Is Cardio essential? Or can you lose fat just by Weights+Diet?

[Super_Kaioken]

Thoughts?

[RVA Ironman]

Depends on your body type. I've never been able to lose fat through weight training & diet alone, but that's just me. Try out the weights + clean diet approach for 3-4 weeks. If you aren't seeing decent results, add in some light cardio in addition to your weight training at least 3X p/wk.

[Super_Kaioken]

Ok thanks.
Just wondering in your weights sessions during a Cut, do you go flat out and lift real mega heavy like you would if you were bulking?

If yeah, how do you manage that with a limitation in your diet

[ZachMc]

Ive managed to lose 50lbs over an 11 month time frame with weights and diet alone, but I think I would have lost twice that if I had done cardio mon-fri. I have recently added cardio to my ruitine to try and drop my BF% quicker.

[Super_Kaioken]

Ive managed to lose 50lbs over an 11 month time frame with weights and diet alone, but I think I would have lost twice that if I had done cardio mon-fri. I have recently added cardio to my ruitine to try and drop my BF% quicker.

ahhhh, well done on the 50Ibs loss thou.

Im planning on doing it mon to fri too.

Would you do it first thing in the morning, 30minutes enough? or do I really need to be pushing it to an hour

[-Aaron-]

You don't need to do any cardio to lose weight... Hell, you don't even have to weight lift to lose weight.

[DutchDynamite]

i need to do cardio to lose. I normally do 3x week cardio for 30 minutes, 3 x weights

[muscularHUNK]

a bit of cardio makes it a lot easier for some of us endo types with a sluggish metabolism.

You can do it through diet alone but the cardio can give you more room to manoeuvre and sometimes have a little but more to feel sated.

[iamfat555]

Thoughts?

it really depends,apart from genetics,it depends on whether your weight trianning is intense enough,whether your diet is strict enough.

other than that,it also depends on your job.

if u have a desk job u would prolly need some form of cardio

if u are a house mover den prolly no

[muscularHUNK]

im my experience a lot of people overtrain when they start trying to use weight training solely for the fat loss.

the best thing is to try to maintain your strength by doing exactly what built you the muscle in the first place

[-Aaron-]

i need to do cardio to lose. I normally do 3x week cardio for 30 minutes, 3 x weights

Can you prove to me that you "need" to do cardio to lose weight if you are in a deficit already?

[zangetsu]

no cardio here.

What I understand is that it doesn't have a DIRECT EFFECT on fat burning. What it does is burn calories, in-turn putting you in more of a deficit which means weightloss, but what is the use if you already have your diet in check and do NOT need to burn any more calories.

Someone please confirm this.

[ZachMc]

ahhhh, well done on the 50Ibs loss thou.

Im planning on doing it mon to fri too.

Would you do it first thing in the morning, 30minutes enough? or do I really need to be pushing it to an hour

I do my cardio first thing in the morning, I walk/jog 3 miles which takes me approximatly 45-50 mins. but I'm usually walking 2 of the 3 miles and only jogging 1 of them. I walk 2/3 of each mile and jog the last 1/3. When it gets to the point that Im jogging further I will up the distance to keep me at around an hours worth of cardio.

These guys are right though, if you want to just lose weight you dont technically have to do cardio, just have a serious calorie deficit. But, I suppose im trying more of a recomposition than a true weightloss program. My diet leans more towards the anabolic diet. Its slow going on losing weight per say, but it is working great for re adjusting my bf% to LBM ratio.

[muscularHUNK]

Cardio speeds the metabolism and if you use an elliptical strider it stimulates and uses most of your muscle mass.

It's a good weapon to have in your arsenal. Don't overdo it though.

[world_god]

Weight training is anaerobic exercise, it doesn't burn, fat. Walking, joggin, etc. is aerobic exercising which uses fat as energy

world_god

Can you prove to me that you "need" to do cardio to lose weight if you are in a deficit already?

[-Aaron-]

Weight training is anaerobic exercise, it doesn't burn, fat. Walking, joggin, etc. is aerobic exercising which uses fat as energy

world_god

Ummm, that's not true. Simple as that...

[RealPistolPete]

Thoughts?

I often only do cardio once a week. To clarify a few things up, weight lifting burns calories, calories are energy. Fat, proteins, and Carbohydrates are different molecules that contain calories. When your body is put under some sort of physical stress it will begin to use up all of the sugar in the blood and muscles (simple Carbs.) The next energy source it will start to tap into is Fat. If you do high intensity weight lifting sessions it is possible to get away with doing Cardio 1-2 times max a week. You also have to keep in mind your goal to why you are working out. If it is to bulk up and gain strength, you are going to want to minimize cardio until you reach your desired level of strength. Then slowly up the cardio as you maintain your newly developed strength. If your goal is to lose weight, you are going to want to up the cardio while trying to maintain your current lifting schedule. If you have any more questions I will be more than happy to answer them.

Pete

[carbinejackson]

It might not be technically necessary as others have stated.

I can tell you that I feel a lot better when I incorporate some cardio into my routine though.

[godevs4ever]

its not essential but it's important if you want to lose weight about twice as quick. It's always just another way to stay active and keep those calories burning.

[Bighurk1987]

Weight training is anaerobic exercise, it doesn't burn, fat. Walking, joggin, etc. is aerobic exercising which uses fat as energy

world_god

This is true. when you are anaroebic (fast glycolosis) you burn mostly glucose for energy, and when you are aeroebic (slow glycolysis) you are tapping into your body's oxidative process and burning a combination of glucose and fat

[Applebonker]

Cardio helps me as it allows my caloric intake to be higher. I'm sure I could lose weight without it, but I wouldn't be able to eat anywhere near as much. I don't know that I would have the will power to cut my intake that short. Plus, now that I've gotten into it, I feel like crap if I don't get my cardio in.

[godevs4ever]

This is true. when you are anaroebic (fast glycolosis) you burn mostly glucose for energy, and when you are aeroebic (slow glycolysis) you are tapping into your body's oxidative process and burning a combination of glucose and fat

yeah was going to say weight training does help burn fat when it's aeroebic.

[zangetsu]

I have the true answer and I wont change my mind


Lifting weights = changing your body composition and increase LBM and metabolism

Cardio = chance to eat and enjoy more food, since it will be burned + good for the heart hence the name cardio.

Let me remind you, doing cardiovascular exercises will not speed up your weightloss not one bit if your nutrition is in check.

It has its benefits, but will not speed it up 2x more (or anywhere close) as some people claim.

[Ochman44]

First post here! I have browsed these forums for a while and found some great info here. I have basically been losing fat off and on since last august/september. But only been really serious since this august where i started at about 187 and am currently 168 or so at I think 9-10% bf getting tested saturday with the hand electrode meter dealio so I will at least get a pretty good guess then. I was planning on just getting as cut as possible up until the new year then go on like 6 month clean bulk trying to add around 2-3 lbs a month of lean muscle. Anyways what I guess i'm asking is do feel 5-6 days a week of cardio and 3 days of weights is necessary to go from lean to shredded? It would only be for about 3 more weeks, but I did notice yesterday after a morning cardio session followed by evening weights that I had absolutely no stamina during lifting and my strength seemed down. I normally can overhead press 95-105 pounds for sets of 5-7 reps and I was struggling with 75 lbs for those reps which really was disheartening. I was cleaning and rowing weight that normally seems easy, but felt heavy and hard as well.

I guess what I'm getting at is if doing morning cardio really worth it if my performance on weight training days suffers like that. I love doing HIIT outside on a track when I can because of how intense it is and the rush I get from it plus it seems to work nicely and isn't enar as boring as steady cardio, but the weather around here has been so damn nasty I haven't gotten outside to do it. Been doing treadmill and elipical work. Well **** this post is too long already! Just wanted to know some input on what you guys think would work best for a 2-3 week crash on getting as lean as possible without drastic measures like a keto diet or anything like that.

[AlexMR]

You don't need to do any cardio to lose weight... Hell, you don't even have to weight lift to lose weight.

TROOF .

I lost about 25 with diet alone. If you want to lose FAT exclusively that's another story.

[salu]

weightlifting burns calories around 600 calories in 45 min and you burn twice as much as more fat by doing cardio because your heartrate is already going around 65 percent if not higher. So yes cardio is important for that shredded look i admit diet is everything but u need the cardio and the weights. no pain no gain simple as that.

Lazy people who hate cardio say it doesnt help in fat loss it does it also helps with depression , cardio vascular endurance, good for the heart, and blood pressure. It gives you that chisled look and ripped look. Diet alone well not get u into the 5 percent or 10 percent bodyfat area. You need to run to get that fat off and see the abs. Cardio is crucial in fat loss people always try to downplay it. Diet is 80 percent weights is 5-8 percent cardio is 13-20 percent important. Our bodybuilders stupid doing cardio 45 min everyday i dont think so. Even walking is cardio and running. Hence, cardio is important and speeds up the process.To look lean . Do it the hard way or the easy way upto you. no sweat no pain no gain. simple. RUn walk Run it is called hiit baby.

[Duperman]

Essential is such a restrictive word. Cardio alone is not required for fat loss, just like weight training alone is not essential for fat loss. Sensible nutrition is, of course, the most important. But if you combine all three? Then we're really talking...It's up to you, I also find cardio the hardest thing in the world (I'm talking going all out here, not tapping my feet to the latest trendy dance class), but I feel terrible when I go long periods without it. Besides, wouldn't you like to play soccer with your friends and watch them all start wheezing gasping when you haven't even broken a sweat yet?

[godevs4ever]

I have the true answer and I wont change my mind


Lifting weights = changing your body composition and increase LBM and metabolism

Cardio = chance to eat and enjoy more food, since it will be burned + good for the heart hence the name cardio.

Let me remind you, doing cardiovascular exercises will not speed up your weightloss not one bit if your nutrition is in check.

It has its benefits, but will not speed it up 2x more (or anywhere close) as some people claim.

you dont have to change ur mind at all but the thing is you are wrong. Cardio+weightlifting is a lot more beneficial than either one on their own. You can't sit there and tell me that cardio won't benefit you at all because it's scientifically proven to do so. Just being active burns calories and if you keep the cardio from being anaerobic you will be targetting fat. If you don't keep it aeroebic then it will also take muscle from the weight too.

Why do you think a lot of weightlifters avoid cardio? Because they know that it helps with losing weight but mostly muscle if you don't do it right.

[Giorrgi]

OK didn't read the whole thing, but just throwing my 2 cents in here:

If you're in a deficit already, you should loose weight, not loosing weight while in a suppose deficit means that your body has adapted to the deficit and you should cut calories more. You can use cardio, you can eat less. It's better to do cardio... why?

1. Stubborn fat goes away easier with the improved blood flow that CARDIO guarantees.

2. Cardio is good for health (I dont care about this one but it's important to some people)

3. Cardio also let's you EAT more, feeling less hungry on your diet.

4. Cardio CAN BE BAD, if you have a too hard of a deficit. http://www.mindandmuscle.net/article...oss?page=0%2C0

Have fun.

PS: 'Fat burning zone' is a myth. If you burn more calories from fat during exercice, your body will use more glycogen for the rest of the day. So burning the most calories is what counts.

[MEStrange]

You can make your weight routine a cardio session though. No breaks, circuit train, full body stuff, alternate between upper and lower body in the circuit, hard effort can get your heart rate up just as much as cardio can. Look at workouts like P90X which use a combination of bodyweight and dumbbells. Crossfit workouts (even the ones without running or rowing) will blast your heart rate.