Cardio - To do or not to do?

Hi there everyone,

Been a religious member of this forum because of all the help from members and the threads. I'm currently having a dilemma about doing cardio and wondering if I should include it in my routines. I'm currently training 4x a week with weights and 1x a week just cardio and abdominals. and 2 days off.

My nutritional stats are tracked via myfitnesspal.
Background info: USED to be 185 20%bf
Now I'm about 172 seem a lot leaner from pics i've taken so I know i'm not 20% still, maybe 17 or 16. I want to get to about 165lbs and then bulk. Is cardio really necessary?

I eat 1600kcal a day with foods including: Protein shake 2x a day, oatmeal, 2% milk, natural kraft pb, brown rice, rice cakes, almonds, chicken breast and so on.

Approximate macro breakdown:
FATS: 53G
PROTEIN: 179G
CARBS 100G

Monday - Saturday eat at 1600
Sunday eat at approximately 2800 (300 above maintenance from the calculations)

Do I really have to do cardio to speed up weight loss or am I just being impatient? I already feel like **** with the low carb and doing cardio will make me feel even ****ter.

Thanks for your input

Cardio isn't for everyone, and to be honest its not needed. Only reason I do cardio is becasue I enjoy it, and it allows me to have an extra meal and still be at a deficit. So to me its a must because no1 likes being hungry.

If all your numbers are accurate, then your daily deficit is 900 calories which is already pretty steep. You don't need cardio for fat loss, its just a tool to make a bigger deficit. If you dont like it then dont do it, eliminate that cardio day. If you do eliminate it and still consume the same calories, then your weight loss will slow some, but that's ok because a 900 cal deficit is already pretty steep. It all depends on how quick you want to lose the fat, I would suggest 1.0-1.5lbs a week.

[QUOTE=pojo1993;1006275063]If all your numbers are accurate, then your daily deficit is 900 calories which is already pretty steep. You don't need cardio for fat loss, its just a tool to make a bigger deficit. If you dont like it then dont do it, eliminate that cardio day. If you do eliminate it and still consume the same calories, then your weight loss will slow some, but that's ok because a 900 cal deficit is already pretty steep. It all depends on how quick you want to lose the fat, I would suggest 1.0-1.5lbs a week.[/QUOTE]

true man, big deficit. But we all like to see results faster than slower. Just add some cardio couple times a week into your routine to speed it up a little. I always throw it in to dry up a bit more etc. doesnt hurt

cardio is good for health. it can cure a ,ot of diseases. It is helpful to reduce a lot of fat. Cardio like swimming, dancing, running, jumping are the best for our health as i think.

Only do cardio if..
- you're decent at it
- you want to improve

It's obviously not necessary, and cardio is very discouraging to a lot of people trying to lose weight. Lifting weights is IMO much easier, unless you're running a few miles easily. You only burn so many cals trying to run 1mi.
Do it if you're that determined to lose weight tho, since improving in cardio is always good for many reasons, just dont let it discourage you.

If you dont enjoy it dont do it! In summer i like running outside, tried it once in the winter and my lungs were killing me, felt like someone sat on my chest. So I tried a tredmill for the first time, found that boreing so no cardio for me in the winter (besides sports) but I focus more intensity on weights,

Same might be applicable to you, try different kinds of cardio if you find one you like stick to it if not, just stick to weights

[QUOTE=thedeejay6;1006272593]Do I really have to do cardio to speed up weight loss or am I just being impatient? I already feel like **** with the low carb and doing cardio will make me feel even ****ter.[/QUOTE]
How fast are you currently shedding fat? In general, anywhere between 1 - 2lbs a week is great in terms of fat loss.

You don't have to do cardio to manage your deficit or to increase the pace of your cut, you can accomplish this with caloric manipulation. Some people like to include cardio, some don't. Its ultimately about personal preference and your results you experience when including cardio vs. not including cardio. Everyone is different.

I tend to include some form of cardio in my training regardless. For me personally, I feel like cardio is beneficial for me during a cut.

My current cals allow me to drop roughly a 1lb a week with just lifting I can get closer to 2lbs a week if I add regular cardio without changing my diet.
So I just consider it a bonus for me if I feel like doing it.

[QUOTE=Kingthumper;1006581343]How fast are you currently shedding fat? In general, anywhere between 1 - 2lbs a week is great in terms of fat loss.

You don't have to do cardio to manage your deficit or to increase the pace of your cut, you can accomplish this with caloric manipulation. Some people like to include cardio, some don't. Its ultimately about personal preference and your results you experience when including cardio vs. not including cardio. Everyone is different.

I tend to include some form of cardio in my training regardless. For me personally, I feel like cardio is beneficial for me during a cut.[/QUOTE]

To be honest I think my caloric restriction is good enough. I'm running a 1600kcal diet and I'm down to 172 from 185. I understand some of it is water but I feel a lot lighter as well. I guess I have to stop being impatient and give it time. I currently do weekly weigh-in's on Monday's first thing in the morning. Second, I do get 1600kcal exact or a little less most days with my protein and fat intake being almost exact as stated here. My only day of concern should be my day off/cheat day, where I track as accurately as possible. Although some stuff isn't trackable - say the local shwarma place by my house but a rough estimation would be 2800-3k that day. But some weeks I do it 12 days not 7 days. From what everyone has posted, I'm thinking to do cardio on my cheat day to keep the caloric excess a little less. But it's not the whole day of cheat it's just 2 meals and it's within reason. Not 2 buffet's or anything.