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Weight Lifting or Cardio?


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I've heard a lot that doing cardio while weight lifting is like "driving a car with the brakes on". In other words, it's going to be hard to put on lean mass if you're burning all your calories, which makes sense.

 

But is this true? I'm probably ~5lbs overweight right now and don't want to put on anymore, my goals are basically to just build lean muscle and get rid of as much fat as possible.

 

Anyone have any insight into this? Do I still need to eat a lot of food to do this or will I just get fat? Thanks everyone!

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I've heard a lot that doing cardio while weight lifting is like "driving a car with the brakes on". In other words, it's going to be hard to put on lean mass if you're burning all your calories, which makes sense.

 

But is this true? I'm probably ~5lbs overweight right now and don't want to put on anymore, my goals are basically to just build lean muscle and get rid of as much fat as possible.

 

Anyone have any insight into this? Do I still need to eat a lot of food to do this or will I just get fat? Thanks everyone!

 

Indeed, i believe that's its counterproductive, as does the science, no one explains it better than Dr Doug Mcguff (ER physician and highly experienced HIT trainer). Here he explains why "cardio" doesn't technically exist from a biological stand point.

 

Heres the opinion of another world class HIT trainer Drew Baye

http://baye.com/you-dont-know-hit-2/

 

Greg Anderson (This is my favorite article on the matter)

http://www.mikementzer.com/aerobic.html

 

After extensive research, Arthur Jones (Nautilus & Medx equipment inventor, HIT pioneer, and researcher) concluded "Six weeks of proper strength training can improve one's cardiovascular fitness to a degree that is impossible with any number of years of aerobic training".

 

Hope these help

Rob

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If your goal is to lose weight then you need to run a calorie deficit. There are basically three ways to go about this. 1. Diet 2. Exercise 3. A combination of the two. Since your question is about exercise I will stick with those options. So here they are as I see them:

 

1. Increase lean muscle mass. The more favorable you ratio is toward muscle mass the higher your resting energy expenditure is going to be.

 

2. High Intensity training. Doing high intensity training burns a higher % of fat that steady state cardio or whatever you want to call it. So, you can use it to burn calories and have those calories be a higher % of fat.

 

3. Steady state cardio. This burns a lower % of fat over the same amount of time as HIT which the HIT crowd likes to point out, but you can maintain steady state cardio for much longer than you can HIT. I can do a two hour bike ride with no problem, HIT usually maxes out at around 30 minutes. So, while the percentage of fat burned is lower per 30 minutes than HIT it is still a higher overall total burning of fat by virtue of time spent doing it.

 

Since your goals are to retain and gain lean mass I would say steady state is a bad choice. The challenge being that you have to consume enough calories to maintain muscle growth and to do steady state but also run a little bit of a calorie deficit. So it sounds like lifting and HIT are the best bet for your goal but most importantly, figure out what your caloric intake should be.

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Thanks Rob. So you're saying just working out / weight lifting is enough of a "cardio" workout?

 

 

Precisely what am saying mate. The most important factor in any fat loss program, is the maintenance of lean tissue, a well constructed strength training program is the only reputable way do that. Fat loss on the other hand is almost purely a matter of diet, simply decrease your calories by 500 below your maintenance level daily, and you will lose up to a pound of fat a week (without any need for additional wear and tear on your joints and connective tissues). Moreover, one pound of fat (3500 calories of energy) can fuel the body for up to 10 or more hours of continuous steady state activity, making steady state activity simply an ineffective method for fat loss.

 

Back in the late 90s, I had the pleasure of speaking with was HIT pioneer and former Mr universe Mike Mentzer, in one of my first consultations i had with him, i brought up the topic of "cardio", he barked...

"There is whats known as the SAID principle (Specific adaptations of Imposed demands), which means the body adapts in a specific fashion to specific demands, so if you want to be an endurance athlete, train like one, and likewise for bodybuilding, powerlifting or whatever. But for the Bodybuilder, aerobic activity is not just a waste of time, its counterproductive!"

 

Evolution also rings true here, most experts agree, that we as a species did not always have food/energy so readily available (which is still a major concern in many countries today), that being true, it only stands to reason that we evolved as a species that PRESERVED ENERGY as best as possible, not as one that RECKLESSLY SQUANDERS energy. Back to bodybuilding, stimulate the body with intense training (a form of intense physical stress), then rest, recover and grow! The energy you would lose in a so-called "cardio" workout, well be better used for recovery. This is what Mike Mentzer meant when he referred to "THE PROTECTION OF THE LIMITED", as we all posses a limited recovery ability.

 

Best of luck

Rob

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