how important is cardio when trying to lose fat

Vampireskiss

i Find alot of conflicting info on the web regarding this some experts say you dont needs much others say you need a lot what everyones opinion of it Im thinking of upping my running from 3x30 mins a week to 4x45 mins and drop my weights sessions from 3x 45 min to 2x45 mins hitting every bodypart once a week instead of every 5 days

celestial

Vampireskiss wrote: »

i Find alot of conflicting info on the web regarding this some experts say you dont needs much others say you need a lot what everyones opinion of it Im thinking of upping my running from 3x30 mins a week to 4x45 mins and drop my weights sessions from 3x 45 min to 2x45 mins hitting every bodypart once a week instead of every 5 days

Saying 'yes, cardio is very important' is no more meaningful than saying 'cardio is not that important'. Far too many variables at play really and it's whatever amount works best for you. Better questions to ask and considerations are

-are you upping the intensity of your cardio week on week?
-is your diet in order? Could it be improved? If so, then identify areas for improvement and implement the changes needed.

For fat loss my priorities are diet, weights, cardio in that order. However, I do think cardio is pretty important and effective for fat loss, especially when you are ensuring to up the effort each time you go.

Vampireskiss

I always aim to up the intensity of my cardio every week but there is only a certain amount of cals one can burn with a certain amount of time no matter how intense you go which is why I am thinking of cutting one of my weightraining sessions and adding an extra cardio session and up the length of each session to 45 mins the first 20 mins of each cario session will be HIIT and the remaining 25 mins will be at 80% MHR . I would still do weight training twice a week for 45 doing upper body one day and lower body the other, appreciate opinions please? instead of this I could keep my 3 weightraining sessions and 3 cardio sessions and add 25mins onto the 3 20 min hiit sessions. I also have a moderate 20 minute cycle to work after the gym

Brian?

What sort of results are you seeing with your current routine?

You may need to ask yourself why you looking for a change, is it because you are not seeing the results you think you should be or is it impatience.

Having said that, upping the amount of cardio you do can't be a bad thing. Personally I wouldn't sacrfice any time lifting to accomadate it.

Vampireskiss

I joined in november but I havent really got into a consistent run because I have had so many pre christmas nights out and a wedding too I plan to wipe the slate clean and start again in the new year to be exact ,I plan to give up drinking for a while also because this is my biggest vice im still 20 stone

Brian?

Vampireskiss wrote: »

I joined in november but I havent really got into a consistent run because I have had so many pre christmas nights out and a wedding too I plan to wipe the slate clean and start again in the new year to be exact ,I plan to give up drinking for a while also because this is my biggest vice im still 20 stone

If I was you I'd try and concentrate on your diet while you can't make time for the gym, try to get into a healthy eating habit as quickly as you can.

I think its important that you concentrate on your current routine than trying to chop and change so early into it, especially when you haven't had a good run at it.

corkcomp

Vampireskiss wrote: »

i Find alot of conflicting info on the web regarding this some experts say you dont needs much others say you need a lot what everyones opinion of it Im thinking of upping my running from 3x30 mins a week to 4x45 mins and drop my weights sessions from 3x 45 min to 2x45 mins hitting every bodypart once a week instead of every 5 days

ive found that by doing enough cardio I can keep the carbs in (the good ones !!) and still loose fat .. so it depends on your diet .. If you do no / very little cardio you would need to look very hard at diet

AARRRGH

I do very little (i.e. none) high intensity cardio, but I have a very good diet and as a result have little body fat.

I do quite a bit of walking and weights though.

celestial

Vampireskiss wrote: »

I joined in november but I havent really got into a consistent run because I have had so many pre christmas nights out and a wedding too I plan to wipe the slate clean and start again in the new year to be exact ,I plan to give up drinking for a while also because this is my biggest vice im still 20 stone

When did you start training with this routine and what is a typical day's food and drink intake?

If you are still 20 stone you don't need to be worry about how many cardio sessions vs weights or how much HIIT vs regular cardio you should be doing - you just need to get your diet sorted and keep up the gym sessions generally speaking. If your diet is bad then training of any sort is the equivalent of scooping water out of a leaking boat - won't get you very far.

Post up your diet and we can give you some pointers if you like.