Cardio vs Weight Training
 

So I started out on my weight loss goal at 310lbs with an ultimate goal of 210lbs with no set date just whenever I get there. I do keep setting monthly weight loss targets though.

I'm down from 310 to 270lbs by doing basically all cardio. I really have not done any weight training. I actually prefer cardio, I enjoy getting the sweat going and challenging myself to burn more calories then I did the day before. I have been doing 90 minutes a day 4-5 days a week between the arc trainer and treadmill on incline with the odd jog.

I am wondering at what point I need to really start doing the weight training. At 100lbs to go I was really only concerned with losing weight. I realize having muscle burns more cals in a day but being overweight kills you. My current target is 259lbs by July 1st (Canada Day). After this target I think I need to completley change my exercise routine. What would be a good mix to go? I've heard you cant lose weight and gain muscle at the same time so should I wait until i'm down to 210 before really starting to do weights?

Why not do both? You can lose weight and gain muscle but the closer you get to an "ideal" BMI the harder it gets.

so it sounds like for from 270 down to 230 or so I should start doing both?

Today I did a 10 minute warm up, 20 minutes of weights and then 60 minutes of cardio, does that sound like a good mix for a 270lb guy?

My understanding of the weights/cardio thing is that it is not impossible, but pretty damn near to do both, to lose weight and actuall gain muscle at the *same time*.

What one is doing by weigh training when in a deficit is increasing the simuli so that muscle maintenance is a priority. If you don't use them, well you lose them - to some extent. You should however be sure to schedule some protein/carbs around your weight training.

Intensive cardio has a greater propensity to cause muscle breakdown. It depends upon the duration, frequency and intensity, so generally *A LOT* of both is not a great idea. The two tend to interfere with each other at some advanced point. But if you're doing moderate cardio it should not be a problem.

As you get leaner, fat loss will slow down and be harder as Mike indicated. There is a greater risk to muscle loss, so I agree with your emphasis. It's never a bad time to do weight training as far as body size goes. There is no danger that you are going to "get huge" doing 20 or 30 minutes of weights. You should try to hit your major muscle groups. If you have a choice use a lower reps (5-7) and a weight that is challenging to cause stimuli.
You should spend enough time to work all your major muscles about 2x per week minimum. Give yourself a few days of recovery between workouts.

Regarding gaining muscles during weight loss often times muscles appear larger from a diet, as they were covered under fat before. You may appear to have become more muscular but probably just more pronounced.
You may be stronger though from training previously untrained muscles.
And you will have a greater strength to weight ratio which is most important for daily life and sports as well.


Hope this helps ...

FIN

Don't ever lose that love of cardio! It's so great that you can do it. The resistance training is great but the cardio really gets that circulation pumping and burns calories.

FIN,

I agree with what you are saying. The muscles will appear as you are removing the fat covering them. But I actually gained some muscle while losing fat. I started measuring my BF% on 8/22/09. Before that point I had already lost a good bit of weight/fat and gained muscle but didn't track it. I was down almost 30 pounds. But here's my results from 8/22/09 to 6/4/10
8/22/09 weight= 182.6#, bf=17mm (20.2%), fat weight = 37lbs, lean weight = 146lbs
6/4/10 weight= 169.8#, bf= 7mm(10.5%), fat weight = 18lbs, lean weight = 152lbs.
I lost 19lbs of fat while gaining 6 pounds of muscle.

Now I'd be happy to gain a pound or 2 of muscle a year while losing fat. :(

Hear what you're saying Mike.

It's not impossible. I'm not an expert but I have read that new trainees may be able to.

Keep in mind there is +/- room for error in measurements. Whether if it is within that error percentage is hard to say. I believe Dexa measurement is the most exact, which uses a low intensity full body x-ray scan to measure all types of matter in the body. The downside of calipers is you may know fat, but not the make up of the lean mass (water, bones, organs and muscles). Your brain may have gained a pound :D Seriously , it's great to maintained muscle let alone added! Good work.

What was your weight training program may I ask?
Have you observed an increase of strength?

I see you went up 10 pounds in Sept 2010 but took it off. . Was something going on?

Cheers,

FIN

back then I was doing P90X. Now I do full body, compound lifts. I'm about to pick my cardio back up b/c I have a 1/2 marathon again in Sept.I was probably around 174# at the beginning of last Sept b/c I was training for a 1/2 marathon, after that I just ate a lot more. My diet wasn't as good as it should have been.

Nice.

I was running 5K but also encountering frequent leg muscle issues.
Had them treated (physio, chiro) which helped somewhat.
But I'm hopng that losing 7-10 pounds will make it a bit easier on the body.

Also I'm more interested more in improving my 5K time than running 10K or longer. Not sure which is more painful - running harder or longer - but they both are fairly brutal.

I've also started compound lifts. Just front squat (machine) and deadlift, about 2x week with my other weights.

Good luck in your training!

FIN

You should always be training with weights, especially as you diet down, otherwise you'll lose not just fat but a good amount of muscle too.

Generally, people with more fat are carrying more muscle too underneath. When dieting they want to see the scale move regardless and they end up losing too much muscle.

If you lose only fat the scale goes down slower, but you get to keep the muscle for the most part, which in turn gives you a more athletic look when the scale DOES go down to where you want it.

I agree with Tommy W. Definitely weight train. Not because muscle burns more calories because that is actually negligible but because it is important to not lose lean body mass.

Hi.. This is my first post on FitDay.

I see you have several responses already about what you asked. Permit me to comment on something you didn't ask:

You're doing aerobic exercise 90 minutes a day. Fine if you're young and in good health - but you *may* be undermining your immune system with such a heavy workload. I love riding my bike and used to ride for 90 to 120 minutes at a time. I now limit my total exercise in one session to 60 minutes just so I don't weaken my immune system.

Something to think about. Congrats on your weight loss.

One last thought, at some point you probably want to create a fitness goal or goals. Your weight will be where it's supposed to be once you're fit..:)

You can do both if you are intelligent about it, especially with your weight still being where it is. I think that if you start lifting weights, truly lifting, e.g. free weights and compound exercises, you will love the way you look and feel. As long as you're not sprinting for an hour for cardio, there's no reason you cannot do both and make gains from both.

Hey I'm New Here... Weight training and Cardio Should go together. Weight Training accelrates you metabolism up to 10 hours after you are done while Cardio only does that while you are doing it. It's definetly best to do Weight training if you dont want loose skin.

You should already be doing weight lifting. If you lose weight without lifting, you're actually losing muscle as well (it does take a lot of muscle to carry around those extra pounds). When you reach your goal, you'll be a lot smaller but still "cushy".

You'll lose weight faster, and look better, if you're doing weight training.

This is only true when you're already fit.

Losing muscle isn't the primary concern if you are obese.
The body is so loaded with fat, that it is extremely difficult to do lose
muscle first. And you would be surprised about the muscle mass of many large people, lying underneath the layers too.

Obviously, doing some weight training is a good idea just because.
But if you have to trade in calorie burning cardio then it is probably not
a wise investment. Once or twice per week is enough if you are obese.

what he says......
 

Tommy's post.

If you are not weight training, then you are really just making excuses!

You absolutely need to do weight training as well.

There are many many reasons for that, mainly like Tommy said, you dont want to diet away muscle, you want to increase muscle mass at every opportunity, and dont worry your ratio of fat to muscle will not affect your scale readings that quickly or easily.

Don't make any excuses, get to the gym.

Do you know that there are skinny people that look awful too?

Weight Training is good too
 

I do cardio AND weight training every day. In the morning I jog a couple laps around my neighborhood (I live in a relatively small subdivision), and then about an hour after lunch I do weights. I alternate between abs, lower body, and upper body. I like to follow along with a workout DVD so that I know exactly how to do the exercise.