Cardio.. Strength Training... or a mixture of the two?

United States
June 10, 2010 2:09pm CST
Which do you focus on? Both are equally important. Cardio exercise is what burns calories and fat.. the harder you work, the more calories you burn.. and experts say that the effects of a good cardio work out stay with you for hours after you've completed your work out. Strength training may not burn as many calories, but building muscle does! By building muscle your body will need to burn more calories each day, even when you are inactive. Though building muscle alone is not enough to lose a significant amount of weight, it's certainly important for anyone who wants to live a healthier lifestyle. I think I do a good mixture of the 2. I take 3 cycling classes each week, which is full cardio.. plus I run at least one day a week. I do try to do a little bit of strength training each day, but I'm not patient enough to do more than 1 set per weight machine... so instead I take some classes each week which focus a lot on strength. Tuesdays I take a class which is half strength training, half cardio.. and today I took a boot camp class for the first time.. though we didn't use the weights very much, we did do a lot of squats, planks, push ups, and other such things which do help build muscle and burn calories. Because of these classes I'm noticing my muscles more and more, and in places I didn't even know muscle existed! My arms and shoulders are looking fantastic! (My legs have always been muscular). I never set out to gain a lot of muscle, I just wanted to lose weight.. I only did the strength training to burn calories. But now I'm loving my muscles and I'm addicted to strength training exercises!! Which do you do more of, and why?
4 responses
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
10 Jun 10
Right now, I am focusing more on cardio. Mainly because I'd like to burn off more pounds quickly. But I have been hunting around for a decent set of weights. I want to get some definition in my arms and legs. Really do need to get on that.
• United States
10 Jun 10
You don't need weights to build muscle. For legs you can do squats, lunges, and leg lifts. There are different variations to all 3 that will work the legs further too... chair squats are where your legs are not spread too wide.. then the wider you spread them it will work different muscles. Look it up to see all the different variations you can do. For arms you can do tricep dips, push ups... or grab a can of soup or veggies which is equal to around 1 lb and do some bicep curls and other type exercises. Trust me if you do high reps with a low weight, you will feel it and see results. My Tuesday class I only use 3 lb weights, but we do 1 full minute for each set. My biceps do need a higher weight, but shoulder and chest exercises are felt after 1 minute using the low weights.
@geojb90 (470)
• Galati, Romania
10 Jun 10
Well I'm glad to hear that you are in a good shape. I also train muscle and do cardio. When I first start with bodybuilding I wanted to build my muscles and that's all ... now I practice this sport because I find it very fun to do I love exercising. I go to the gym almost everyday except weekend.
• United States
10 Jun 10
I go to the gym at least 6 days a week. Some weeks I skip a Sunday, depending on the weather and what we plan to do that day.
@tutul0045 (2630)
• India
13 Jun 10
Hi, Cardio and strength straining are both very important and the key is in finding the right balance. I do cardio twice a week and 4 days strength training. I keep one day off as its extreamly important to give rest to yr body as well. Also important thing is to maintain a good diet and atleast 8 hrs sleep. If u dont eat right and sleep too less the results wont show and u will get discouraged. Also a good friendly trainer does a lot of good. Not only u can look at him as a motivation but also he or she can solve many health related problems. I'm glad to read a women saying that she is happy to c her muscles. Thats awesome! Eat healthy and think healthy! Cheers, Tutu;
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
15 Jun 10
Cardio, just because I enjoy it more. I do a few limited exercises with weights, but not all that many...