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How did YOU work out today?? Yes..YOU!

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Binge Artist said:
Really, I don't think most people do cardio to "increase their cardiovascular abilities"--I think they do it because they believe that it's an efficient way to burn fat.

I'll probably get flammed for saying this, but I think cardio is a waste of time for reducing body fat. Even if people burn 500 calories a day on an elliptical, big deal. Why don't they just eat 500 fewer calories a day? Also, I believe that cardio taxes your energy reserves so that you lack the strength to do the exercises that actually build/maintain muscle during a cutting cycle, with the end result that cardio leads to muscle loss as well as fat loss. And even though we all want to be lean, nobody wants to be "skinnyfat", right?

But I could be wrong :)
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I was one of those people who thought for the longest time that cardio was the key to burning fat! I only recently learned that is not necessarily true.

Sorry if this is off-topic, but here is my delimma:

I am currently both trying to lose a bit of fat as well as improve my overall health. Is it honestly a waste of time\energy to do cardio? I was thinking of maybe trying to incorporate cardio with strength training, like maybe doing the stairmaster or walking\jogging uphill to both burn calories and tone\build muscle in my legs. Good idea, or not??

I love running. I really like cardio much more than strength training. I HATE pushups and crunches :p I don't care to be super-toned, however I would like some definition. Don't want to be "skinny fat" lol.

I do smoke however... ahh, that's a whole different issue though. I'll eventually re-visit that battle, but at the time I'm focused on cutting out my 3 year habit of McDonalds and ice cream. Taking it one day at a time :)

Thanks for any tips <3
 
KStoner6tb said:
Haha what is skinnyfat? Soft-thin with absolutely no muscle mass/tone? As long as you keep your protein & calorie count up, that shouldn't be an issue. If you're doing enough cardio to burn up muscle, there's definetely not going to be anything soft left.

Cardio in addition to mucho carlories and a solid weight routine will have you ripped and feeling great...not thin!
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I agree that cardio will make you FEEL better.

But look at what happens to stocky guys who go to boot camp. At 19, when I went in I was about 175 lbs, probably about 13% bf with a 255 lb bench and a
305 lb squat. With the excessive cardio done in boot camp, I came out about 135 lbs, maybe 10% bf (a full six pack, but nothing special), and I could barely bench or squat 135.

I'll admit, malnutrition may have been part of the problem. Even though they say recruits get about 5,000 cal/day, I don't believe it--I was starving the whole time.
 
ThaiDie4 said:
I was one of those people who thought for the longest time that cardio was the key to burning fat! I only recently learned that is not necessarily true.

Sorry if this is off-topic, but here is my delimma:

I am currently both trying to lose a bit of fat as well as improve my overall health. Is it honestly a waste of time\energy to do cardio? <3
Click to expand...

No, it's not a waste of time. Cardio will indeed improve your health and make you feel great.

However, if your primary goal is to look good naked, then I do not believe cardio is the way to go. For this, I think you should lift weights, and go on a calorie restricted diet that is still high in protein, called a "cutting diet" in bodybuilding. I prefer a protein/carb/fat ratio of about 50:30:20, but YMMV. If you are new to lifting weights, or have been on a long lay-off, it is likely that you will actually build muscle while burning fat. But even if you're not, the end result will be that you will look leaner and more muscular, as your muscle to fat ratio increases.

If you just did straight cardio, you'd be thinner, and you'd feel great, but alas, you still may not have that "beach body."
 
warmup 3 sets of pullups to failure
dumbell rows 3 sets of 10 at 65LB
rowing machine 3 sets of 12 at 125LB
standing dumbell curls 3 sets 2x10 at 45LB
 
Binge Artist said:
I agree that cardio will make you FEEL better.

But look at what happens to stocky guys who go to boot camp. At 19, when I went in I was about 175 lbs, probably about 13% bf with a 255 lb bench and a
305 lb squat. With the excessive cardio done in boot camp, I came out about 135 lbs, maybe 10% bf (a full six pack, but nothing special), and I could barely bench or squat 135.

I'll admit, malnutrition may have been part of the problem. Even though they say recruits get about 5,000 cal/day, I don't believe it--I was starving the whole time.
Click to expand...

Most stocky, husky, FAT kids who went to boot camp really had no muscle mass to speak of, so I can see what you're getting at. They lost the fat, and just looked thin because they had no muscle to begin with. You say you couldn't bench or squat much, but how many pushups and pullups could you bust out?

My brother graduated Marine boot camp a year ago, and he can easily do 30 wide-grip pullups; which is way more than I could muster. Yah he said he was starving the entire time as well. The service wants you to have real-world strength. strength to body weight type stuff. I doubt yall were getting 5000 calories; highly doubt that.

Check out the photo thread Binger, see if I qualify as "skinny-fat" I usually run an avg of 4-5 miles/day plus intense boxing training daily with weights still in the picture, but on the back burner. I however keep my calorie and protein count up, eating 6-7 meals a day, along with putting down the bottle and I'm very impressed with the progress I've made.

Not trying to be an arrogant SOB, just going to show that cardio+lots of food= great results IMHO.:D
 
^lol. Definitely not skinny fat.

But as far as I can tell, your physique was more of a "side effect" of your training than the main goal. And remember, in this day and age, people want FAST results--and I still believe the bodybuilding method is a more rapid way to a great body than fitness training, which still obviously works, based on your pics.

From the fitness perspective, being 200 lbs at 10% bf doesn't mean jack shit if you can't run a block without gasping for air--a likely result of strict bodybuilding training. However, the physique results are quicker.

So, I guess it boils down to preference.
 
ThaiDie4 said:
any tips
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would 2 cents work?

cardio is very important for overall health and getting toned. losing weight is a matter of buring more calories than you consume. imho you can get a more wickid body from cardio based workouts. i dont lift weights. i gain strength from yoga, kettle bells. mountain climbing and mma.
find some thing you like that is fun and gets your heart rate up. dont drag your ass to the gym if yo hate it. you will hit walls fast and wont have the motivation to power through them. cut back on bad food and smoking(should stop smoking but i enjoy the odd stogey so i should talk). you will have more energy and motivation to accomplish your goals.
best of luck.
 
Remember that the heart is a muscle which needs to be exercised. Cardio, yoga, and lifting can all accomplish this. However, cardio is short for cardiovascular so you make the call.

Also, stretching invigorates the organs and the nervous system as well as speeding recovery time.

More surfing for me. Strange and choppy. A weak wind swell combined with a distant ground swell for occasional 4-5 footers. Stood up once, good times :D
 
BTW when i said "Smoke Break" in the middle of my workout earlier, i meant to smoke pot. Pot helps relax the "burn" and zone me out to work out more. :D
 
Binge Artist said:
No, it's not a waste of time. Cardio will indeed improve your health and make you feel great.

However, if your primary goal is to look good naked, then I do not believe cardio is the way to go. For this, I think you should lift weights, and go on a calorie restricted diet that is still high in protein, called a "cutting diet" in bodybuilding. I prefer a protein/carb/fat ratio of about 50:30:20, but YMMV. If you are new to lifting weights, or have been on a long lay-off, it is likely that you will actually build muscle while burning fat. But even if you're not, the end result will be that you will look leaner and more muscular, as your muscle to fat ratio increases.

If you just did straight cardio, you'd be thinner, and you'd feel great, but alas, you still may not have that "beach body."
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! (and everyone else too)

Yeah, based on what you are saying I will probably still do cardio, but maybe not as much as I had orignially planned.

Sounds like lifting is definently the way to go! Last question: anyone know of any sites that have good instuctions on what exercizes to do\how much to lift for a beginner? I'm trying to do arms, abs, back, hips, thighs, etc. (pretty much everything).

The last time I lifted was probably my junior year of high school when I played varsity soccer. I am a weakling. I literally cannot do more than 3 pushups in the proper form.
 
20 min warm-up
40 min hill-bounding
(big-ass storm sends me inside)
20 min body-weight leg exercises
20 min stretching
 
going to fitness studio for 930a for my usual Saturday morning start:
45 min spin
55 min sculpting class (weights, plenty of core work, squats)
 
^ because progressive overload has been the tried and true method for muscular hypertrophy.

I agree with you though that yogasana is important and should be included in one's daily life. But if bigger muscles are what you want then overfeeding yourself combined with overloading (progressively) your muscles is your ticket.
 
Mehm said:
More surfing for me. Strange and choppy. A weak wind swell combined with a distant ground swell for occasional 4-5 footers. Stood up once, good times :D
Click to expand...
awesome man! I just got back from a week of good swell out at the outer banks. I stood up my first real wave (not just shore break). It was fucking awesome and a real blast. I loved it. Too bad I won't be living anywhere near an ocean for quite some time. Lifting and biking for me I suppose (which is quite nice too!). :D

life is so awesome we get to do all these fun things :D
 
Mehm said:
Why not yoga?
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I did yoga once a week as part of my training for cross-country (back in high school).. I enjoyed it, although it was pretty basic stuff. But I'm so klutzy :( I always had to lean on the walk when holding up one leg or something.. a bit embarrassing.

Worth giving a try though. I'm definently trying to get the lean toned look vs. bulky.

Thanks <3
 
Floor presses 2x14
DB rows (each side) 1x25
Snatch 1x14

high volume stuff waiting til my rack comes in and I can start squatting again.
 
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