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I disagree with a lot of this. I used to hate exercise until I was taught two major misconceptions: 1) cardio helps you lose weight, and 2) high rep/low weight
by wdewind 16y ago
I disagree with a lot of this. I used to hate exercise until I was taught two major misconceptions: 1) cardio helps you lose weight, and 2) high rep/low weight = muscle tone, and low weight/high rep = big muscles. These are patently false.
Cardio is NOT for losing weight. In fact in many cases it actually is very difficult to burn fat while doing lots of cardio because it trains your body to burn the fact more efficiently. This is why you'll see people spend so much time at the gym and get no results. The OP is quite correct that without a serious change in diet coupled with the cardio you will NOT lose weight. Which is exactly why you shouldn't do cardio if you want to lose weight, you may get a small drop in the beginning, but ultimately you will return to a baseline. Pushups etc. are great for warmups, but ultimately these will have very diminishing returns as well (the "100 pushup" style of training is laughable).
If you want to burn fat and lose weight you really need to lift weights, and you need to lift heavy weights. The idea that you can "tone" your muscles with small weights is just ludicrously wrong. You wont turn into a mega-hulk, trust me.
If you want to increase your stamina, your lung capacity and your heart health cardio is absolutely what you should be doing. But also understand that this comes at a cost of diminishing your muscle gains (thus slowing down how quickly you burn your fat).
TLDR: the best way to lose weight is to lift heavy weights in low reps (as heavy as forces you below 10 reps) with moderately short breaks between exercises. Cardio will be an uphill battle to lose weight.
And the best part is you actually get to eat MORE if you are seriously lifting.
Edit: if you want to disagree with me and downvote, at least post a response. I'd love to hear why you think I'm wrong.
- alanh 16y agoIf you read the article, he explicitly says exercise is best for reasons wholly apart from weight loss (like longevity and health).
- wdewind 16y agoSure, but he sets up a completely false dichotomy right in the beginning by comparing cardio exercises to weight loss results. He also opens the article with: "Don't kid yourself into thinking that exercise, by itself, will make you lose weight. Consider the following activities, and the number of calories an average person burns per hour in each." It's very targeted at people aiming to lose weight. Weight loss is very related to overall health, and in many cases very necessary to be healthier (especially us Americans). He also is EXTREMELY focused on saving time, and then proceeds to propose the LEAST time efficient way to get in shape. No need to be nasty, I read the article.
- jpdbaugh 16y agoCouldn't agree more with this. I have been having tremendous results from doing the Bill Star 5x5 program (bench, squat, dead lift, incline, barbell rows) in a shot amount of time. I would like to incorporate some cardio into to this for heart health though. I was thinking of running on Tuesdays and Thursdays in between my lifting days. Do you think this is a good idea?
- prototype56 16y agoI personally think it would interfere with your recovery and make you prone to injuries . Just follow the program, Dont overdo it .
- lukenathan 16y agoNo. There's no reason to introduce long slow distance running (granted, you didn't specify the type of running, but this is usually what people mean) into your training. It will interfere with your recovery from lifting, and really won't do a lot for your overall health. Don't you feel your heart pounding after a heavy set of five squats? I'd say that's adequate for "heart health." If you're worried about staying "fit," you might consider adding in one conditioning day of pushing a sled or running sprints. 5x5 is a lot of volume, though, so I'd be careful with adding in anything extra.
- jpdbaugh 16y agoSo, it would be better to play a sport of some sort on the weekend? Like some soccer or roller hockey? I am not a huge fan of running.
- prototype56 16y agoI have heard from atleast 2 sports orthos that squatting is bad for you knees. I guess it shouldn't matter when you are doing it the right way with adequate recovery period but nevertheless its easy to screw up your joints . One even said that squatting is a very unnatural moment for human body and is best to avoid it .
- 16y ago
- gcv 16y agothe "100 pushup" style of training is laughable Why do you say that? Do you find one hundred push-ups easy? Edit: Or are you specifically referring to their usefulness for losing weight?
- zackattack 16y agoI completely disagree. Doing as few as 30 pushups/day has resulted in dramatic increases in strength in addition to weight loss and NOTICEABLE tricep formation [i.e. other people commented on it]. This coming from a guy who worked out (off and on, but mostly on) from the end of senior year to senior year of college.
- wdewind 16y agoNoticeable tricep formation means nothing. Muscle size != muscle strength by any measure. It's also not hard to make your muscles pop for short periods of time. If you're doing it every day I wouldn't be shocked if the "gains" you were seeing were actually just daily swelling. 30 pushups vs. doing absolutely nothing, yes you will see small results. You will also cap out in < 3 weeks at what you can gain. Not to be a dick but please do define dramatic.
- krakensden 16y agoMuscles are for show as well as function sir ;)
- yesimahuman 16y agoYou would get even more noticeable size increase by doing push downs with a cable or skull crushers.
- wdewind 16y agoIt's slightly useful for stamina training, but it's a very inefficient way to train. But yes, mostly referring to weight loss. I can't do 100 pushups right now, but probably about 50-60 (as is obvious I train for strength not stamina). In about a week I could get it up to 100 pretty easily, and I would not be lifting any more weight and I would not be losing any more weight. So beyond being able to do more pushups nothing would really change.
- subwindow 16y agoYou're right, but calisthenics are great for their simplicity. You don't need any equipment, and you can do them anywhere. People lifting five pound weights piss me off, though. You've already gone through the trouble of getting equipment- why not use some equipment that will actually help you?
- Alex3917 16y ago"In fact in many cases it actually is very difficult to burn fat while doing lots of cardio because it trains your body to burn the fact more efficiently." If you are working out at a fixed percentage of AT, then why would the total amount of fat burned decrease as your AT increases?
- wdewind 16y agoSorry, what does AT mean? In order to burn the same amount of fat you will constantly have to be doing more exercise, maybe that clarifies?
- jedc 16y agoAT = Anaerobic Threshold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_threshold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_threshold
- Alex3917 16y agoAnaerobic threshold. It's the point where your body produces more lactate than it can burn, so excess lactate accumulates. (When I say point, this is generally expressed as both a heart rate and also a speed, but you usually pace your workouts based on HR.)
- wdewind 16y agoworking out at a fixed % of AT will make sure you cross over into anaerobic everytime. That is true. but at the same time, you will have to do more and more work to get to that point, and I think people underestimate how much that is (and thus get frustrated with cardio and blame exercise in general, poor genetics etc.). Purely as a time measurement, the amount invested just doesn't make sense vs. lifting. why not just cut to the chase and start with anaerobic exercise, since it looks like we agree that that's what burns the fat? edit: I should also reiterate, as many have below, you ALSO get the cardio benefit from lifting.
- Alex3917 16y ago
- psyklic 16y agoI generally agree with you, but your post seems misplaced -- the article isn't about losing weight or building muscle. Instead, it's simply about getting out of your chair and maintaining a minimal level of fitness. It is geared toward sedentary people who aren't motivated to exercise, not people who want to lose weight!
- starkfist 16y agoI used to play football (gridiron) where you will find many counterexamples to the 'lift weights to lose fat' meme. Cardio is great for losing weight and most bodybuilders use it during their cutting phase. The reason why cardio doesn't work for many people is because they aren't doing enough of it at the right intensity.