Do both. I typically run 5K on the treadmill as fast as possible, then do a traditional weight program. I think it's called hybrid training or something, but when I was heavy into sports it was always my go to and it seemed to work.
Leg day I do a 15 minute walking warm up and then squats. Or I cherry pick a crossfit workout that is leg heavy.
I mix in a spin class once a week to change things up which helps rest my bad knee and gives a little variety.
Do both. I typically run 5K on the treadmill as fast as possible, then do a traditional weight program. I think it's called hybrid training or something, but when I was heavy into sports it was always my go to and it seemed to work.
Leg day I do a 15 minute walking warm up and then squats. Or I cherry pick a crossfit workout that is leg heavy.
I mix in a spin class once a week to change things up which helps rest my bad knee and gives a little variety.
I do a little bit of weights as well, and I've worked in some ab workouts. I also alternate onto my spin bike (or real bike in the summer) for cardio variety.
Cardio gets a bad rep because it's hard and boring and you're not building up huge muscles to impress people with. There's no breaks, there's no glamour, it's just you against yourself sweating your ass off. But that's why it's the best to actually shed weight too.
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I do a little bit of weights as well, and I've worked in some ab workouts. I also alternate onto my spin bike (or real bike in the summer) for cardio variety.
Cardio gets a bad rep because it's hard and boring and you're not building up huge muscles to impress people with. There's no breaks, there's no glamour, it's just you against yourself sweating your ass off. But that's why it's the best to actually shed weight too.
Cardio is great, I'm not trying to give it a bad rep.
But it's simple science.
A 30-40 minute jog is going to burn around 300-400 calories. Assuming a person has their diet in check, they will lose weight doing this.
But if their diet isn't perfect, it's easy to out eat away that deficit.
Resistance training for an hour will burn around 200-250 calories, but also add muscle mass and prolonged thermogenic effects that keep you burning more calories for up to 48 hours afterwards.
Plus additional muscle mass will increase your basal metabolic rate enabling you to burn more calories just be existing each day. The more muscle mass you have, the more you will burn each day.
While losing weight by only doing cardio, your basal metabolic rate drops as you get smaller, so you have to eat less and less to continue getting a calorie deficit.
If you're coming from an obese starting point, I totally see where you're coming from and good for you for having success.
But it's not a one shoe fits all approach and given what that poster was asking, it might not be the right approach for them.
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I do a little bit of weights as well, and I've worked in some ab workouts. I also alternate onto my spin bike (or real bike in the summer) for cardio variety.
Cardio gets a bad rep because it's hard and boring and you're not building up huge muscles to impress people with. There's no breaks, there's no glamour, it's just you against yourself sweating your ass off. But that's why it's the best to actually shed weight too.
Your probably losing weight due to dietary adjustments or changes though? The harsh reality is that you can't out run a bad diet. To drop weight with just cardio, you have to be doing an insane amount of cardio (like hours and hours a week). Like my workout this morning was ~500 calories. To lose a pound, I'd need to do that 7 days a week. So to drop a couple pounds a week you're doing cardio for like 14 hours per week.
Sure, you could have a little caloric burn after, but nothing like a resistance workout where the muscles are burning more calories after and then using more calories in maintenance as well.
Your probably losing weight due to dietary adjustments or changes though? The harsh reality is that you can't out run a bad diet. To drop weight with just cardio, you have to be doing an insane amount of cardio (like hours and hours a week). Like my workout this morning was ~500 calories. To lose a pound, I'd need to do that 7 days a week. So to drop a couple pounds a week you're doing cardio for like 14 hours per week.
Sure, you could have a little caloric burn after, but nothing like a resistance workout where the muscles are burning more calories after and then using more calories in maintenance as well.
Oh yeah this accompanied a major diet shift as well. Both less and healthier. I mean that would be the first thing I'd recommend to anyone looking to lose weight anyways.
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Oh yeah this accompanied a major diet shift as well. Both less and healthier. I mean that would be the first thing I'd recommend to anyone looking to lose weight anyways.
So the thing is, you could probably not exercise and get weight loss. That’s not to suggest that you shouldn’t exercise (of course you should!), it’s just that the running likely doesn’t have the impact you’d expect for the weight loss piece.
I have seen similar advice about strength training but the results for me personally speak otherwise. I can only really go off personal experience. If you're obese, the first thing to do is get not obese, then it's time to worry about muscle growth and personal trainers, IMO.
For clarity, I am obese on the BMI scale. 5'10 192 lbs. Wear Medium clothes, just must have a high body fat percentage.
I was kicking cans at buying a Bowflex M5 Trainer (eliptical/stairs hybrid).
I have an olympic weight set at home and a yoga studio down the street. Also access to the downtown gyms if I get linked up with a trainer to start.
How dedicated have you been in the past with staying with a workout/exercise methodology?
Not trying to be negative, but I'd advise considering not spending a single dime for the first two to three weeks. If you can stick with it for that long, then consider spending some money to increase your efficiency.
I'll put it this way. Stretch for 1 minute a day 30 seconds in the morning, 30 seconds at night. I had range of motion issues in my hips and I was #### at keeping even that up (5 squats and 5 lunges each morning and evening). Spending money on a gym in my situation was a waste of money because my habits weren't even there for basic stretching. Stretching was important for my range of motion. Cardio, weight lifting, machines etc. will not help your Achilles and range of motion. Stretching to address the stiffness and/or physio are perhaps what you need for that first. Once you have the stretching down pat, then you can get a gym membership or pay for yoga classes and add on top of the stretches you do.
It wasn't until I got an unrelated injury and I was diligently doing the recovery activities/stretches to address the pain that I had the basic habits to add more to the activities I was doing. Everything I bought before that was a waste of money. Everything I bought afterwards I use a lot more.
You'd be surprised how much difference you'll notice after two weeks of just basic stretches and 20 minute outdoor speed walking. I think it takes double the time on a treadmill (jogging or otherwise) and even yoga to accomplish the same 20 minute outdoor speed walk. Those activities are just more focused on a specific muscle group vs a range of muscle groups.
Dancing is also underrated. Blast some music or use headphones. Just doing 20-30 minutes of basic left and right side steps is great. Especially if you're enjoying the music and vibing to some tunes.
Nothing against going somewhere to work out. I'm just saying if the most basic of your habits are improved, you'll amplify your experience at the gym or yoga studio or whatever. I'd also address your Achilles before paying for a gym. It would suck to pay for a membership only to be unable to go and immediately cancel because of an injury to your Achilles.
Depends on the degree of strength training ultimately.
During COVID, I decided to lose some weight. So over about a year between Aug 2020 and Aug 2021 I tracked calories and did 30m of Elliptical every day. Went from around 235lbs to 195lbs (6'1") and kept doing cardio until the end of 2022. In January this year, I pivoted to strength training 5-6 days a week (with a skip day or cardio day filling in on day 7) and counted macros instead of calories. I started going to the gym twice a week and lifting at home the other 3-4 in late March, and it's been really interesting to see how the body effectively "looks the same" while my weight marches back up.
I'm currently sitting at 210lbs, but I did Body Composition testing in late April and then again in late Oct, and according to the tables so far this year I've lost 10lbs of Body Fat Mass and gained 25lbs of Lean Body Mass (includes about 12lbs of Skeletal Muscle Mass). Between Apr and Oct, my Body Fat % went from almost 22% to 18% just from strength training.
Cardio is a good start, but Strength Training has some pretty wild effects. My knees are no longer sore (I did physio for them a couple years ago) and my balance is so much better. I'm still the old guy who wears knee braces on leg days and elbow braces on upper body days, but the longer I do this, the less and less I need them.
There's something crazy about going through the effort to lose 40lbs and then watching yourself slowly gain 15-20lbs back, but not see your gut grow at all.
__________________
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Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm
Settle down there, Temple Grandin.
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How dedicated have you been in the past with staying with a workout/exercise methodology?
Not trying to be negative, but I'd advise considering not spending a single dime for the first two to three weeks. If you can stick with it for that long, then consider spending some money to increase your efficiency.
I'll put it this way. Stretch for 1 minute a day 30 seconds in the morning, 30 seconds at night. I had range of motion issues in my hips and I was #### at keeping even that up (5 squats and 5 lunges each morning and evening). Spending money on a gym in my situation was a waste of money because my habits weren't even there for basic stretching. Stretching was important for my range of motion. Cardio, weight lifting, machines etc. will not help your Achilles and range of motion. Stretching to address the stiffness and/or physio are perhaps what you need for that first. Once you have the stretching down pat, then you can get a gym membership or pay for yoga classes and add on top of the stretches you do.
It wasn't until I got an unrelated injury and I was diligently doing the recovery activities/stretches to address the pain that I had the basic habits to add more to the activities I was doing. Everything I bought before that was a waste of money. Everything I bought afterwards I use a lot more.
You'd be surprised how much difference you'll notice after two weeks of just basic stretches and 20 minute outdoor speed walking. I think it takes double the time on a treadmill (jogging or otherwise) and even yoga to accomplish the same 20 minute outdoor speed walk. Those activities are just more focused on a specific muscle group vs a range of muscle groups.
Dancing is also underrated. Blast some music or use headphones. Just doing 20-30 minutes of basic left and right side steps is great. Especially if you're enjoying the music and vibing to some tunes.
Nothing against going somewhere to work out. I'm just saying if the most basic of your habits are improved, you'll amplify your experience at the gym or yoga studio or whatever. I'd also address your Achilles before paying for a gym. It would suck to pay for a membership only to be unable to go and immediately cancel because of an injury to your Achilles.
I know everybody's different, but I'd recommend doing the opposite...
If you're able, invest some money in a gym membership, pre-pay for some personal training sessions, heck, even buy something like new shoes or headphones. The investment, both in time and financially, as well as the accountability of the pre-booked training sessions can be a great way to ingrain a routine for someone that isn't otherwise a self-starter.
I've found that the best motivator for sticking to an exercise routine is actually seeing results... If you can slog through some sessions with a trainer for a few weeks and start to see results, it will be infinitely easier to keep going on your own after that initial boost.
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For me, I'm mindful that I'm paying for the membership so I go.
I also made it part of my daily routine. I'm literally posting from the gym right now.
100%. What motivates me consistently is four things:
I pay for a gym membership, so I use it to get my money's worth.
I like being around like-minded people; the environment and visuals of other people dedicating themselves to fitness motivates me.
I had a trainer once, so I have seen that results are absolutely possible if you dedicate yourself.
Once you're in that rhythm after a couple weeks, the training 'high', the mental clarity, the increased energy and the physical change to you body becomes addictive.
That last bullet is probably the most important. It's like a car in motion - takes a lot of energy to start and build momentum, but once you're cruising at a high speed, it gets easier and more efficient and the results come quickly.
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It's like a car in motion - takes a lot of energy to start and build momentum, but once you're cruising at a high speed, it gets easier and more efficient and the results come quickly.
Or drugs.
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For clarity, I am obese on the BMI scale. 5'10 192 lbs. Wear Medium clothes, just must have a high body fat percentage.
Wanted to reply to this and say, whatever exercise you decide to get into, try not to focus too much on the scale and BMI measurements. They can sometimes be useful, but miss crucial information about body composition and overall health. Your weight may be due to fat, but other factors can definitely be at play.
Personally, I’m in a similar boat as you - in the overweight range on the BMI scale. The last time I was in the “normal” range was in my early 20s when I had mono. I lost basically all my extra fat and a lot of muscle, and was still in the high end of the normal range. For me, I do not believe I can be healthy at that weight.
With respect to the scale, I’ve renewed my focus on fitness over the last year. I’ve been more consistent in training with an eye on tracking progress, and been more diet conscious (without doing a strict diet plan or anything like that). Basically every metric has improved: I’m lifting more weight on strength exercises, have more stamina for cardio and have greater flexibility. And with all of that, the scale has not decreased near as much as I would have thought at the start. But, I’m down notches on my belt, pants fit looser, I have visible muscle gain when I look in the mirror. So when I feel a bit down on the scale progress, I try to keep that in mind.
I've been able to jog/run again in the last few months after about 4 years of not being able to due to knee issues. Lots of rehab (physio, yoga, weight training etc).
I went vehicle-less in August and have biked quite a bit but as the weather turns, I've started running more. Last week i ran to work, I ran to the gym, I ran to pickup takeout from a restaurant, I'm starting to feel like Forest Gump. Instead of walking 30 minutes to work and being bored (when I don't bike) why not run and get there in half the time and feel like I got a workout? I'm really enjoying it.
I know some people who know me think I'm becoming even more weird since my breakup in August (my ex of 12 years split and I live alone now) since I dont have a car and bike and run everywhere as a 40 year old lawyer, but I really regret not living this way before. I'm really, really enjoying it.
Does anyone else run to get places?
Last edited by Johnny199r; 11-04-2023 at 03:57 PM.
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I've been able to jog/run again in the last few months after about 4 years of not being able to due to knee issues. Lots of rehab (physio, yoga, weight training etc).
I went vehicle-less in August and have biked quite a bit but as the weather turns, I've started running more. Last week i ran to work, I ran to the gym, I ran to pickup takeout from a restaurant, I'm starting to feel like Forest Gump. Instead of walking 30 minutes to work and being bored (when I don't bike) why not run and get there in half the time and feel like I got a workout? I'm really enjoying it.
I know some people who know me think I'm becoming even more weird since my breakup in August (my ex of 12 years split and I live alone now) since I dont have a car and bike and run everywhere as a 40 year old lawyer, but I really regret not living this way before. I'm really, really enjoying it.
Does anyone else run to get places?
Good to hear you found a positive way to get about. Probably helps with the mental health too. One bit of advice is that you don't overdo the running, keep a balanced body (with all those exercises you mentioned) so variety is good for ya.
