Appropriate use of time: cardio vs. weights

[chatterbox]

I work out in the morning and usually only have an hour, maybe a little bit more. Recently a trainer from BSC told me that if I want to lose weight (which is my main goal), then I need to do at least an hour of cardio a day. My question is this: if I only have an hour, should I be doing cardio for the entire hour, or a half hour and then circuit training with weights? I really want to lose weight and I tend to bulk up quickly when lifting weights, but I also know that building muscle is essential to burning fat so I am sort of confused on how to use this time at the gym best.

[Eleni]

that trainer was an idiot...you do NOT need a full hour of cardio a day to lose weight who are these people that call themselves 'trainers'

do HITT cardio for 30 minutes, 30 minutes weight training, and burn more than you eat (meaning watch your diet, eat clean, drink lots of water...you know whats bad for you youre an adult )

thats how you lose weight

[Benny B]

that trainer was an idiot...you do NOT need a full hour of cardio a day to lose weight

do HITT cardio for 30 minutes, 30 minutes weight training, and burn more than you eat

thats how you lose weight

exactly.. you exert most of your energy in the first 20 / 30 minutes of doing cardio. anything longer you can easily start breaking down your muscle instead of burning off fat.

[TIANA]

eleni is right.... it seems anyone can be a personal trainer these days.....

circuit training is a good route to take.... try the ABS Diet Workout routine...

[Eleni]

eleni is right.... it seems anyone can be a personal trainer these days.....

circuit training is a good route to take.... try the ABS Diet Workout routine...

lol

imagine
you tell a trainer you only have about an hour to workout and you want to lose weight and maximize your gym experience

...and he/she tells you to use ALL your time in the cardio room

what the

[DEEPER KEMICAL]

30 min HIIT paired with 30 min weight training is far more effective than 1 hour of cardio.


A)
1 hour of cardio is about 600(give or take) calories
1 hour of cardio means no muscle is being built, you are actually loosing muscle

B)
30 min of HIIT is about 450-600(give or take) calories
30 min of weight training promotes muscle growth (burns more calories)


so the former choice A, will promote mediocre weight loss and actually cause you body to break down muscle for energy. therefore leaving you a smaller, "skinnier", softer version of yourself.

the latter choice B, will promote high intensity calorie burning (which means you will still be burning calories long after you finished your 30 min of cardio) and you will also be building muscles to promote a faster metabolism and maybe even become slightly bigger/tighter

[DanielleNYC]

what is the right way to do the HIIT cardio? is this only done on the treadmill.

[DEEPER KEMICAL]

what is the right way to do the HIIT cardio? is this only done on the treadmill.

on any type of cardio equipment, and outdoors as well.

its periods of moderate exertion following by short bursts of full-out exertion.

[TIANA]

lol

imagine
you tell a trainer you only have about an hour to workout and you want to lose weight and maximize your gym experience

...and he/she tells you to use ALL your time in the cardio room

what the

yeah.... that kills me... or when a person has a training session, and the first 15 min are spent on the treadmill.... i wouldn't pay someone for that 15 minutes...

[Chris]

lol

imagine
you tell a trainer you only have about an hour to workout and you want to lose weight and maximize your gym experience

...and he/she tells you to use ALL your time in the cardio room

what the

lol.....

its crazy cause all the trainers are in the worst shape in my gym.. its like going to a dentist with yellow cracked teeth and bad breath.. hello. lol

[Chris]

on any type of cardio equipment, and outdoors as well.

its periods of moderate exertion following by short bursts of full-out exertion.

try this,

do 15 minutes to start with

run full force for 15 seconds and then jogg at a light pace for 45 seconds.

do that for 15 minutes

to start off with ripp you up fast.

[chatterbox]

Sweet, thanks for the input. Its kind of what I already thought was right, but just wanted to make sure.

[DanielleNYC]

try this,

do 15 minutes to start with

run full force for 15 seconds and then jogg at a light pace for 45 seconds.

do that for 15 minutes

to start off with ripp you up fast.

thanks. i am going to try this later at the gym

[inspectorDPnyc]

I would agree doing a mix of lifting then HIIT. 30 min HIIT seems like a lot though, especially if you're not used to it. Maybe try about 40 min weight lifting then 20 min of HIIT. I usually do a 5 min warmup, then intervals real hard for 30 sec, then light for 60-90 seconds back and forth then a 3 min cool down. I do this all on the elliptical machine. I set it on manual then do level 1 for the light phase then bump it up to level 15 (out of 20) for the hard phase. I am destroyed after everytime but it's effective.

[DEEPER KEMICAL]

I would agree doing a mix of lifting then HIIT. 30 min HIIT seems like a lot though, especially if you're not used to it. Maybe try about 40 min weight lifting then 20 min of HIIT. I usually do a 5 min warmup, then intervals real hard for 30 sec, then light for 60-90 seconds back and forth then a 3 min cool down. I do this all on the elliptical machine. I set it on manual then do level 1 for the light phase then bump it up to level 15 (out of 20) for the hard phase. I am destroyed after everytime but it's effective.

yup

[chatterbox]

I would agree doing a mix of lifting then HIIT. 30 min HIIT seems like a lot though, especially if you're not used to it. Maybe try about 40 min weight lifting then 20 min of HIIT. I usually do a 5 min warmup, then intervals real hard for 30 sec, then light for 60-90 seconds back and forth then a 3 min cool down. I do this all on the elliptical machine. I set it on manual then do level 1 for the light phase then bump it up to level 15 (out of 20) for the hard phase. I am destroyed after everytime but it's effective.

Cool, thanks! I am going to try this out tomorrow morning

[WonderBread]

I do something similiar for HIIT training. I do it on the eliptical trainer on the hills, level 16. One min up and then one min level and the hills progressively get harder. I do this from 20-25 min and let me tell you , its exhausting

[TIANA]

Cool, thanks! I am going to try this out tomorrow morning

how is this working for you??? do you like it? hate it?

[TheHipHopBillGates]

try this,

do 15 minutes to start with

run full force for 15 seconds and then jogg at a light pace for 45 seconds.

do that for 15 minutes

to start off with ripp you up fast.

You think 15 seconds is long enough for running sprints?

[DEEPER KEMICAL]

You think 15 seconds is long enough for running sprints?

i think its good too. maybe even vary it. 15 seconds, then 20, then 25. i dont think you should be running full speed for more than that. if you can/are, then you are not running hard enough