Is this a viable theory?

C

Cbelle

Cathlete
An interesting thought just occurred to me. Does this make sense?

If you want to lose bodyfat...concentrate more on cardio, less on weights and make the weights endurance rather than strength building because your body can't build muscle and lose body fat simultaneously. If I could lose the body fat while more or less keeping hte muscle that I have thru endurance weight work, then once the fat is gone go back to building up the muscle. Is this making any sense at all?
 
Um ... why can't your body build muscle and lose fat simultaneously? I sure did!! I just made my WW goal on Monday. 38 pounds gone since the end of April. At the same time, I've lost 38 inches and SIX COMPLETE SIZES, going from an 18 to a 6!! I weigh more now than the last time I was in this size - in college. About 20 pounds more. If that's not the result of lean muscle and less fat, I don't know what on earth it could be, because size 6 that fit me then still fits me now. I do cardio and weight training - I try to alternate them, but tend to do more weight training because I really love the way my muscles are looking - LOL! I don't know if the idea your body can't do both is a current theory or not, but I'd sure love to hear the metabolic and physiologic reasoning behind it, because as far as I can see when I look in the mirror, I'm living proof you CAN do both at the same time. Enlighten me, please! I'm serious here. This post is not meant to be offensive but to seek information. Thanks!

Carol
:)
 
I don't know if its a theory or not. It just popped into my head, I think maybe I read it once upon a time. Although it does sort of make some sense to me. Taxing your body to do more than one thing at a time. Anyway I'm just wondering what others have to say about the idea.
 
I don't agree with that theory. You can build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Sure it would help to concentrate on one thing at at time, but lift for endurance really ain't goona effect body composition the way lifting heavy and intensly will. Think about it. Unless you body is taxed, to do something it ain't done before, why would it change??? Its when we shock our bodies by lifting more, or harder or heavier, or one more rep that change occurs. Hence why so many people stay looking the same year in year out. Look at how much Cathe's body has changed over the years. She has more muscle now than in her first video, and in my opinion, less body fat. And thats after two children. Nothing wrong with endurance muscle training, but for me, lifting heavy, doing intense cardio, resluts in a lean, firm, hard body. Concentrating on Cardio alone is not the way forward. My $10 worth.
 
Well, every time I look in the mirror these days, after what I've accomplished at 46 years old, I'm afraid I have to disagree with your "theory" as well, my dear.

Carol
:)
 
Cbelle, Just wanted to say that I think there are many others that believe your theory is very possible. I have heard hundreds of people mention on the firm ya ya forum and videofitness.com that they are losing inches of bodyfat while doing the slim series videos (light weights high rep) and lots of cardio on alternating days. People are raving about how happy they are to be finally losing inches. Slim series is definitely enduranced based. So I personally don't think you are far off at all. I say give it a try, you may be the next person raving about getting great results. (You don't have to use the Slim Series, in fact you could use Cathe's Power Hour and Muscle Endurance videos instead) I just used Slim series as an example. I personally didn't like Slim Series, much prefer Cathe's endurance workouts but still, the same theory.

Does anybody know if Super Sets or Push/Pull or Legs & Glutes are endurance based?

Good luck to you.
Lisa
 
I'm not really saying that she's incorrect in assuming you won't lose body fat by concentrating on cardio, but we burn fat in our muscles. That's a medical fact. The more lean muscle we have, the more quickly and efficiently we burn fat. Hence, to burn fat, you have to build muscle. The way you do that is by lifting. Cardio will strengthen your heart, but it won't build muscle the way lifting will. It will also help you lose weight because of overall aerobic conditioning. Doing anything is better than doing nothing. But to burn fat, you need muscle. This is a proven medical fact. It's how we work. We burn fat in our muscles. All I was saying was I disagree with her statement that you can't do BOTH at the same time. Yes you can. You CAN lose weight AND build muscle at the same time. People do this all the time! I certainly did, and just look at Cathe's own progression from her earlier videos until now. Look at the progression of some of her crew that have been with her a long time. All those gorgeous ladies have both lost body fat AND built beautiful muscles at the same time. That's what I was disagreeing with. I hope this clears up the confusion of my posts.

Carol
:)
 
I lost most of the 29 lbs I lost by lifting weights and less cardio. Cardio helped, but lifting weights was the key for me. ... Rhonda :7
 
Yes you will have to increase your cardio but not necessarily lessening your weight training. You'll need to do 6 sets w/at least 15 reps per small muscles & 5 sets of 15 reps for large muscles. Because of all of these sets & reps you'll need to lower your weight significantly at this time. You'll also have to increase quite a significant amount of protein as well as taking in 60g of fiber; not easy to do!! This way you'll be able to lower your bodyfat as well as getting more cut. Its more explained in detail in the BodyRX book. HTH, Kathy:D

PS: Icklemoley is ABSOLUTELY correct the guy knows what he's talking about so heed his advice.;-)
 
I really think the answer to your original question depends very much on how much muscle mass you have to begin with. If you have a lot of muscle, then by all means, go for it with the cardio and just do endurance work for a while to maintain your mass. If, on the other hand, you have very little muscle then I would advise FIRST doing the strength training and really building up your mass, and THEN after you get some good mass, starting into the cardio. You will have much better results that way, in my opinion. You burn a lot more calories exercising big muscles then tiny little muscles. This is the principal in Physique Transformation's website. I did a modified version of their program and am very pleased with the results. I can now also eat about 2200 calories a day as opposed to before only being able to eat 1500. And I definitely agree eating more protein is critical.
Beth
 
Some interesting comments. First off, maybe I should have said I'm an advanced exerciser, with alot of muscle. In fact, I don't really want any more muscle, I just want to lose the fat over it. That's why I was thinking maybe I should concentrate more on the cardio and less on weights. What I'm thinking of doing is more cardio with circuit style weights throughout the week.
 
Hi Carol,
First let me say you look fabulous and congratulations on your success.
I am 45 yrs old today and I am happy to see Women of our age so fit and beautiful. I am a Cathe lover too.
I have never been in better shape I am a size 4 and at my highest was a 12. I am 5'5. It is work to stay in shape but I always say a 4 taste so much better than a 12.
Continued success. Hopefully we will age gracefully
;-) with the help of Cathe.

Susan
 
my experience

I have just recently started exercising after a four month hiatus. In that time, I gained 10 lbs. Since starting back 2 weeks ago, I have done 1, yes ONE 30 minute cardio session. I have been lifting very heavy. Very little change in my diet. My results?

I'VE LOST 4 LBS!

Cardio is not necessarily the answer to loosing body fat. It's something we all have to experiment with & find what is right for our individual body chemistry.
 
This is a very interesting and enlightening subject that was posted before! Alot of people gave their feedback! Do an advanced search (or maybe someone can provide a link)


IMHO, if you want to lose body fat you have to concentrate more on Healthy Eating and finding a Personalized PROGRAM that suits YOUR needs! If you are currently on a program that is no longer working than it's time to REVAMP and restructure it by shocking your body with DIFFERENT exercises , intensities and duration! This is all done through trial and error of course , but once you get past that sticking point and stick with it, you will get results!It's all about finding what will work for YOU to reach YOUR goal!

Good luck;-)
 
The two go hand in hand. Cardio packs a terrific punch for getting rid of stored body fat but strength increases your metabolism so you burn more calories over all, even at rest. The trick is to find the perfect combination of the two. As long as the diet is adequate, you can burn fat and lay down muscle simultaneously.
Chicks's Rule! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif Bobbi
 
Susan, thank you so much for your kind comments! I definitely plan to age gracefully, and I'm sure Cathe will help us do that!!

Carol
:)
 
Wow, this really sparked a lot of interesting points being brought up! But I think you, Francine, and someone else on here hit the nail on the head when you said the program one chooses has to fit their own needs. We're all different, and we all respond to cardio and weight training a bit differently. We all respond to "diets" differently. I agree that it's best if someone chooses a program that fits their individual needs and goals.

Carol
:)
 
Cbelle, thank you for starting this thread. This has made for some very interesting, intelligent conversation. Personally, I believe you can build muscle and burn fat at the same time. How much muscle you build and how much fat you burn depends on your workout routines, diet, even genetics. For the last 6 months I have been trying to do approximately 60% weight training and 40% cardio. My results? I am definitely getting stronger but not as defined as I want. In many muscle building sites on the web, people repeat the same mantra: if you want to build muscle, don't do as much cardio. Or don't do any at all. The reasoning behind it is that your body would eat up your muscles to fuel your cardio workouts, especially if you don't have so much fat to begin with. I've been stubborn. I guess I just love stepping too much to do too little. I'm not a fitness expert; I'm simply repeating the things I've read. But my result speaks for itself.

Recently I have been trying to revamp my routines. My diet is about 80% clean, although lately I've been eating too many fruits and nuts than I need to. (They've become my comfort foods.) I'm glad to read many different opinions based on different experiences because I've been thinking about doing more weight training than cardio. I guess I just needed some kind of push to actually bring myself to cut down on the stepping. In the profiles of Cathe's crew, Cedie says she got better results doing more weights than cardio. We don't have the same body type but I have seen how cut Cedie's body has become in the intensity series. So I'm thinking of doing what she did and see how my body would respond. And if there is something I can cut to make my routines more efficient, it would definitely be cardio. I don't need to lose weight. So I'm going to take out half my cardio and see what happens from there...

I'll be glad to hear more opinions and will be checking in occasionally.


Pinky:7
 
What prompted me to question this is that there is an instructor I work with that has lately ,due to her schedule not so much her choice, been doing almost exclusively cardio and has lost alot of weight. She looked great before but looks even better now, plus has gained all kinds of definition as her muscles are showig thru. To me, she's been living proof that maybe more cardio, for a little while at least, is the way to go. I would never give up weights forever, mainly because I love to lift but also because I know its important.
 
Cbelle, I think you should do exactly what you feel is best for your body. What worked for this instructor may not work for everyone, and I know it wouldn't work for me personally, but obviously it was the right thing for her at this time. I really think everyone is different, and you should do what feels right to YOU. This has certainly brought forth some interesting points, and I'm glad you posted your question. I find this forum to be a constant source of valuable information.

Carol
:)
 
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