My goal is fat loss, but I hate cardio. Is there a weight lifting routine to suit me?

[Conpatshe]

My main goal is fat loss however, as the titles states, I loathe cardio.

I get far too bored doing it and I will lose motivation quick. I was just wondering if anyone has a link to any routine I could use that utilises lifting and weight training for the purpose of fat loss?

Thanks for any replies or help.

Conpatshe

[jxm26]

if fat loss is ur goal just take in less calories....but do the cardio for ur heart....it is kind of important too

[Conpatshe]

if fat loss is ur goal just take in less calories....but do the cardio for ur heart....it is kind of important too

If I just take in less calories, but do some lifting aswell, will that produce sufficient fat loss?

thanks for the reply.

[Judgment]

If I just take in less calories, but do some lifting aswell, will that produce sufficient fat loss?

thanks for the reply.

If you do a pretty intense weight lifting routine with a calorie deficit you can definitely lose fat fast.

[SuffolkPunch]

If I just take in less calories, but do some lifting aswell, will that produce sufficient fat loss?

thanks for the reply.

Yes it is.

The weight training is to make sure your body does not burn lean muscle mass when you are low on calories.

Weight train 3x a week. Use starting strength or all pros from the sticky threads

Get at least 150g of protein per day - and count calories. fitday.com might be useful for this.

Consider this:

You probably burn ~2500 calories a day without extra exercise. Add 3-400 calories to that for a weight training or cardio session. It's safe to eat about 500-750 calories less than you burn each day. So start with average of 2000 calories per day and see how you go.

[Conpatshe]

Yes it is.

The weight training is to make sure your body does not burn lean muscle mass when you are low on calories.

Weight train 3x a week. Use starting strength or all pros from the sticky threads

Get at least 150g of protein per day - and count calories. fitday.com might be useful for this.

Consider this:

You probably burn ~2500 calories a day without extra exercise. Add 3-400 calories to that for a weight training or cardio session. It's safe to eat about 500-750 calories less than you burn each day. So start with average of 2000 calories per day and see how you go.

thats a huge help, thanks!

[MarkH86]

My main goal is fat loss however, as the titles states, I loathe cardio.

I get far too bored doing it and I will lose motivation quick. I was just wondering if anyone has a link to any routine I could use that utilises lifting and weight training for the purpose of fat loss?

Thanks for any replies or help.

Conpatshe

you must do cardio.
if you want to lift weights, cardio will help you with that.
during the lifts you need to lift, right? so if your breathing (heart) is weak, it will be much harder for you.
cardio is like a food for the heart. so think about it.
its boring for you because you dont do it right. learn how to make the cardio fun in minimum time.

[Sundev14]

you must do cardio.

its boring for you because you dont do it right.

lol. cardio is very boring for me and I know I do it right.. i mean, how hard is running?

[MarkH86]

lol. cardio is very boring for me and I know I do it right.. i mean, how hard is running?

cardio cant be boring if for example you put a 16+ speed on treadmill, or 10+ incline...it chalenges your body (heart).

[SuffolkPunch]

you must do cardio.
if you want to lift weights, cardio will help you with that.
during the lifts you need to lift, right? so if your breathing (heart) is weak, it will be much harder for you.
cardio is like a food for the heart. so think about it.
its boring for you because you dont do it right. learn how to make the cardio fun in minimum time.

I don't agree at all

If cardiovascular capacity is the limiting factor during weight training, you are doing it wrong. I am not anti cardio, it is just not essential. For many people it will add little or nothing to their goals in comparison to the effort expended.

If you do a heavy lower body lifting session at least once a week, you are getting plenty of cardiovascular work anyhow.

References:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post551933333
http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comm...cardio/c1vzrnk

[MarkH86]

If you do a heavy lower body lifting session at least once a week, you are getting plenty of cardiovascular work anyhow.
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you can agree or disagree but it doesnt change the fact that:
While you are lifting heavy weights for you, your body is switched to the anerobic mode (not cardio).
While you are walking without resistance,running without resistance, lifting light weights for you, making pushups or squats without resistance- your body is switched to the aerobic mode (cardio).

In other words, if the person lifts heavy weight (for him), and thinks that he gets the cardio from it,
has a big mistake.
He needs to read about the aerobic/anerobic zones,modes that the body is being switched to them while doing different activities.

[SuffolkPunch]

you can agree or disagree but it doesnt change the fact that:
While you are lifting heavy weights for you, your body is switched to the anerobic mode (not cardio).
While you are walking without resistance,running without resistance, lifting light weights for you, making pushups or squats without resistance- your body is switched to the aerobic mode (cardio).

In other words, if the person lifts heavy weight (for him), and thinks that he gets the cardio from it,
has a big mistake.
He needs to read about the aerobic/anerobic zones,modes that the body is being switched to them while doing different activities.

What does use of anerobic or aerobic energy systems have to do with peoples goals here? Fat loss, muscle gain? Why should we care?

Your heart and lungs work pretty hard in a set of 20 rep squats. Are you telling me that there is no cardiovascular training caused by this?

[MarkH86]

What does use of anerobic or aerobic energy systems have to do with peoples goals here? Fat loss, muscle gain? Why should we care?

Your heart and lungs work pretty hard in a set of 20 rep squats. Are you telling me that there is no cardiovascular training caused by this?

it is cardio training there, but it is mixed non-cardio with cardio training. Because everytime when the body get used to the weight and the 10 hard reps become 15 easier reps, then it is already the cardio mode that the body has been switched to it. But at first when the 10 reps were hard it was only non-cardio mode. So because of these mixed modes of the body during the weight lifting it is better to find another cardio activity and not only use the weight lifting as cardio because it is not fully cardio, it is a mix.
So why not to do cardio as cardio, and non-cardio as non-cardio?

By the way when we walk/run on incline treadmill it is a classic example of this mixed body modes (cardio + non-cardio. aerobic + anerobic),
So if we dont make incline on treadmill it is only aerobic (cardio ) mode.
If we add incline, it is aerobic + anerobic ( cardio + non-cardio).

[SuffolkPunch]

I understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic energy use. By the way, weight training mostly uses ATP, especially for heavy low rep sets.

The question is why does it matter which energy system I use when my goal is to lose fat or gain muscle?

[funkypigeon]

It pretty much been said above , keep you calories below maintenance (approx 500 below) and lift hard and heavy. Keep you protein up (1g per lbs) and you will loes body fat, if you stall you may need to some cardio but if you find it boring you should try HIIT, it is very effective for fat loss.

[funkypigeon]

I understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic energy use. By the way, weight training mostly uses ATP, especially for heavy low rep sets.

The question is why does it matter which energy system I use when my goal is to lose fat or gain muscle?

You can ONLY use ATP for energy.
Lipids and Glucose are turned into ATP in the mitochondria off the cells(well they are actually broken down and the energy is used to reform the phosphate bond between ADP and Pi) this is the energy source of all cells, you will use more glucose from weight training as you have less o2 avidible to oxidise Lipids and so you muscle cells will favour the glucose to be turned into ATP

[musikguy72]

you must do cardio.
if you want to lift weights, cardio will help you with that.
during the lifts you need to lift, right? so if your breathing (heart) is weak, it will be much harder for you.
cardio is like a food for the heart. so think about it.
its boring for you because you dont do it right. learn how to make the cardio fun in minimum time.

Wait a second. I think you are confusing the issue here. The post title and body of text states that the OP's goal is fat loss and the question is does he have to do cardio to achieve this. Independent of any other agenda/positive affects/goals the question is do I have to do cardio to lose weight.
The obvious answer is no. You only have to eat less than maintenance for fat loss. Yet your answer starts with "you must do cardio".

That, sir, is the wrong answer for this question.

[ShaneSwan]

^negged for being far too sensible and logical, musikguy

[InExileVt]

I hate cardio as well. Try higher volume reps and less rest between sets. Save cardio for the end. Try either HIIT for 10 minutes or twenty of jogging. Cut calories as well. Doing a small amour of cardio at the end is effective as it pulls from stores.

[Conpatshe]

Thanks everyone for the massive help I've only been doing this for a year so I'm still a beginner! I've been doing StrongLifts for a while so I will take what you guys have said on board.

[J1P2M3]

Cardio is incredibly boring. I'm currently cutting right now. I tend to rope friends into joining me for the cardio or just play music.
However there are routines which you can implement into your weight section of your gym work as well.
I tend to go by lower weight, lower rest time (30 seconds max) and perform the exercise with 12 - 15 reps, or to failure.
Almost turns your weight lifting into Cardio involving weights. Also look up circuits, one exercise after the other, for 1 joint set.