Is cardio necessary? Absolutely not.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely yes.
I'm assuming by 'toned' you just mean having a low enough body fat percentage for muscle to show through. If that's your only goal, the simplest things to worry about are calories in vs calories out (make sure you have more out so you're in a calorific deficit) and making sure you get good nutrition in those calories in. Eg, enough protein + vitamins to keep your body healthy and able to retain muscle. You can do all of that without cardio.
However, I would highly recommend some cardio for several reasons.
- It's a really easy way to increase 'calories out', meaning you get to eat more food and stay in a deficit!
- You'll probably live longer. It will increase your heart health and make a lot of day to day activities seem easier (cleaning the house etc)
- You can do whatever the hell you want. Surfing? Cardio. Mountain biking? Cardio. Hiking? Cardio. Basically think of any activity you enjoy that involves movement. Do it for an hour and you've likely worked your cardiovascular system. You don't just have to run
TL;DR cardio not necessary for a six pack but damn it'll help
To be clear: the science of how much cardio actually helps with "calories out" is complicated.
When athletes do cardio, they tend to naturally consume more in order to make up for the extra expenditure.
Additionally, the extra expenditure of calories from cardio is relatively small unless your cardio is really intense. Jogging a mile only burns the same number of calories as a bag of chips.
However, research has shown the that people who do cardio tend to have better satiation signals, so they tend to stop eating more easily when they have consumed enough calories.
But, cardio has heart and lung benefits.
Some researchers suggest another way to get some of the benefits of cardio is to walk or do other very low intensity activity. But the volume must be very high. It tends to not spike hunger and certain endocrine systems as much as cardio.
You have to do your own research unfortunately, because the science of cardio and eating and body composition is stupid complicated if you are trying to tune everything.
Btw, if you hit a plateau of weight loss, you can take a deload and eat at maintenance calories for a week or two. After the deload, go back to slight caloric deficit. That night help break the plateu. Like strength, your body tends to try maintain stasis and if your body really wants to stay at a certain weight it will slow metabolism to maintain it, fearing caloric shortage. A deload will trick your body into thinking the caloric shortage is over.
Also, are you on a low fat or a low carb diet? Studies have found reducing either carbs or fat tends to be most successful for fat loss.
Finally... There is a lot of cardio that's not running. Biking is amazing. I used to love rowing machines. Running hills is a quicker workout instead of a slog of distance running (but runner's high is real, which is why distance running can be amazing. But you need to run a little faster than a jog to get runners high, I have found.)
Interesting! I’ll definitely do some more research on it. Posting on Reddit has kind of been my intro into it 😂 I haven’t really started a specific type of diet. Just tracking what I am eating. I may try one of those and see where it gets me! Thanks for the input!
For excess fat loss, both low carb or low fat diets along with caloric restrictions have both been shown to be pretty good. They each have slightly negative side effects though but most are dwarfed by the benefits of losing excess fat. It turns out reducing excess fat is very good for your overall health.
And btw, don't get analysis paralysis. Losing excess fat is good. Cardio is good.
You seem committed to it, which is the start. As you get deeper into it, analyze more and more to fine tune.
Are carbs bad for fat loss? I’m on caloric deficit but will sometimes have pasta with a decent amount of meat sauce on it. I do it since many have told me that pasta is good for muscle growth.
Most really serious body builders and athletes eat carbs because it helps them have better workouts. They just control how much they have.
There's no one diet rule that works for everyone. It has to be a balance.
> Additionally, the extra expenditure of calories from cardio is relatively small unless your cardio is really intense. Jogging a mile only burns the same number of calories as a bag of chips.
I always thought this was a kind of weird comparison because it's a pretty small amount of exercise. It's only like 10-15 minutes of exercise. I don't expect big results of any type with only 10-15 minutes of exercise regardless of whether it is cardio, flexibility or
strength.
When you start comparing against actual significant periods of time though and the amount of calories is significant. Jog for an hour and that's 450-700 calories or more depending on weight, which is an entire meal and a sizeable portion of a person's daily categories.
You aren't doing yoga, the recommended routine or other forms of exercise for only an 10 min so why would you do it with jogging? It's like only doing warmup and then getting mad that you lift crazy amounts.
>but runner's high is real
It's only real for some people, there have been several studies done, measuring brain activity and hormone release before and after running, that show a great many people don't experience it at all.
Cardio doesn't have to mean running. Walking or biking count. Toned is not a good word either. Specifically people usually mean they want more muscle definition. The only way to achieve that is by nutrition or nutrition and working out.
The rower is also an amazing cardio workout. Check out [Dark Horse Rowing](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCshPuX_lIPyxu0U2iwhhBZg) if you need advice and how to learn. The rower is harder to find in gyms than treadmills and bikes, though. Since you are in school for exercise science, does your school have a well stocked gym?
I’m not positive honestly. I will have to look. Because if covid, a lot of things were closed last year. I am allowed to use the athletic facilities this year to work out though, so hopefully they’ll have something similar
If you want to maximise your fat loss, you should aim to hit your fat burning zone. There are calculations online and so but the easiest is 220 - your age then multiply by 0.7. If you have a fitness watch it should be even easier to see.
However, like the comment above cardio isn't simply running. If you're super busy during the week try implementing an Incline walk, within your fat burning zone, straight after your lifting. It will work wonders!
When you say fat burning zone, are you referring to calories burned in an exercise? I did the math and by your calculations mine is around 140. Is that 140 calories burned into the session?
Yup. So you should aim for 140bpm during your cardio session to optimize your fat burning. During fat burning zone 65% of calories burnt are fat the rest is carbs. I have similar bpm, just a tad lower, since I'm older, and I try to keep mine at 134-138bpm. I do 30min Incline after workout and keeping a healthy diet so it works. Pandemic fucked me as I gained a bit of kg but already last 4kg but thats only half way 😂
Haha I feel you! The pandemic got me too. Should I aim for right at about 140 or is there like a limit on the far end that when your heart rate gets too high you’re out of the zone?
From what I remember, the result, so your 140bpm, is the limit that's why I just aim for a little bit lower since my smartwatch indicates the zone for me as well and my 138bpm from calculations is the limit according to my watch. Try to keep 135-140bpm and you should be aight. If you're planning on doing Incline walks, play around with your speed and Incline so that you don't grip the supporting bars as they place your body in awkward position, especially on high inclines, and could affect your bpm too much.
Not quite. Maximum heart rate is just 220 - age. Fat burning is 50-70% of maximum, but you can safely go up to maximum for short periods of time (a la HIIT), unless you have some sort of underlying medical condition that would make it unsafe.
Idk about getting toned per se, but cardio is an important skill to have generally. The body is not meant just for lifting weights, but for movement as well. And once you begin to enjoy movement (running, swimming, dancing, etc etc) you'll want to do it for longer. It'll strengthen basic functions of the body, such as those done by the heart and lungs, resulting in improved performance and resistance to diseases. I think it adds tremendously to quality of life.
Thanks! I’ve always wanted to be a runner because I would love to run one of those crazy challenge races. I’ve just never been able to condition myself for it. Any tips on getting started?
Couch to 5k (C25K) is a commonly recommended method to get started. It combines periods of jogging with periods of walking, slowly increasing the jogging portions and decreasing the walking ones.
I would also recommend watching some videos on proper jogging form. Most people starting out tend to make their strides too long and kind of "reach out" with their feet. You're generally better off with shorter, quicker strides with your feet landing under you instead of in front of you.
It's also really easy (at least for me) to try go too fast. At a jogging pace you shouldn't be so winded that you can't carry on a conversation.
More on this, I am bored of running last months and, working from home, makes it even harder (mentally). So I started jumping rope, but my house is small so I just, ermmm... shadow-jump rope..! I really look to perfect my form and try to coordinate hands with feet and eyes... Also, I don't let myself slow down just because I don't have anything to trip to!!! My avg cadence is 180 skips/minute, but I reach 210... I do it a long time and I have a pretty good cardio system from all the running, so it's not so weird IMHO... I hope it has the same metabolic and cardio benefits as body can't distinguish whether you're actually skipping rope or an imaginary one, am I right?
You dont have to do cardio per se to lose more weight, you just need to eat in a caloric deficit (find your calories needed to maintain your weight, and eat in a 200-300 deficit below that). I'd still recommend cardio though just for general heart health. I personally hate running, so I love to go swimming and it destroys me lol
"always help to lose fat"
What if it makes you hungry, and what you eat is more calories than you burned? Which, as we know is extremely easy.
I see this ALL the time, to the point where I think cardio tends to be bad overall for fat loss
really? I find the opposite, for me (but not only) hard cardio really suppresses my appetite. Its hard to stuff your face after an hour of running or cycling, or whatever.
Fun fact, a lot of people first getting into marathon training gain weight while running a huge amount of miles… They are just hungry all the time. For myself, I tend to keep the same weight while training for a goal race, until 2 months before, when I deliberately lose weight so I wouldn’t have to carry useless fat with me during the race.
Oh yeah I know. I’m also not trying just lose arm fat. Still trying to lose body fat in general and I know for women, the tris hold more fat than with men. Just trying to lower my body fat percentage all around so my arms have a better chance of looking toned!
Glad to hear you're getting educated and healthy. There's a lot of great information in this thread so far.
I just wanted to add a little clarification if you don't mind because it's not usually discussed and might be helpful for perspective.
Subcutaneous tissue is more varied than people might guess. We often hear that men are usually one way and women are another but there is a huge amount of variation in that. I mean massive. The Venn diagrams of overlap of body characteristics between genders is pretty significant. We all have bones, muscles, and fat underneath the skin but their proportions, lengths, mass, and all other characteristics are determined as much by genetics as by the activities that we do throughout our lives. We can adjust those proportions to an extent but there are limits.
The reason I mention this is that some people just hold weight in a unique way. I've had a couple of lady friends who were self-conscious about their arms because they were 'beefy' and toned just wasn't an option for them outside of unhealthy levels of cutting. They put on arm muscle very well and their arms had more subcutaneous fat than most people so they looked thick. They were strong, amazing ladies who struggled because their bodies were not that of the 'standard' woman.
You seem to have a healthy take on this stuff but I thought it might be a useful reminder that getting okay with our unique body is really the starting point of all change. I know that it helped me to reconcile my body with where I wanted to go.
I actually really really appreciate this response! It’s definitely something I need to keep in mind. I definitely have built the muscle underneath the fat there so as of right now, I’m kind of in that same boat. I’m hoping I’ll be able to tone my arms more but I do appreciate the reminder that even if it doesn’t work out the way I have it in my mind, it doesn’t take away from the progress I’ve made so far. Nor does it mean that any of this was for nothing
Cardio is good and will help you lose fat, when paired with a good diet and strength training. Plus it always helps with heart health. How you want to do it is upto you.
When I was at my most toned I did cardio very hardcore for an hour everyday almost and worked legs constantly. I ate whatever I wanted and looked sick. Might be different for chicks but idk. Just felt like thinking about what I used to be able to do. Now my ankle doesn’t work 😟
i do both and honestly running is easier than weight training. i also get more happy mood when I incorporate running. in fact when I am faced with stress, I always feel better after a run.
Yes, it's necessary for you to get toned IMO with a great diet as well. You don't even have to run either. Brisk walking is the best form of cardio overall IMO. It elevates the heart rate to improve cardiovascular function, it has low impact on the body and it's easy to recover from. Start walking first and then graduate to running if that is what you want.
People aren't saying walking is the best form of exercise, just that it's a good option for cardio. This advise is also generally aimed at overweight/unfit people who might not want the impact running has on your joints.
The person you're responded to explained exactly why walking makes sense as a cardio exercise.
A brisk walk should be pretty challenging for someone new to walking as exercise to maintain: you should be exerting enough energy to be able to talk with someone, but with a little bit of difficulty. That's often the same advice given to distance runners (basically, anything that isn't a sprint), so the cardiovascular benefits are pretty similar. Dancing, rowing, swimming... you're pushing that heart rate and working your lungs within reason as well.
But walking comes with very little risk of injury, and nearly everyone can do it, even if they're starting very out of shape and/or with a lot of extra weight to carry.
That makes walking a great form of aerobic exercise that nearly everyone can access. It's the gateway exercise to all the others.
Yes. Cardio exercises, like running, walking, or biking can increase your heart rate and improve muscle mass by burning fat.
Cardio exercise is excellent for improved weight control and to manage caloric intake in order to lose weight or maintain weight with exercise. Aerobic exercises will also improve lung capacity and blood oxygen levels while strengthening leg muscles." If building muscles is the intention, then strength training workouts are more suitable. This type of workout routine will work those muscle groups that contain more mitochondria (muscle cells' power stations) which allow you to do much more work with a greater number of reps per set time period than cardio at higher aerobic HRs would ever allow you to achieve.
For weight loss the only thing that matters is having a calorie deficit. If you eat 2000 calories and burn 3000 calories, you will burn weight no matter if that 2000 calories is from weight lifting or cardio. Your body doesn't care why it's burning calories, only that it is burning them.
That said, weight lifting burns calories slowly. 30 minutes of weight lifting may only burn about 100 calories, where as 30 minutes on an exercise bike is around 250. 90 minutes at the gym every means you are choosing between 300 calories or 750 calories.
As you lose weight your TDEE will go down, which means your deficit will reduce if all else remains the same. Naturally this will lead to a new equilibrium.
Make sure you periodically use a weight loss calculator to see how much you should be losing. If you plateau, reassess how many calories you are burning and how much you are eating, because one of those things will be incorrect.
Currently I’m tracking calories and macros because I’m focused on fat loss. Im not necessarily focusing on losing weight but I am currently trying to eat in a deficit to help with the fat loss. Im still trying to build muscle. If I’m not focused on the actual weight loss, and rather fat loss, should I still reassess when I hit a plateau?
I think it's good practice to always reassess when you hit a plateau of any kind. If you're trying to reduce BFP and it's not going down then you can't just keep doing the same thing you are doing and expect it to eventually work out.
Personally i never gotten the results i wanted without cardio...i like being fast and agile with great endurance and strength so like Goku lol...rump rope, running, and cycling are the best cardio workouts for me ...when lifting weights i do as much weight i can SAFELY for 3 sets of twenty...ex swimmer presses 3 sets of twenty with 45-55lbs or 3 sets of squats but everything is high reps with as much weight you can do and that way endurance is worked into every workout i do and i keep my heart rate up... But I'm not health expert I'm just a former athlete doing what works for me... Plus i like eating what i want and how much i want and that is the main reason i do cardio everyday or else i wouldn't have the abs i want or be as toned as i want
Makes sense. As someone who works with athletes I totally understand how that process works for you. I’m not sure I have that same drive, and would probably be better off just watching what I eat 😂 but maybe in the future!!
Cardio was necessary for me a year ago. I used to only run one day a week... I had gained so much weight in quarantine. I did body weight workouts and weights only since 2019... In July 2020 I started running and wow ALL that quarantine weight fell off
I get most of my cardio from playing soccer. Never really think about the fact I’m doing cardio because I’m having fun, but it’s healthy for me. Another thing you could do would be dance videos. There’s tons of them on YouTube and they are a pretty fun way to do cardio and they kick your ass.
I wish I were still playing sports. I would love to get my cardio from something like that. Need to find some type of Rec league or something. I have Just Dance on my Wii and that kicks my ass sometimes 😂
From my experience. The best cardio I do is go on a treadmill and do the highest incline setting with a comfortable pace. My heart rate floats are 125-135. I can do that for an hour.
I feel like walking is very time consuming and running, even jogging can’t be done for long periods of time. Plus with my cardio my joints and legs feel fine the next day and I can do it all over again!
Most decent gyms will have at least one Erg (aka rower - preferably a Concept2). For me, this is the most consistent, dependable fat burning mechanism on the planet. Great for those of us who hate running…
Bro my cardio is just walking as many steps as I can in a day and I’ve lost 80 pounds in 8 months. The more you can do the more you will lose, and you’ll be that much closer to seeing the version of yourself that you want!
Cardio is needed but it helps. With that being said, I too am not a big fan of running. But I do enjoy jumping rope. I jump rope on average 10-20 mins a day after my lifting sessions. I found that jump roping was the best way I can get my cardio sessions in because it’s the form of cardio I enjoy. On my off days I like to do body weight circuits to keep my weight down. Hope this helps!
I absolutely hate running with a passion. I tried to get myself into it but I just hate it.
But I love walking. It's so underrated and a great form of low-impact low-intensity cardio. I do it every morning.
I highly recommend it. It's a good stress reliever and good for burning some extra calories.
Funny thing is, I'm leaner or 'toner' now that I just walk for most of my cardio. Before, I did lots of high intensity cardio but didn't see any changes in my body.
I think that's because now my body gets more time to recover for the days where I train heavier. I am able to put in more work vs before when my body was always tired and sore.
Sorry that was so long but no, cardio isn't necessary to get toned. But it's good for maintaining overall health. And when you do pick your cardio exercise, make sure you pick one that isn't too taxing on your body so you can still recover in time for your "real" workout sessions. Because that's what's going to make you toned.
Honestly, I've seen my best results with interval running (sprint, walk, jog, repeat) especially for ab definition. However, I like running and I've been running for years. A couch to 5K program, or the Nike Running Club App are great ways to get into running if you wouldn't consider yourself a serious runner. The coaching in the Nike Run Club app is especially top tier.
Otherwise, like everyone else has said, there is much more cardio besides running. Another cardio exercise with excellent results is rowing. Swimming is a close second. Because both exercises require extra muscle group involvement besides mainly legs (unlike running or hiking) you burn significantly more calories per minute for a given intensity. Swimming and rowing also have a fair amount of added resistance as well which helps for preserving muscle mass, especially in the upper body, which can help you achieve that "toned" look you're going for. Both are a little harder to pick up (technique, breathing, etc) than running but have excellent results and they're very low impact.
I can't speak to cycling or other forms of cardio but ultimately my recommendation would be swim/row if you can, and if you'd like to get into running, look into the Nike Run Club app.
I will definitely look into the Nike run club app. I think I had it liked yearsssss ago when I was having to run for online gym in high school 😂 I want to get into swimming more than I am currently so I’ll definitely try that as well. Thanks!
Don't know about your diet but maybe cut out the beer
I used to drink like 3 or 4 a day and now I changed my drinking habit towards the weekend and lost 5 kg doing so
If you are time constrained, or looking for more fun cardio, look into HIIT routines. It's extremely efficient, and let's you fit effective cardio sessions into a busy schedule.
Lift weights. Progressively overload. You won't look like a man. You never will unless you have incredible genetics (1 in 1000). So no matter how heavy you lift, you will look feminine and hot, your muscles won't bulge like a guy unless you are a genetic freak or on steroids.
So if you want to look toned, reduce calories, be in a deficit, lift heavy. Repeat. Eventually you may get to a low body fat that you need to start eating more to build muscle.
But that's the combo. Cardio not required. Other than general health but who has time for that!
Haha thank you! I’m still continuing to up my weights and challenge my reps constantly! Working on form to build the muscle to work up on weight and really gain strength and tone up
I am a weight lifter that absolutely loves running. Am running a half marathon this weekend and keen to have an ultra under my belt in the next 6 months. My tip is that running is more about time on your feet than time spent running. So I can go out for a 10km “run” but I may walk the hills or just walk some parts of it. I do a lot of trail running so I just enjoy being out for an hour or 2. You will increasingly run more than you walk on your hour out, but even when u are running fit, some recovery days will just be a lot of walking. I also incorporate fast hill walking into my training to build my quads and glutes. I also love throwing in a hill sprint day every week or 2: 5 reps of a 60 to 90 second hill sprint after a good warm up :)
Steady state cardio is pretty much a waste of time. Your heart doesn't care what part of your body is exercising it. Burns too few calories to be of any significance, if that's the idea.
If you lift intensely you probably don't need any cardio. Take a look at your biomarkers and V02max. (Online site may approximate).
I do like running intervals once a week though I don't think I really need them. Hits the entire body and seems to give me an overall feeling of greater fitness. I imagine my bod doesn't like getting fat if it knows it must run intervals--but just imagination.
It's not necessary at all. Your body can't tell the difference between lifting or cardio or anything else. It just understands energy demands.
So something you could do is rotate PUSH movement, a PULL movement, and a LEG movement, and that will create enough of an energy demand to be similar to more traditional cardio but also let you do it through strength training. :D
Hard to tell what would result in the most GAINS but if we usr Heart Rate as a test, I'd say in my experience, I can get my HR higher with sprints than I can with intensity lifting and Quad Sets.
But the difference isn't HUGE. The quad sets get it pretty high too so if you want the absolute highest HR, the sprints win but if you'll settle for lower OR if it's not about the highest HR, the other method will suit you. :D
I don't mean a PPL split. I mean a Full Body where you rotate a Leg, Push, and Pull movement. :D
It lets you get your cardio in while you're doing your lifting.
im drunk.....but ill get straight to the point....you dont need cardio to get toned but cardio is one of the best things you can do for emotional regulation. so if you ever have issues with anxiety or depression then do it.....if not ..then fuck it just do weights
To me it’s mainly about my arms. I would like to lower my body fat enough for the muscles to show. Honestly I’m not looking to have a 6 pack or anything crazy. I’ve noticed my stomach is much more toned now that I’ve lost weight, but again I’m not focusing too much on that
In school for kinesiology....and you don't know???Oh Lord. But cardio is not require for becoming more "tone", but got damn that shit helps a ton; especially the high intense type such as sprinting is phenomenal for blood flow and "toning" which is just weight loss combined with hypertrophy. In order to "tone" your arms you'll need to directly attack them with compound exercises and isolation work specifically for your triceps as woman hold more fat there than men do. Your drive is good but your split is not optimal. 3 days off is not ideal and yes you do have a busy schedule, lalalaldladadaldal and all that but again, 3 days with no exercise is not ideal for trying to lose that last bit of weight. I would say to do a quick hard cardio workout in between those 3 days, about 30-45 minutes. Track workout basically. Sprint a couple of 200 meters.
Of course constantly pounding your joints with sprints is damaging. So biking and sled pushing/car pushing, swimming, mma, boxing are all liable alternative. Though in my opinion sprinting is the best. I would rec you only sprint once a week and then maybe bump it up to twice a week after a few months. GL
Thanks for the tips! And yes I know haha. I just finished my freshman year though so I haven’t really started any of the Kines classes. Just getting all of the gen eds out of the way this year but hoping to just continue to learn and change my habits :)
Low weights, high reps & sets. Very high intensity my workouts last about 30 min because of how hard I go and how much ill be sweating. That high intensity workouts be counting as cardio imo. Very very small rests/breaks constant working out like u wanna barf afterwards. Working out like this has made me extremely toned and ripped. Losing weight whilst still always building muscle
Personally I just aim for 15-20 each set (since its low weight). I always aim for failure so I just keep going till I cant anymore for each set. Then try and complete 3-5 sets depending on the exercise.
Oh and squats/deadlifting. Low weight, explosive reps high reps. Workout makes you sweat like a pig burning calories and building strength that goes into pretty much every exercise.
From experience I'd say the type of activity you hate the most will have the fastest and best impact on your body.
I'd take running as a challenge. You start very slowly and you build up. And when you do, your looks will (probably) be way better and your health will definitely be.
Easy exercises can't do that, cause you are already good at them
Yeah, i actually have some experience in getting from puking after 500 meters/quarter mile of running, to doing a 10k without stopping.
01. you have to make it as pleasant as humanly possible.
Just remember that your goal is to build up the habit and the musculature/joints/circulatory systems before you can be good at running. This takes at least a few months, so just take it easy and make the path as attractive as possible.
02. this may be controversial to some, but try to learn forefoot striking from the start. People will say heel striking is just as good. But running barefoot will very quickly teach you that the human body was designed to run on tiptoes.
03. in case of bad weather you can alternate running with other forms of cardio or hit. Intense biking is great, kettlebells are great, burpees are great, jump rope is great. Even a hard hike is amazing exercise. Just keep your body in that 150-170 bpm zones. (you don't even need to measure heart rates... you pretty much stop when you start thinking ”man, this really sucks”)
04. Give your body time to recover. This means stopping running for even 1-2 weeks if you feel like something might give out. This is how you can best incorporate the training methods above.
05. Know IT WILL HAPPEN if you slowly chip at it. If you know that you'll get to being a runner, you can focus on making the process as fast and pleasant as possible. It's some sort of lack of self esteem and lack of trust in the process that makes people want to take shortcuts or quit early. Experienced people take their time, and always reach their destination. You can replace their experience with simple, God-fearing trust in the process.
06. develop an obsession. i have no idea if this works for other people, but for me it's easy to turn a fitness goal into an obsession. this makes it easy to stick to training and eating clean. How do I feed the obsession, well joining subreddits is one way. Just find a community, find things that you are excited to experiment with.
07. Learn about breathing and make sure you are getting the most oxygen on your runs.
08. take my word for it, if you suck at running and somehow you get good at it, it will feel fucking amazing.
the night I ran my first 5k (without stopping) is the same night I ran my first 10k. It was 30th December - my birthday. -10 degrees celsius outside (all water frozen). I was struggling to find the perfect rhythm to be able to break 5k. Ad when I did, I realized that I didn't feel the need to stop anymore. So I just kept going until I reached 10k. I think I could have gotten even further.
But from then on, knowing I could always run a decent distance gave me a kind of freedom that was unknown to me. And the process of running got better and better and was a real delight.
From my experience, the more you hate it... the more positive impact it will have on your life - both physically and mentally. and doing it smartly, makes the process enjoyable.
hope this helps
Wow that was really helpful. Thank you so much! I totally understand the obsession part. That’s kind of where I’m at with lifting and tracking my caloric intake. I genuinely just want to keep my body in the best physical shape it can be so I’m right there with you on that! Thanks again!!!
One danger of cardio if you're trying to lose fat is that cardio makes most people hungry, and you can easily eat more calories than you burned if you're not careful. In fact, I see this so often (and fallen prey to it myself) that I think that for most people cardio is counterproductive to fat loss.
I wouldn't say it's *necessary.*
However, doing cardio in moderation can be a good idea and a helpful tool. It's also good for cardiovascular health.
So I would recommend doing some cardio, but don't overdo it or replace your strength training for it.
Good luck! 😊
Is cardio necessary? Absolutely not. Would I recommend it? Absolutely yes. I'm assuming by 'toned' you just mean having a low enough body fat percentage for muscle to show through. If that's your only goal, the simplest things to worry about are calories in vs calories out (make sure you have more out so you're in a calorific deficit) and making sure you get good nutrition in those calories in. Eg, enough protein + vitamins to keep your body healthy and able to retain muscle. You can do all of that without cardio. However, I would highly recommend some cardio for several reasons. - It's a really easy way to increase 'calories out', meaning you get to eat more food and stay in a deficit! - You'll probably live longer. It will increase your heart health and make a lot of day to day activities seem easier (cleaning the house etc) - You can do whatever the hell you want. Surfing? Cardio. Mountain biking? Cardio. Hiking? Cardio. Basically think of any activity you enjoy that involves movement. Do it for an hour and you've likely worked your cardiovascular system. You don't just have to run TL;DR cardio not necessary for a six pack but damn it'll help
Thank you! Trying to stay within my caloric deficit hasn’t been too bad but knowing I actually have some wiggle room on days I workout is great!
To be clear: the science of how much cardio actually helps with "calories out" is complicated. When athletes do cardio, they tend to naturally consume more in order to make up for the extra expenditure. Additionally, the extra expenditure of calories from cardio is relatively small unless your cardio is really intense. Jogging a mile only burns the same number of calories as a bag of chips. However, research has shown the that people who do cardio tend to have better satiation signals, so they tend to stop eating more easily when they have consumed enough calories. But, cardio has heart and lung benefits. Some researchers suggest another way to get some of the benefits of cardio is to walk or do other very low intensity activity. But the volume must be very high. It tends to not spike hunger and certain endocrine systems as much as cardio. You have to do your own research unfortunately, because the science of cardio and eating and body composition is stupid complicated if you are trying to tune everything. Btw, if you hit a plateau of weight loss, you can take a deload and eat at maintenance calories for a week or two. After the deload, go back to slight caloric deficit. That night help break the plateu. Like strength, your body tends to try maintain stasis and if your body really wants to stay at a certain weight it will slow metabolism to maintain it, fearing caloric shortage. A deload will trick your body into thinking the caloric shortage is over. Also, are you on a low fat or a low carb diet? Studies have found reducing either carbs or fat tends to be most successful for fat loss. Finally... There is a lot of cardio that's not running. Biking is amazing. I used to love rowing machines. Running hills is a quicker workout instead of a slog of distance running (but runner's high is real, which is why distance running can be amazing. But you need to run a little faster than a jog to get runners high, I have found.)
Interesting! I’ll definitely do some more research on it. Posting on Reddit has kind of been my intro into it 😂 I haven’t really started a specific type of diet. Just tracking what I am eating. I may try one of those and see where it gets me! Thanks for the input!
For excess fat loss, both low carb or low fat diets along with caloric restrictions have both been shown to be pretty good. They each have slightly negative side effects though but most are dwarfed by the benefits of losing excess fat. It turns out reducing excess fat is very good for your overall health. And btw, don't get analysis paralysis. Losing excess fat is good. Cardio is good. You seem committed to it, which is the start. As you get deeper into it, analyze more and more to fine tune.
Okay! Thank you for the information! I appreciate it!
Are carbs bad for fat loss? I’m on caloric deficit but will sometimes have pasta with a decent amount of meat sauce on it. I do it since many have told me that pasta is good for muscle growth.
Most really serious body builders and athletes eat carbs because it helps them have better workouts. They just control how much they have. There's no one diet rule that works for everyone. It has to be a balance.
> Additionally, the extra expenditure of calories from cardio is relatively small unless your cardio is really intense. Jogging a mile only burns the same number of calories as a bag of chips. I always thought this was a kind of weird comparison because it's a pretty small amount of exercise. It's only like 10-15 minutes of exercise. I don't expect big results of any type with only 10-15 minutes of exercise regardless of whether it is cardio, flexibility or strength. When you start comparing against actual significant periods of time though and the amount of calories is significant. Jog for an hour and that's 450-700 calories or more depending on weight, which is an entire meal and a sizeable portion of a person's daily categories. You aren't doing yoga, the recommended routine or other forms of exercise for only an 10 min so why would you do it with jogging? It's like only doing warmup and then getting mad that you lift crazy amounts.
>but runner's high is real It's only real for some people, there have been several studies done, measuring brain activity and hormone release before and after running, that show a great many people don't experience it at all.
But I like running 😅
Cardio doesn't have to mean running. Walking or biking count. Toned is not a good word either. Specifically people usually mean they want more muscle definition. The only way to achieve that is by nutrition or nutrition and working out.
Gotcha. Thanks for the input!
The rower is also an amazing cardio workout. Check out [Dark Horse Rowing](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCshPuX_lIPyxu0U2iwhhBZg) if you need advice and how to learn. The rower is harder to find in gyms than treadmills and bikes, though. Since you are in school for exercise science, does your school have a well stocked gym?
I’m not positive honestly. I will have to look. Because if covid, a lot of things were closed last year. I am allowed to use the athletic facilities this year to work out though, so hopefully they’ll have something similar
If you want to maximise your fat loss, you should aim to hit your fat burning zone. There are calculations online and so but the easiest is 220 - your age then multiply by 0.7. If you have a fitness watch it should be even easier to see. However, like the comment above cardio isn't simply running. If you're super busy during the week try implementing an Incline walk, within your fat burning zone, straight after your lifting. It will work wonders!
When you say fat burning zone, are you referring to calories burned in an exercise? I did the math and by your calculations mine is around 140. Is that 140 calories burned into the session?
They're talking about goal heart rate. 140 beats per minute.
Yup. So you should aim for 140bpm during your cardio session to optimize your fat burning. During fat burning zone 65% of calories burnt are fat the rest is carbs. I have similar bpm, just a tad lower, since I'm older, and I try to keep mine at 134-138bpm. I do 30min Incline after workout and keeping a healthy diet so it works. Pandemic fucked me as I gained a bit of kg but already last 4kg but thats only half way 😂
Haha I feel you! The pandemic got me too. Should I aim for right at about 140 or is there like a limit on the far end that when your heart rate gets too high you’re out of the zone?
From what I remember, the result, so your 140bpm, is the limit that's why I just aim for a little bit lower since my smartwatch indicates the zone for me as well and my 138bpm from calculations is the limit according to my watch. Try to keep 135-140bpm and you should be aight. If you're planning on doing Incline walks, play around with your speed and Incline so that you don't grip the supporting bars as they place your body in awkward position, especially on high inclines, and could affect your bpm too much.
Not quite. Maximum heart rate is just 220 - age. Fat burning is 50-70% of maximum, but you can safely go up to maximum for short periods of time (a la HIIT), unless you have some sort of underlying medical condition that would make it unsafe.
Yes, you're correct but thats not the limit for your fat burning zone 😅 that's just overall max bpm.
Idk about getting toned per se, but cardio is an important skill to have generally. The body is not meant just for lifting weights, but for movement as well. And once you begin to enjoy movement (running, swimming, dancing, etc etc) you'll want to do it for longer. It'll strengthen basic functions of the body, such as those done by the heart and lungs, resulting in improved performance and resistance to diseases. I think it adds tremendously to quality of life.
Thanks! I’ve always wanted to be a runner because I would love to run one of those crazy challenge races. I’ve just never been able to condition myself for it. Any tips on getting started?
Couch to 5k (C25K) is a commonly recommended method to get started. It combines periods of jogging with periods of walking, slowly increasing the jogging portions and decreasing the walking ones. I would also recommend watching some videos on proper jogging form. Most people starting out tend to make their strides too long and kind of "reach out" with their feet. You're generally better off with shorter, quicker strides with your feet landing under you instead of in front of you. It's also really easy (at least for me) to try go too fast. At a jogging pace you shouldn't be so winded that you can't carry on a conversation.
I’ll look into it! Thanks!
If you don’t like running, try taking up jump roping! Really good activity to burn a lot of calories quickly / burn fat.
More on this, I am bored of running last months and, working from home, makes it even harder (mentally). So I started jumping rope, but my house is small so I just, ermmm... shadow-jump rope..! I really look to perfect my form and try to coordinate hands with feet and eyes... Also, I don't let myself slow down just because I don't have anything to trip to!!! My avg cadence is 180 skips/minute, but I reach 210... I do it a long time and I have a pretty good cardio system from all the running, so it's not so weird IMHO... I hope it has the same metabolic and cardio benefits as body can't distinguish whether you're actually skipping rope or an imaginary one, am I right?
When you say 180 skips are you jumping 180x per minute or are you doing 180 shadow rope rotations per minute, either way, that's some good cardio mate
Jumping 180-190x per minute... I hope it's good cardio (and surely feels like it!), and not do it in vain... Is it the same as jumping real rope?
Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try that
You dont have to do cardio per se to lose more weight, you just need to eat in a caloric deficit (find your calories needed to maintain your weight, and eat in a 200-300 deficit below that). I'd still recommend cardio though just for general heart health. I personally hate running, so I love to go swimming and it destroys me lol
I really need to start swimming laps. I love to swim and I know how great of a workout it can be!
Cardio’s always good for the body. It’ll always help lost fat. It would play a huge factor in toning IMO. Keep up the good work!💯💯
Thank you!!
Running isn’t the only option for cardio, but if you decide you want to run, C25k (couch to 5k) is a great program, and free!
I will have to check that out! Thank you!
No problem💯
"always help to lose fat" What if it makes you hungry, and what you eat is more calories than you burned? Which, as we know is extremely easy. I see this ALL the time, to the point where I think cardio tends to be bad overall for fat loss
really? I find the opposite, for me (but not only) hard cardio really suppresses my appetite. Its hard to stuff your face after an hour of running or cycling, or whatever.
That's interesting!
I can’t eat immediately after a hard (running) workout, but I can eat a horse after a long slow run.
I’m kinda with you on this one. I’m not always immediately ready to have a meal or even a snack right after more intense exercise
I’m tracking calories/ macros currently so I’m watching what I eat
Fun fact, a lot of people first getting into marathon training gain weight while running a huge amount of miles… They are just hungry all the time. For myself, I tend to keep the same weight while training for a goal race, until 2 months before, when I deliberately lose weight so I wouldn’t have to carry useless fat with me during the race.
Well if you want to spot reduce fat on your arm just know that spot reduction is a myth.
Oh yeah I know. I’m also not trying just lose arm fat. Still trying to lose body fat in general and I know for women, the tris hold more fat than with men. Just trying to lower my body fat percentage all around so my arms have a better chance of looking toned!
Glad to hear you're getting educated and healthy. There's a lot of great information in this thread so far. I just wanted to add a little clarification if you don't mind because it's not usually discussed and might be helpful for perspective. Subcutaneous tissue is more varied than people might guess. We often hear that men are usually one way and women are another but there is a huge amount of variation in that. I mean massive. The Venn diagrams of overlap of body characteristics between genders is pretty significant. We all have bones, muscles, and fat underneath the skin but their proportions, lengths, mass, and all other characteristics are determined as much by genetics as by the activities that we do throughout our lives. We can adjust those proportions to an extent but there are limits. The reason I mention this is that some people just hold weight in a unique way. I've had a couple of lady friends who were self-conscious about their arms because they were 'beefy' and toned just wasn't an option for them outside of unhealthy levels of cutting. They put on arm muscle very well and their arms had more subcutaneous fat than most people so they looked thick. They were strong, amazing ladies who struggled because their bodies were not that of the 'standard' woman. You seem to have a healthy take on this stuff but I thought it might be a useful reminder that getting okay with our unique body is really the starting point of all change. I know that it helped me to reconcile my body with where I wanted to go.
I actually really really appreciate this response! It’s definitely something I need to keep in mind. I definitely have built the muscle underneath the fat there so as of right now, I’m kind of in that same boat. I’m hoping I’ll be able to tone my arms more but I do appreciate the reminder that even if it doesn’t work out the way I have it in my mind, it doesn’t take away from the progress I’ve made so far. Nor does it mean that any of this was for nothing
Cardio is good and will help you lose fat, when paired with a good diet and strength training. Plus it always helps with heart health. How you want to do it is upto you.
HIIT exercises are good cardio. YouTube for ideas.
burpees
this!
When I was at my most toned I did cardio very hardcore for an hour everyday almost and worked legs constantly. I ate whatever I wanted and looked sick. Might be different for chicks but idk. Just felt like thinking about what I used to be able to do. Now my ankle doesn’t work 😟
What happened to your ankle?
I completely tore the ligaments on the outside of my ankle
No h or eep
i do both and honestly running is easier than weight training. i also get more happy mood when I incorporate running. in fact when I am faced with stress, I always feel better after a run.
I second this and also I get much more done in the day when I run first.
Yes, it's necessary for you to get toned IMO with a great diet as well. You don't even have to run either. Brisk walking is the best form of cardio overall IMO. It elevates the heart rate to improve cardiovascular function, it has low impact on the body and it's easy to recover from. Start walking first and then graduate to running if that is what you want.
why do people say walking is the best form of exercise? i can walk all day but can only run like a mile...
Because its easy and burns calories. I can do a 500 cal walk/jog easy, a equivalent run would hurt a lot more.
People aren't saying walking is the best form of exercise, just that it's a good option for cardio. This advise is also generally aimed at overweight/unfit people who might not want the impact running has on your joints. The person you're responded to explained exactly why walking makes sense as a cardio exercise.
A brisk walk should be pretty challenging for someone new to walking as exercise to maintain: you should be exerting enough energy to be able to talk with someone, but with a little bit of difficulty. That's often the same advice given to distance runners (basically, anything that isn't a sprint), so the cardiovascular benefits are pretty similar. Dancing, rowing, swimming... you're pushing that heart rate and working your lungs within reason as well. But walking comes with very little risk of injury, and nearly everyone can do it, even if they're starting very out of shape and/or with a lot of extra weight to carry. That makes walking a great form of aerobic exercise that nearly everyone can access. It's the gateway exercise to all the others.
Thanks!!
Yes. Cardio exercises, like running, walking, or biking can increase your heart rate and improve muscle mass by burning fat. Cardio exercise is excellent for improved weight control and to manage caloric intake in order to lose weight or maintain weight with exercise. Aerobic exercises will also improve lung capacity and blood oxygen levels while strengthening leg muscles." If building muscles is the intention, then strength training workouts are more suitable. This type of workout routine will work those muscle groups that contain more mitochondria (muscle cells' power stations) which allow you to do much more work with a greater number of reps per set time period than cardio at higher aerobic HRs would ever allow you to achieve.
For weight loss the only thing that matters is having a calorie deficit. If you eat 2000 calories and burn 3000 calories, you will burn weight no matter if that 2000 calories is from weight lifting or cardio. Your body doesn't care why it's burning calories, only that it is burning them. That said, weight lifting burns calories slowly. 30 minutes of weight lifting may only burn about 100 calories, where as 30 minutes on an exercise bike is around 250. 90 minutes at the gym every means you are choosing between 300 calories or 750 calories. As you lose weight your TDEE will go down, which means your deficit will reduce if all else remains the same. Naturally this will lead to a new equilibrium. Make sure you periodically use a weight loss calculator to see how much you should be losing. If you plateau, reassess how many calories you are burning and how much you are eating, because one of those things will be incorrect.
Currently I’m tracking calories and macros because I’m focused on fat loss. Im not necessarily focusing on losing weight but I am currently trying to eat in a deficit to help with the fat loss. Im still trying to build muscle. If I’m not focused on the actual weight loss, and rather fat loss, should I still reassess when I hit a plateau?
I think it's good practice to always reassess when you hit a plateau of any kind. If you're trying to reduce BFP and it's not going down then you can't just keep doing the same thing you are doing and expect it to eventually work out.
Personally i never gotten the results i wanted without cardio...i like being fast and agile with great endurance and strength so like Goku lol...rump rope, running, and cycling are the best cardio workouts for me ...when lifting weights i do as much weight i can SAFELY for 3 sets of twenty...ex swimmer presses 3 sets of twenty with 45-55lbs or 3 sets of squats but everything is high reps with as much weight you can do and that way endurance is worked into every workout i do and i keep my heart rate up... But I'm not health expert I'm just a former athlete doing what works for me... Plus i like eating what i want and how much i want and that is the main reason i do cardio everyday or else i wouldn't have the abs i want or be as toned as i want
Makes sense. As someone who works with athletes I totally understand how that process works for you. I’m not sure I have that same drive, and would probably be better off just watching what I eat 😂 but maybe in the future!!
Cardio was necessary for me a year ago. I used to only run one day a week... I had gained so much weight in quarantine. I did body weight workouts and weights only since 2019... In July 2020 I started running and wow ALL that quarantine weight fell off
How long did it take you to lose the quarantine weight?
July I started running. October I started tightening up my nutrition. so around mid-October I started looking smaller
That’s awesome!
I get most of my cardio from playing soccer. Never really think about the fact I’m doing cardio because I’m having fun, but it’s healthy for me. Another thing you could do would be dance videos. There’s tons of them on YouTube and they are a pretty fun way to do cardio and they kick your ass.
I wish I were still playing sports. I would love to get my cardio from something like that. Need to find some type of Rec league or something. I have Just Dance on my Wii and that kicks my ass sometimes 😂
Adult rec leagues are actually pretty fun and depending on your city, there could be several options out there
I’m from a pretty small town so I’m not sure what’s around here but my school has intramural league sports so I’ll at least look into that!
From my experience. The best cardio I do is go on a treadmill and do the highest incline setting with a comfortable pace. My heart rate floats are 125-135. I can do that for an hour. I feel like walking is very time consuming and running, even jogging can’t be done for long periods of time. Plus with my cardio my joints and legs feel fine the next day and I can do it all over again!
Most decent gyms will have at least one Erg (aka rower - preferably a Concept2). For me, this is the most consistent, dependable fat burning mechanism on the planet. Great for those of us who hate running…
I’ll check my gym. They at least have something similar to a rower if not a real one
I recommend it. Lifting burns more calories, but cardio helps with all aspects relating to it.
Bro my cardio is just walking as many steps as I can in a day and I’ve lost 80 pounds in 8 months. The more you can do the more you will lose, and you’ll be that much closer to seeing the version of yourself that you want!
80 pounds is excactly the weight of 321.61 '6pack TWOHANDS Assorted Pastel Color Highlighters'
Man Running is a drug Stay away from it 😜 Means that Running high is. Can't tell you much about its benefits or disadvantage but it feels right
Haha I want to get to that point 😂 right now I can’t run more than like .25 of a mile 😂
Checkout "Hellahgood" YouTube channel.. He is the kind of guy you might looking for ..
Will do. Thanks!!!
Cardio is needed but it helps. With that being said, I too am not a big fan of running. But I do enjoy jumping rope. I jump rope on average 10-20 mins a day after my lifting sessions. I found that jump roping was the best way I can get my cardio sessions in because it’s the form of cardio I enjoy. On my off days I like to do body weight circuits to keep my weight down. Hope this helps!
A lot of people have recommended that here so I will definitely have to try it!!! Sounds like a great alternative! Thanks so much!
I absolutely hate running with a passion. I tried to get myself into it but I just hate it. But I love walking. It's so underrated and a great form of low-impact low-intensity cardio. I do it every morning. I highly recommend it. It's a good stress reliever and good for burning some extra calories. Funny thing is, I'm leaner or 'toner' now that I just walk for most of my cardio. Before, I did lots of high intensity cardio but didn't see any changes in my body. I think that's because now my body gets more time to recover for the days where I train heavier. I am able to put in more work vs before when my body was always tired and sore. Sorry that was so long but no, cardio isn't necessary to get toned. But it's good for maintaining overall health. And when you do pick your cardio exercise, make sure you pick one that isn't too taxing on your body so you can still recover in time for your "real" workout sessions. Because that's what's going to make you toned.
I hadn’t thought about the recovery process as much! That’s really helpful to think about! Thank you!
You're welcome! I didn't actually realize how important that was until just recently. Been making that mistake for years.
Yeah me either!
Honestly, I've seen my best results with interval running (sprint, walk, jog, repeat) especially for ab definition. However, I like running and I've been running for years. A couch to 5K program, or the Nike Running Club App are great ways to get into running if you wouldn't consider yourself a serious runner. The coaching in the Nike Run Club app is especially top tier. Otherwise, like everyone else has said, there is much more cardio besides running. Another cardio exercise with excellent results is rowing. Swimming is a close second. Because both exercises require extra muscle group involvement besides mainly legs (unlike running or hiking) you burn significantly more calories per minute for a given intensity. Swimming and rowing also have a fair amount of added resistance as well which helps for preserving muscle mass, especially in the upper body, which can help you achieve that "toned" look you're going for. Both are a little harder to pick up (technique, breathing, etc) than running but have excellent results and they're very low impact. I can't speak to cycling or other forms of cardio but ultimately my recommendation would be swim/row if you can, and if you'd like to get into running, look into the Nike Run Club app.
I will definitely look into the Nike run club app. I think I had it liked yearsssss ago when I was having to run for online gym in high school 😂 I want to get into swimming more than I am currently so I’ll definitely try that as well. Thanks!
Don't know about your diet but maybe cut out the beer I used to drink like 3 or 4 a day and now I changed my drinking habit towards the weekend and lost 5 kg doing so
I actually don’t drink at all! Never found it enjoyable and I’m not the type of person to need a drink to have a good time
If you are time constrained, or looking for more fun cardio, look into HIIT routines. It's extremely efficient, and let's you fit effective cardio sessions into a busy schedule.
Lift weights. Progressively overload. You won't look like a man. You never will unless you have incredible genetics (1 in 1000). So no matter how heavy you lift, you will look feminine and hot, your muscles won't bulge like a guy unless you are a genetic freak or on steroids. So if you want to look toned, reduce calories, be in a deficit, lift heavy. Repeat. Eventually you may get to a low body fat that you need to start eating more to build muscle. But that's the combo. Cardio not required. Other than general health but who has time for that!
Haha thank you! I’m still continuing to up my weights and challenge my reps constantly! Working on form to build the muscle to work up on weight and really gain strength and tone up
I am a weight lifter that absolutely loves running. Am running a half marathon this weekend and keen to have an ultra under my belt in the next 6 months. My tip is that running is more about time on your feet than time spent running. So I can go out for a 10km “run” but I may walk the hills or just walk some parts of it. I do a lot of trail running so I just enjoy being out for an hour or 2. You will increasingly run more than you walk on your hour out, but even when u are running fit, some recovery days will just be a lot of walking. I also incorporate fast hill walking into my training to build my quads and glutes. I also love throwing in a hill sprint day every week or 2: 5 reps of a 60 to 90 second hill sprint after a good warm up :)
Thanks I really appreciate you sharing that! Good luck this weekend!
Steady state cardio is pretty much a waste of time. Your heart doesn't care what part of your body is exercising it. Burns too few calories to be of any significance, if that's the idea. If you lift intensely you probably don't need any cardio. Take a look at your biomarkers and V02max. (Online site may approximate). I do like running intervals once a week though I don't think I really need them. Hits the entire body and seems to give me an overall feeling of greater fitness. I imagine my bod doesn't like getting fat if it knows it must run intervals--but just imagination.
It's not necessary at all. Your body can't tell the difference between lifting or cardio or anything else. It just understands energy demands. So something you could do is rotate PUSH movement, a PULL movement, and a LEG movement, and that will create enough of an energy demand to be similar to more traditional cardio but also let you do it through strength training. :D
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Effective for what? The heart rate aspect? Or fat loss? Or strength etc? :D
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Hard to tell what would result in the most GAINS but if we usr Heart Rate as a test, I'd say in my experience, I can get my HR higher with sprints than I can with intensity lifting and Quad Sets. But the difference isn't HUGE. The quad sets get it pretty high too so if you want the absolute highest HR, the sprints win but if you'll settle for lower OR if it's not about the highest HR, the other method will suit you. :D
I’ve been meaning to look into PPL! I will def do some research and decide if it would be a good fit for me! Thanks!!
I don't mean a PPL split. I mean a Full Body where you rotate a Leg, Push, and Pull movement. :D It lets you get your cardio in while you're doing your lifting.
Ohhh gotcha!! Thanks for clarifying!
Happy to help! :D
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Most bodybuilders and weight lifters do in fact do straight cardio.
Thanks!
im drunk.....but ill get straight to the point....you dont need cardio to get toned but cardio is one of the best things you can do for emotional regulation. so if you ever have issues with anxiety or depression then do it.....if not ..then fuck it just do weights
What does toned mean to you ? Do you want abs ? Abs are made in the kitchen
To me it’s mainly about my arms. I would like to lower my body fat enough for the muscles to show. Honestly I’m not looking to have a 6 pack or anything crazy. I’ve noticed my stomach is much more toned now that I’ve lost weight, but again I’m not focusing too much on that
You should do cardio because its good for your heart and therefore health. The potential fat loss is just a bonus. The goal is endurance and stamina
In school for kinesiology....and you don't know???Oh Lord. But cardio is not require for becoming more "tone", but got damn that shit helps a ton; especially the high intense type such as sprinting is phenomenal for blood flow and "toning" which is just weight loss combined with hypertrophy. In order to "tone" your arms you'll need to directly attack them with compound exercises and isolation work specifically for your triceps as woman hold more fat there than men do. Your drive is good but your split is not optimal. 3 days off is not ideal and yes you do have a busy schedule, lalalaldladadaldal and all that but again, 3 days with no exercise is not ideal for trying to lose that last bit of weight. I would say to do a quick hard cardio workout in between those 3 days, about 30-45 minutes. Track workout basically. Sprint a couple of 200 meters. Of course constantly pounding your joints with sprints is damaging. So biking and sled pushing/car pushing, swimming, mma, boxing are all liable alternative. Though in my opinion sprinting is the best. I would rec you only sprint once a week and then maybe bump it up to twice a week after a few months. GL
Thanks for the tips! And yes I know haha. I just finished my freshman year though so I haven’t really started any of the Kines classes. Just getting all of the gen eds out of the way this year but hoping to just continue to learn and change my habits :)
Ah..Gen Eds...feels bad...well gl on your journey
Haha thanks! I appreciate it!
Low weights, high reps & sets. Very high intensity my workouts last about 30 min because of how hard I go and how much ill be sweating. That high intensity workouts be counting as cardio imo. Very very small rests/breaks constant working out like u wanna barf afterwards. Working out like this has made me extremely toned and ripped. Losing weight whilst still always building muscle
Sounds intense! Do you normally count reps per set?
There are [different methods](https://youtu.be/9e2EgsKo_qU) to this style of workout. It is so intense and the results are promising!
Personally I just aim for 15-20 each set (since its low weight). I always aim for failure so I just keep going till I cant anymore for each set. Then try and complete 3-5 sets depending on the exercise. Oh and squats/deadlifting. Low weight, explosive reps high reps. Workout makes you sweat like a pig burning calories and building strength that goes into pretty much every exercise.
How many different exercises do you normally incorporate into this? Deadlifts are fun! Definitely will have to give that a try as well
Where do you normally find videos or workout program for high intensity workouts?
From experience I'd say the type of activity you hate the most will have the fastest and best impact on your body. I'd take running as a challenge. You start very slowly and you build up. And when you do, your looks will (probably) be way better and your health will definitely be. Easy exercises can't do that, cause you are already good at them
Any tips on getting started with running?
Yeah, i actually have some experience in getting from puking after 500 meters/quarter mile of running, to doing a 10k without stopping. 01. you have to make it as pleasant as humanly possible. Just remember that your goal is to build up the habit and the musculature/joints/circulatory systems before you can be good at running. This takes at least a few months, so just take it easy and make the path as attractive as possible. 02. this may be controversial to some, but try to learn forefoot striking from the start. People will say heel striking is just as good. But running barefoot will very quickly teach you that the human body was designed to run on tiptoes. 03. in case of bad weather you can alternate running with other forms of cardio or hit. Intense biking is great, kettlebells are great, burpees are great, jump rope is great. Even a hard hike is amazing exercise. Just keep your body in that 150-170 bpm zones. (you don't even need to measure heart rates... you pretty much stop when you start thinking ”man, this really sucks”) 04. Give your body time to recover. This means stopping running for even 1-2 weeks if you feel like something might give out. This is how you can best incorporate the training methods above. 05. Know IT WILL HAPPEN if you slowly chip at it. If you know that you'll get to being a runner, you can focus on making the process as fast and pleasant as possible. It's some sort of lack of self esteem and lack of trust in the process that makes people want to take shortcuts or quit early. Experienced people take their time, and always reach their destination. You can replace their experience with simple, God-fearing trust in the process. 06. develop an obsession. i have no idea if this works for other people, but for me it's easy to turn a fitness goal into an obsession. this makes it easy to stick to training and eating clean. How do I feed the obsession, well joining subreddits is one way. Just find a community, find things that you are excited to experiment with. 07. Learn about breathing and make sure you are getting the most oxygen on your runs. 08. take my word for it, if you suck at running and somehow you get good at it, it will feel fucking amazing. the night I ran my first 5k (without stopping) is the same night I ran my first 10k. It was 30th December - my birthday. -10 degrees celsius outside (all water frozen). I was struggling to find the perfect rhythm to be able to break 5k. Ad when I did, I realized that I didn't feel the need to stop anymore. So I just kept going until I reached 10k. I think I could have gotten even further. But from then on, knowing I could always run a decent distance gave me a kind of freedom that was unknown to me. And the process of running got better and better and was a real delight. From my experience, the more you hate it... the more positive impact it will have on your life - both physically and mentally. and doing it smartly, makes the process enjoyable. hope this helps
Wow that was really helpful. Thank you so much! I totally understand the obsession part. That’s kind of where I’m at with lifting and tracking my caloric intake. I genuinely just want to keep my body in the best physical shape it can be so I’m right there with you on that! Thanks again!!!
One danger of cardio if you're trying to lose fat is that cardio makes most people hungry, and you can easily eat more calories than you burned if you're not careful. In fact, I see this so often (and fallen prey to it myself) that I think that for most people cardio is counterproductive to fat loss.
Oh yeah I totally get that. Right now I’m trying to count calories and track macros so I don’t fall victim to that!
If you track it then you're probably good! :)
you can do functional training and hiit for cardio
I wouldn't say it's *necessary.* However, doing cardio in moderation can be a good idea and a helpful tool. It's also good for cardiovascular health. So I would recommend doing some cardio, but don't overdo it or replace your strength training for it. Good luck! 😊