English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

I ask this because my boyfriend relayed to me the position of his personal trainer at the gym- which is that cardiovascular excercise does NOTHING good for the body, unless its sprinting (like going as fast as you can for short bursts). I was shocked by this, because I thought cardio was really good for you- and that's pretty much all I do for excercise. His trainer claims that it doesn't really get you in shape, if anything could make you FATTER, and that it only speeds up your metabolism for an hour, whereas weight training speeds it up for a whole day, etc. I'm a pretty small girl and just trying to maintain that and be healthy, so I thought cardio was the way to go, but now that trainer's extreme philosophies have me questioning my routine. What do you think? Is weight training better? Is cardio at all beneficial? Thank you!

2006-07-13 09:02:17 · 23 answers · asked by neverneverland 4 in Beauty & Style Skin & Body

23 answers

I would say that there is some truth to both points-of-view. Cardio will raise your metabolism for an extended period of time depending on the duration and intensity of the training. His misconception arises from the fact that muscle burns more calories than fat and that weight training builds more muscle than cardio. You will lose weight if you burn more calories than you take in.

While it's true that weight training will build more muscle, you will not necessarily be in better shape by lifting weights and doing 0 cardio. The reality is that you need to find a mix of the 2.

I have found that lifting 2x week and performing 4 days of cardio has put me in the best shape of my life. The cardio that I perform also builds muscle: swimming 2x week, bike 2x week, run 2x week.

All weights and no cardio will actually have in worse physical condition as your body will have very anaerobic muscular capacity but no aerobic muscular capacity. Ask your b/f to run 2 miles. He probably will not be able to do it without great effort.

It has been my experience that the individuals that state that cardio is not good for you are the ones that do not want or like to do cardio. Weight training is more measurable in it's results than cardio often is and is a more masculine endeavor. Guys can talk about bench press max over a beer but it doesn't mean as much to talk about 5K PR times because most people can run 5K.

My advice would be to stick with the cardio and add low weight/high rep circuit training to your regimen.

2006-07-13 09:13:40 · answer #1 · answered by george_o_jones 3 · 2 1

1

2016-05-03 06:10:02 · answer #2 · answered by Gregory 3 · 0 0

That's certainly different than the conventional wisdom, but I wouldn't rule it out.

I have observed that excercise science and nutrition is created by people who come up w/ ideas and call them true with no experimental evidence. Often reams of evidence will be to the contrary, but the "authorities" will stick to the old ideas.

For one thing, it is known that just cardio training (like jogging or swimming) will result in muscle depletion over long periods of time. Resistive excercies (weight lifting) is necessary to keep up the muscle mass. Maybe this is what he meant.

The people working in the field (like a trainer) typically know the truth.

I'd experiment w/ it if I were you and you think it will help meet your goals.

2006-07-13 09:08:59 · answer #3 · answered by Iridium190 5 · 0 0

Cardio helps your heart and lung capacity, and it is true that the metabolic increase fades away more quickly than that which you obtain with weight training. Weight training helps you to tone and does increase your metabolism for a longer period, but it does nothing to increase the fitness of your heart (when you think about it, it shouldn't, since you are lifting X amount of weight for a short amount of time whereas in cardio you are engaged for a much longer period).

You should really do both cardio and weight training. It's amusing to see guys at the gym who do exclusively weight training, because while they have developed muscles they are still overweight - big arms, big legs, big beer belly.

Keep in mind also that the trainer is not going to get any benefit from you coming in and getting on the bike/treadmill/ for an hour, as opposed to booking an appointment to weight train, where they can accompany you from machine to machine. Other than the initial appointment, I am not aware of trainers who assist you with cardio (except for cycling classes).

The White Collar Ruckus
http://whitecollarruckus.libsyn.com

2006-07-13 09:14:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Use a program that works for you, and what you want.
Cardio speeds things up. You should do 30 mins of cardio followed by weight training. (Women see better results with weights and resistance)
Remember to stretch after (and before if you choose).

But you should really focus on the full circle of exercising:
*Flexibility (streching)
*Strength (weights)
*Aerobics (get your heart pumping)

Not just a single thing. Besides, exercise won't get you know where if you aren't eating healthy.

2006-07-13 09:31:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

They are both beneficial but it depends on what kind of results you want. Cardio exercise is good for the cardiovascular system and can help tone muscle and maintain flexibility. Weight training is good for metabolic rate increases and strengthening the muscles and bones. Cardio exercise will not make you fatter. As long as you burn more calories than you consume, no matter what kind of exercise it is, you will not gain weight so that is a silly claim for someone to make.

2006-07-13 09:06:41 · answer #6 · answered by ebk1974 3 · 0 0

It will help you and you won't get fatter unless you start eating like a pig. A mix of both weight and cardio is your best best. Good cardio will help you sustain a longer wieght training.

2006-07-13 09:09:02 · answer #7 · answered by broj7400 3 · 0 0

I think he needs a new trainer. Cardio, whether its sprints or jogging, will do more for losing weight and getting into shape than weight training. Weight training only tones and builds muscle and does very little to burn fat. For you I would stick to mainly cardio with some light weight training.

2006-07-13 09:08:44 · answer #8 · answered by j 1 · 0 1

go 20 mph on your bike for 6 1 2 minutes

2016-04-23 04:39:14 · answer #9 · answered by Sibyl 3 · 0 0

always have vegetables on hand saute a big bag of frozen mixed vegetables in olive oil and garlic add some red pepper or turmeric for additional flavor and separate into portion sized containers for the fridge

2016-05-16 16:02:57 · answer #10 · answered by Marianne 3 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers