Cardio vs weight training ?

[WineGurl]

Hi All,

I am slowly getting back into the gym after recovering from a back injury. My question is whether I need to do cardio at all. I love weight training and in the past it has really worked well to reshape my body but I did a BFL type program with cardio 4 x p/week with heavy lifting and I'm not sure how much benefit was derived from the cardio. I seem to have a lot more energy to lift when I'm not doing cardio. I don't necessarily want to lose weight but do need to change my body composition and would rather do what is going to give me the most benefit for my energy expenditure.

Any thoughts or comments would be most appreciated.

Thanks

[stargrabber]

I would try 2-3 weeks w/o it!

If anything you could get away with HIIT training on leg days and that should be 20mins or so.

[FitnessWanabee]

Do all the heavy compounds with no more then 30seconds rest intervals, that will keep up the heart rate. No need to do HIIT more then 2-3 times per week.

[inatic]

I"d go slow easing back into the gym. Concentrate the compound movements.Always train first, then add cardio. You might want to just start out with some SS.

What kind of hiit were you considering?

[belleadonna]

I don't do very much cardio. I just do supersets and that gets my heart a-pumping. If I don't get my heart rate up enough I just run the stairs at the gym for awhile.

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Ileen, love your new avatar!

Belleadonna, I love supersets too. I rarely do anything but.

[inatic]

:kiss: and thank you Twyla.

[belleadonna]

Originally Posted by WATCH-ME-SHRINK

Ileen, love your new avatar!

Belleadonna, I love supersets too. I rarely do anything but.

Me too!! I find that I don't get my heart rate up enough resting between sets. I can get alot more done too. I can only get to the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so I just superset all of my body parts on those days and rest in between.

[WineGurl]

Inatic, your new avatar is awesome!!

I was hoping to get away without cardio. My back hurts when I breathe deeply so doing strenuous cardio is not an option anyway but I could so ss.

Interestingly, as soon as I had posted this I received an article from a list I subscribe to which I have posted (I'm assuming it's OK to do that if proper reference is given??). It seems as though he thinks cardio can be avoided during the 1st 8 weeks training. I also read Lyle McDonalds "Ultimate Diet 2" and he says that for stubborn fat deposits on the legs and hips, cardio is necessary to get rid of it. Is there any one right answer or am I just confused?? Increasing blood flow is apparently necessary to mobilize fat deposits and cardio is one way to do that.

I'm going to try weights for 8 weeks and see how I go. I'm doing 45 mins of intense weights 3 x p/week.

Thanks for your replies!!
___________________________________________
AtoZfitness.com Article Blog Post
Doing Cardio While Building Muscle-
Part 1
April 11 2008

By Jason Ferruggia
There is much debate and controversy on the subject of doing cardio while building muscle. Once and for all I am going to set the record straight. So without further adieu, here’s the real deal on doing cardio while trying to gain size and strength…

If you are a beginner who also happens to be a ripped ectomorph who has to fight for every ounce he gains (e.g. a classic hardgainer), I suggest that you lay off cardio almost entirely for at least 8-12 weeks. Get your training and diet down and pack on some size. In that time you should be able to gain at least 15lbs of muscle if not 20+. After you have done that you can add in some cardio. I would start with three weekly sessions of twenty minutes of moderate intensity cardio; no intervals. Use a bike to limit the amount of eccentric stress or pounding on the joints. And remember there are actually things known as real bikes that go outside, not just stationary bikes that people park themselves on to watch Oprah. Although, if you choose that route, get one with a well padded seat that will not lead to the death of your sex life.

If you are beyond the beginner level you should always be doing some kind of cardio on a regular basis, be it intervals, moderate intensity steady state, or low intensity, long duration steady state. Again, don’t limit yourself to machines indoors; get outside and drag a sled, run sprints, jump rope or play a sport. That’s a lot more fun anyway. I think everyone should be doing something like this at least three days per week for at least 30 minutes. It’s healthy and prevents a host of health problems, not to mention that it keeps you in shape and looking good.

Contrary to what many people believe, cardio can actually be of great benefit to those looking to get bigger and stronger. Not only does it improve the cardiovascular system and thus improve the quality of your weight training workouts but it allows you to eat more muscle building calories while staying lean. To pack on 20-30 pounds of muscle you have to eat an inordinate amount of food. Doing some cardio will help ensure that you don’t get fat from all the excessive eating.

The bottom line is that everyone but absolute beginners should be doing some kind of cardio type activity at least three times per week for thirty minutes. This will not inhibit size or strength gains in the least but may actually enhance them. You should vary your activities and intensities as much as possible. You can do cardio immediately after you train, although I prefer to do it on non weight training days or later in the day after training because I am usually too spent after lifting to give it my all on the cardio. Doing it on off days is usually a better option anyway because it serves as an active recovery activity and also gets you burning some calories on those days.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle fast. He is the head training advisor for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building.

[luv_bug]

I'm interested in this thread ... I recently was in a car accident and hurt my neck/shoulder/back ... the neck and back seem to be better but my shoulder is taking more slow to get back in shape ... I recently moved back into the gym (haven't been in awhile because of school) for physio and was wondering what I could be doing there to help with weight loss, etc. obviously the weight lifting will help to reshape my body (I'm a bit flabby with loose skin) but also want to lose another 20 lbs. Any hints?

[inatic]

wt loss/fat loss is your diet.

Your doing atkins? or were off plan for a bit?

[luv_bug]

I am doing atkins (have been since Feb. 2007) just stopped going to the gym after spending the summer going (started a very heavy university post-degree program). AM back at the gym now... and adding weights in (which I never did before)