Should I do cardio??????? (1 Viewer)

[James Slade]

I am 27 180lbs 5'7" People say I look skinny at 170, but the last 10 is all around my waste.

I joined a gym and have been going for a few weeks. I want to get a little bigger, a lot stronger and generally look and feel better. So that means getting ride of the extra fat around the middle.

I have done a lot of reading. Most people say the way to get rid of fat is cardio. Others say it isn't required, and some say it will actually prevent muscle gains. Can anyone make sense of all of this crap?

Of course I am trying to watch what I eat also, but again the readings all say different things.

 

[StephenK]

I can only give you my personal experience. I'm 5'9", 38 and weighed 190lbs. Lost 25 using only Atkins. Then went off and started cardio fairly heavily. This, with some mild weight training got me another 10 lb reduction. Like you, I was mostly heavy around the middle. The best piece of advice I can give is that the length of cardio mattered far more than the pace. I've been running for 1 hour, 3 times a week, on the treadmill and it's allowed me to eat like a pig and keep the weight off. Of course, YMMV.

Rgds
Steve

 

[WayneO]

I'm a 30yr. old, 12 yr. lifter, 3 yr. runner myself, 5'8" at 190lb. First, let me say no two people will get the same results working out the same so it's hard to say what will work for you. But generally, weight lifting should build your muscles and hopefully increase your size up top and bottom(Don't forget the legs!). Losing fat doesn't happen in one area, it occurs all over the body at once. Hopefull by building muscle this should natually make your stomach appear smaller but may not shrink it. Since weight lifting is work it could be possible to burn off your stomach but your body determines that. Cardio can help drop these pounds as well and tighten things up a little. It may also very well be that you can only lose your stomach by dropping your body weight. But again, hopefully the weight lifting will help keep your size and weight and the cardio will slowly burn the fat. I rewrote this so many times because there is so much to say, but I have to keep it brief so this is my advice. Eat decently healthly, do your weight lifting and cardio and enjoy the benefits of each and adjust one or the other, more or less, to get the results you want. One last thing, cardio is not detrimental to building muscle in most cases. Gaining muscle and losing fat can be done, it takes time,work and dedication, not pills and whack diets for the lazy. Good luck finding what works right for you!

 

[Greg_R]

Only lengthy intense cardio sessions will burn muscle (like running a marathon, etc.). 30-45 minutes of medium intensity (50-75% of your max heart rate) is ideal for fat loss. It takes awhile (~15 minutes or so) of cardio before your body starts burning fat... anything under that and you're burning sugar.

 

[Erik.Ha]

You sound like you're in pretty good shape already. If you want to add a little muscle, nothing will do it like weight-lifting + feeding your body the protein it needs to repair muscle after weight-lifting.

Based on the foregoing, I would tell you 1. Don't worry about the 10 pounds around the middle... and; 2. WE ALL NEED CARDIO for the health of our hearts...

If you concentrate more on #2, The reduction of #1 will MOST LIKELY be a happy by-product...

You're not going to canabalize muscle doing cardio unless you go nuts with it or you're starving yourself.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Cardio = good for heart.

Can't be bad.

 

[Bob Graz]

I think you're going to have to do cardio to lose some of the weight around the stomach. A good mix of cardio and strength training is good for you anyway.

 

[James Slade]

Thanks for the responses.

I just find cardio boring, I guess I just have to tolerate it I guess. I have only been going for 20 to 25 minutes though, maybe I need to stay on a little longer.

 

[Erik.Ha]

Not sure what the weather is like In Toronto this time of year, but your best bet to beat boredom is to go for a brisk walk, or even a jog if your joints can handle it... If you have a friend or a dog to go with you, EVEN BETTER...

Hard to be board while out for a walk on a beautiful day.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Ah. That explains why I can't get rid of my Christmas/New Year overeating -- I put on about 5lbs and haven't gotten rid of it, despite twice-weekly gym sessions (I know, not enough, but the missus and I can't find time for a third session).

I usually do 20+ mins on an exercise bike, only recently "graduated" to 30. I guess I'll hog the bike longer in future. I know stationary bikes aren't great for burning calories, but I can't run (have a bad leg) so it'll have to do.

One benefit, though, is that on a bike, you can read whilst working out. No boredom for me in that respect, whereas on a treadmill it's a lot more difficult to do something else to occupy the mind. Maybe a portable DVD player? I've been toying with the idea of getting one for this purpose, imagine watching an episode of DS9 and exercising the entire time...

 

[Chris Rosene]

6 pack abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.
Aim for 10x your body weight in calories with 40% from protein, 40% from good carbs (oatmeal, greens, brown rice, etc), and 20% from good fats (olive oil, natural peanut butter, almonds, etc) and all will be good soon.

Use www.fitday.com to track everything you eat. You'd be surprised what goes into your body if you don't keep track.

 

[Matt Pelham]

Everyone is different, but I prefer to do workout in "phases", similar to bodybuilders. I would start out with moderate to intense free weights (provided you know what you are doing) to build a muscular base, then after a few months start incorporating 3-4 cardio sessions a week to burn off excess fat. After you lose 10-15 lbs then cut back on the cardio (1-2 times week) and concentrate on the muscle building stage. I've had great sucess with this "cycling" approach, and I recommend it especially if you not only want to burn fat but become more muscular as well.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Though this is absolutely true, I don't think James was looking for a 6 pack, just to lose that belly jiggle.

1. Diet
What you eat is the most determining factor of how you look, especially around the midsection. Stay away from the sugar.

2. Cardio
This is where you burn your fat. Biking is good, but you have to do it longer than jogging to get the same results. Eliptical machines both burn the calories and avoid the joint and bone stress of running.
If you can, play sports, take aerobic or spin classes. Mix it up to avoid boredom.

3. Weights
Not really burning fat directly, but helps your metabolism, not to mention muscle growth.

Basically, everyone should do all three, no matter what body type you have.

 

[Darren Haycock]

James, listen to some music that you really like and it makes cardio go by real quick. You just gotta find something you enjoy listening to and that'll pump you up as you work out.

 

[James Slade]

Darren,

I have been think about this, I was thinking about getting a small MP3 player. But a lot of CDs I buy now have copy protection etc. I am wondering if I buy a player in a couple of months will I be able to listen to any new music I want to hear?

 

[Hunter P]

If you lift weights also then try doing your cardio after lifting. This way the sugar in your blood will be consumed during your lifing session. When you go to hit the bike then your 30 minutes will be all fat burning minutes!

Another trick is to do your cardio in the morning before breakfast. Your blood sugar level should be very low after the overnight fasting. This should also help you maximize the results of your cardio.

When I get rich, I plan on hiring someone full time to workout for me. Either that or I'm gonna find a plastic surgeon to do muscle implants.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Thanks for the tip! So far I've always done bike first, then weights, on the theory that the bike was a gentler way to warm up. I'll try it this way around now.

 

[Ryan Wishton]

Hunter,

I am actually going to try out those tips about cardio after myself...

I have the problem of the 5-10 pounds in the stomach area that just wont die as well...

I have changed my way of eating (I hate the word diet) to avoid 99% of bad sugar and most bad carbs...

I know those last pounds could take awhile to get rid off... They are just so damn difficult... Problem is I am look too thin in certain parts of my body now...

I dont get it... I dont want to be an aneroxic with a big stomach...