in between.  By rest, I mean do your cardio at your regular pace.  If you take a 4 minute warmup this should only take you about 20 minutes. 

The real benefit of this approach happens when you get off the treadmill/elliptical.  In typical cardio your metabolism slows down to it's resting rate almost as soon as you get off the machine.  With HIIT, you metabolism remains elevated for as much as 24 hours.  So at the end of the day, you've exercised for a shorter period of time, but burned more calories!!!!!

 Don't stop doing the weight training, though.  It too has the effect of raising your basal metabolic rate, just like HIIT.  The best approach is what you're doing-a combination of cardio and weight training.  But remember, you will never drop a pound of you are not in a calorie deficit.

 Good Luck,

Michael

I agree with Michaelfocht!!!  I love HIIT, it really wipes you out and I burn a ridiculous amount of calories in a shorter time ...

Plus it helps with the boredom of the running or elliptical.  But I also lift 4 times a week for about 40 min and I do HIIT 2 times a week and normal cardio 3 times for 40 min... 

I have lost quite a bit of fat... maybe not weight but my pants fit different...  and in the end... that's what counts!!!

45-60 min of cardio is really pointless...

The wgt training will do more to sustain burning calories.  The 15-20 min of cardio is sufficient to promote cardio-vascular health.

I also am able to sustain an elevated calorie burning heart rate by following an opposing muscle workout...Going immediately from a set of dumbbell press to bent row...from incline bench to lat pulldown...leg curls to leg extensions...back and forth...one set of one then one set of the other....I can keep my heart rate up for about an hour or so of lifting....

and the benefit of building muscle rocks cardio for more than just strength....And there's absolutely nothing wrong with the wgt that might possibly be gained from added muscle...it's not the same as gaining fat wgt.  Increase muscle wgt is a good thing!  Lots of reps of a light wgt is pointless and a total waste of time.

Except for the fact that if you're gaining muscle then you're also gaining fat.  It seems from her post that Purdue is looking to lose fat not gain it.  I don't know why everyone is so opposed to cardio, it clearly has its benefits in regards to weight loss. 

A good high intensity weight training session may have better fat loss benefits and it may be able to keep your EPOC up for 38 hours, but how many people can actually handle this kind of training session?

A person with hyperstension and  a obese person with arthritic problems, etc. likely will have trouble with this type of training. 

And if you are lifting this heavy then you need to be eating heavy to repair your muscle tissue from the stress you just put it under.  So how does this promote fat loss?  it doesn't it promotes weight gain(muscle and fat).  If you're not going to eat properly for your training then you shouldn't be lifting heavy...you'll constantly be tearing down muscle without the proper amount of macronurtients for repair and you'll end up hurting yourself.

Weight loss still comes down to a calorie deficit which cardio will absolutely help in acheving.  I'm just not sure why 60 minutes of cadio is pointless and lifting heavy is King especially in a Country where Cardiovascular disease is it's biggest killer.

 

I thought I was wrong...guess not

Tommy you're off base here. Weight training plus a dietary calorie deficit equals FAT LOSS without MUSCLE loss. Cardio and dietary calorie deficit equals fat loss AND muscle loss. In fact, it has been shown that cardio plus dieting equals the SAME fat loss as dieting alone.

If you don't care how much muscle you lose, go ahead and cardio until you're hearts content. If keeping your muscle is important, and it should be, you NEED to do weights first, then add couple of days of cardio if you can.

I realize this goes against the fitness bibles of Shape and Cosmo, but it's the truth. As for who can handle weight training, well everyone can. I'm a 38 year old woman and lift quite a bit of weight. There is no excuse. If you're 78, go to the doctor, get cleared and you can do a good weight work out.

Spiro,  to clarify I am not saying don't lift weights.  I agree  lifting weights is important along with a calorie restricted diet and cardio for losing weight.  I just don't agree with the lifting heavy on a calorie restricted diet and while I do agree everyone can lift, I don't necessarily believe they will be able to lift heavy which most of the posts said to do.

It just seemed from most posts that heavy is the way to go and light weight training and cardio are pointless.  Where is there any evidence of this?

Ok - lost 9lbs in 5 weeks because I started lifting everyday <@ home w/ 5lb weights> & follwed strict portion intake.   Used to think that just jogging & riding my bike would do it.   But you know what . . . I was plateaued for over 6 months.  I could not drop 1lb until I took the next step.

If I can do it - you can do it

Depends what you mean by heavy I guess.

Obviously if you are short calories and have peaked your weight lifting working outs then you'll be lifting less then before. You can still be pushing yourself and lifting what is heavy for you.

 

Some one mentioned joints etc. Step ups and some other weight lifting things are much lower impact then many "cardio" activities. I'll also repeat. Try doing step ups with short rest between steps. Then try telling me it's not HIIT. People need to get out of the mind set that cardio is a pink jump suit. You can get serious heart pounding cardio doing things that aren't normally called cardio.

 

But if you've got bad knees or even if you don't running isn't likely the smartest thing you can do. I know my knees couldn't handle a long run.

 

Light weight lifting is an endurance sport. It's the difference between long distance walking and sprinting.

 

Weight lifting if done seriously gives the same sort of after work out burn that HIIT does. That's because it's very much interval training.