Resistance vs cardio for women

onewoman · 17-01-2008 05:38PM #1

Hi everyone, long time reader, first time commenter here.

I'm a woman who's 5 foot 3, about 8 st 12 and with 24% body fat. I've started taking proper care of my diet for the last few weeks (ie, eating a lot more protein, cutting out nearly all sugar) and I've started back at the gym.

My question: is it better to spend more time on cardio or resistance? I've heard that cardio doesn't really burn fat, and ideally I'd like to lose a bit of fat and become more toned. I'm already quite fit.

The thing is, when I've been doing weights (using the usual leg, arm and stomach machines) my muscles really really ache the next day, so I end up not able to the gym as often as I'd like. And I'm very flexible, so it's not like I don't stretch before and after a session!

The last two times I've been at the gym I've done either 10 minutes going fast on the crosstrainer or 5 mins running and 5 mins fast rowing, combined with about 30/40 mins weights work, as well as stretching. I'd just like to know if this is the right way to go about things, because it seems that if I stop going to the gym for a week or two (when I'm very busy with work), I lose a lot of muscle tone quickly and end up back at square one again!

Sorry this is so long; I'd just really appreciate any advice you could give me. Thanks!

Colm_OReilly · 17-01-2008 06:02PM

Chances are your resistance program is pants. You're probably overworking some muscles whilst ignoring others.

In my observational experience, this usually results in a certain type of soreness.

The best thing you can do is train for fitness - the tone and fat will take care of themselves.

How often are you training? What equipment do you have access to? If we know that, we can help you with your goals.

mack1 · 17-01-2008 06:02PM

Hi,

Sounds like you are on the right track, weights will be MUCH more beneficial for burning fat than just cardio, but diet is also a huge factor. So well done there.

The muscle pains you experience is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS for short, and is fairly common, espeically when new to weights, or when doing a very intense workout. I wouldnt worry about it too much, if it is a problem you could drop the weight a little for a while so the muscle can recover faster, some people swear by plunge pools, contrast showers etc.

How often do you go to the gym? rest is an important part of resistance training, so if you need a day off in between to allow the muscle rest that is fine - some people like to split their work into different days for different muscle groups to aid recovery but I dont think that is really needed for a beginner.

Also, you should really try using more free weights, they are way better than using the machines as they will work many other muscles that the machines tend to lock out of a movement.

onewoman · 17-01-2008 09:00PM

Hi guys, thanks for your replies.

Colm, I'm aiming to train 4 days a week. This week I trained 2 days in a row and took today off. I'm planning on getting back in there tomorrow, and then either Saturday or Sunday for this week. The equipment I have access to is pretty much your standard gym - treadmill, rowers, bikes, crosstrainers, a pool, various machines and free weights. I spent a bit of time swimming before Christmas but haven't done much since, partly because I feel a bit selfconscious because of the lack of muscle at the moment!

Mack, part of the reason I took today off is because of what you said - I suspected the whole rest thing was important! What you said about the free weights is interesting, because it's what I was doing with quite light free weights (forward lunges) that has caused me pain. I've heard that free weights are, like you say, much better than the fixed ones, but perhaps there's something wrong with my technique.

Thanks for your advice -- I'll let you know how I get on.

Colm_OReilly · 18-01-2008 10:11AM

Learn to squat. Or rather, relearn, as you had this inate ability when you were 3, you just lost it by looking at other people bend over to pick things up and through years of sitting on chairs.

Here's a video but if you're around Dublin call into our Open Day tomorrow and I can help you with your squat if you'd like?

Your resistance program should contain presses, squats, deadlifts. If you've an assisted pull up/dip machine in the gym (most do) add these in.

Colm

onewoman · 18-01-2008 11:02AM

Thanks for the video Colm - it's really useful. Sadly I don't live in Dublin at the moment so can't pay a visit to your gym but thanks anyway.

I'm going to try the other exercises you mentioned - I've always wanted to, but that section of the gym is always full of big bulky guys lifting reall heavy weights. I've never seen any other girls do that stuff and so feel a bit intimidated at the thought of it. Oh well, I'll see if I get one of the trainers to help me out later!

g'em · 18-01-2008 11:04AM

pffft - ignore the boys. You have as much right to be in there as they do. Besides, a closer inspection will reveal that most of them won't have a clue what they're doing anyway. Now when I see blokes squatting/ deadlifting I feel like walking up to them, shaking their hands and saying "Congratulations, you've been enlightened"

40kelly · 18-01-2008 11:24AM

hi there,
Just came across your queries and felt I’d pass on a few tips
On cardio v resistance .I would recommend a combination of both on different training days.
Cardio at a low heart rate (slightly out of breath) will burn fats.
As you increase intensity (to be completely out of breath) you burn mostly carbs.
This process of burning carbs will last for roughly over an hour.
So the key is to concentrate on time spent at low intensity and slowly build this up over the coming weeks.
A good rule of thumb is to increase the time by 5% a week or 10% every two weeks.
When your cardio training has reached the stage of lasting 50 mins to an hour
Increase the intensity slightly at this stage you'll be well under way.
As for resistance, it is vital to incorporate in order to get the full benefit.
When your doing cardio you are burning calories at that time .
The beauty with doing weights is it increases your metabolic rate for quite a few hours so you continue burning calories well after you’ve finished training.
Plus a toned body burns more calories, even when sitting still
The pain you’re experiencing is completely normal and as your muscle get used to training this will disappear .the key is don’t train if it is still sore.
Ask the gym staff to create a programme for you
The key is light weights and lots of reps.
Hope you find this of some benefit and well done on getting out there and training

mack1 · 18-01-2008 11:25AM

g'em wrote: »

pffft - ignore the boys. You have as much right to be in there as they do. Besides, a closer inspection will reveal that most of them won't have a clue what they're doing anyway. Now when I see blokes squatting/ deadlifting I feel like walking up to them, shaking their hands and saying "Congratulations, you've been enlightened"

I think you should!

OP - I know a lot of women feel that way, depending on the layout of the gym it can be a little intimidating, but g'em is right, you pay the same fees they do, so they're your weights too!

Colm_OReilly · 18-01-2008 12:06PM

pffft - ignore the boys. You have as much right to be in there as they do. Besides, a closer inspection will reveal that most of them won't have a clue what they're doing anyway.

Quoted for Truth

hi there,
Just came across your queries and felt I’d pass on a few tips
On cardio v resistance .I would recommend a combination of both on different training days.
Cardio at a low heart rate (slightly out of breath) will burn fats.
As you increase intensity (to be completely out of breath) you burn mostly carbs.
This process of burning carbs will last for roughly over an hour.
So the key is to concentrate on time spent at low intensity and slowly build this up over the coming weeks.
A good rule of thumb is to increase the time by 5% a week or 10% every two weeks.
When your cardio training has reached the stage of lasting 50 mins to an hour
Increase the intensity slightly at this stage you'll be well under way.
As for resistance, it is vital to incorporate in order to get the full benefit.
When your doing cardio you are burning calories at that time .
The beauty with doing weights is it increases your metabolic rate for quite a few hours so you continue burning calories well after you’ve finished training.
Plus a toned body burns more calories, even when sitting still
The pain you’re experiencing is completely normal and as your muscle get used to training this will disappear .the key is don’t train if it is still sore.
Ask the gym staff to create a programme for you
The key is light weights and lots of reps.
Hope you find this of some benefit and well done on getting out there and training

Quoted for Silly BS. In particular, the low intensity cr@p.

As a beginner onewoman, you'll spend your time learning the movements and getting a feel for them. Once you've technique/consistency down, increase the intensity (load moved, what distance, how quickly) until you are struggling to keep form. If form breaks down, lower the intensity til you get in back, then ramp it up again.

Also, as you've said you're unfit so what's "intense" for you will not be what's intense for me.

Now, on trainers in gyms. If they tell you any of the following they're really not qualified to advise you:

You don't need to squat/deadlift
You should just do machines
Don't squat past parallel
Light weights/high reps are better for tone

Now, I understand he/she has a shirt with 'trainer' written on it and I'm just some yahoo on an internet forum, so I'll give you the advice young Courtney once gave "just smile at them, as you would a senile old relative at Christmas dinner"

Here's a beginners routine you could do.

Pity you're not in Dublin. If you do have any queries whatsoever on exercise, please let us know.

Colm

arybvtcw0eolkf · 18-01-2008 12:14PM

40kelly wrote: »

hi there,
Just came across your queries and felt I’d pass on a few tips
On cardio v resistance .I would recommend a combination of both on different training days.
Cardio at a low heart rate (slightly out of breath) will burn fats.
As you increase intensity (to be completely out of breath) you burn mostly carbs.
This process of burning carbs will last for roughly over an hour.
So the key is to concentrate on time spent at low intensity and slowly build this up over the coming weeks.
A good rule of thumb is to increase the time by 5% a week or 10% every two weeks.
When your cardio training has reached the stage of lasting 50 mins to an hour
Increase the intensity slightly at this stage you'll be well under way.
As for resistance, it is vital to incorporate in order to get the full benefit.
When your doing cardio you are burning calories at that time .
The beauty with doing weights is it increases your metabolic rate for quite a few hours so you continue burning calories well after you’ve finished training.
Plus a toned body burns more calories, even when sitting still
The pain you’re experiencing is completely normal and as your muscle get used to training this will disappear .the key is don’t train if it is still sore.
Ask the gym staff to create a programme for you
The key is light weights and lots of reps.
Hope you find this of some benefit and well done on getting out there and training

Are you in the Defence Forces?.

Sounds like the PTI/PTL course info there, good stuff & serves us well in getting fat/lazy teenagers up to 'fit to fight' standard.

Macha · 18-01-2008 12:52PM

40kelly wrote: »

hi there,
Just came across your queries and felt I’d pass on a few tips
On cardio v resistance .I would recommend a combination of both on different training days.
Cardio at a low heart rate (slightly out of breath) will burn fats.
As you increase intensity (to be completely out of breath) you burn mostly carbs.
This process of burning carbs will last for roughly over an hour.
So the key is to concentrate on time spent at low intensity and slowly build this up over the coming weeks.
A good rule of thumb is to increase the time by 5% a week or 10% every two weeks.
When your cardio training has reached the stage of lasting 50 mins to an hour
Increase the intensity slightly at this stage you'll be well under way.
As for resistance, it is vital to incorporate in order to get the full benefit.
When your doing cardio you are burning calories at that time .
The beauty with doing weights is it increases your metabolic rate for quite a few hours so you continue burning calories well after you’ve finished training.
Plus a toned body burns more calories, even when sitting still
The pain you’re experiencing is completely normal and as your muscle get used to training this will disappear .the key is don’t train if it is still sore.
Ask the gym staff to create a programme for you
The key is light weights and lots of reps.
Hope you find this of some benefit and well done on getting out there and training

Why light weights & lots of reps?

wasabi · 18-01-2008 01:24PM

g'em wrote: »

pffft - ignore the boys. You have as much right to be in there as they do. Besides, a closer inspection will reveal that most of them won't have a clue what they're doing anyway. Now when I see blokes squatting/ deadlifting I feel like walking up to them, shaking their hands and saying "Congratulations, you've been enlightened"

What g'em said. Also, you'll actually get more benefit out of lifting proper heavy weights than the boys will.

1) We start off with lower strength levels, so increasing those helps with all the physical aspects of your life - lifting things around the house and so on should become less of an issue.

2) As you build muscle you'll get less wobbly and your metabolism will get faster so you'll be less likely to put on fat.

3) You won't turn into a she-hulk - god knows I lift my socks off as heavy as I possibly can, and I eat to support it. Still, currently I'm over a stone lighter than when I started lifting, and a couple of jeans sizes smaller. And infinitely happier with how I look.

4) There's loads of long term health benefits to lifting, the top two would be increased bone density and therefore less risk of osteoporosis, and also the fact that it training your muscles can increase insulin sensitivity and make you less prone to developing diabetes/metabolic syndrome.

You might enjoy having a read of www.stumptuous.com

cowzerp · 18-01-2008 02:25PM

if you have to choose it has to be resistance training-once its balanced and challenging its all good, but ideally you'll do weights followed by cardio and get the best of both worlds..

onewoman · 18-01-2008 03:22PM

Wow, everyone, thanks for all your advice!

One thing Colm: I *am* quite fit actually - as I said in the first post! But my squats are awful - I tried doing them as shown in the video but my back curves way too much

it's pretty annoying, because I'm extremely flexible and not used to my body not doing what it's told!

As for 40kelly's advice about the light weights and many reps, that confused m a little because it's the opposite of what I've recently discovered, so, yeah, think I'm more of a believer in the heavier weights.

Just an update - was in the gym for a quick session today (no trainers about so didn't get to enquire about deadlifts - it's a university gym).

I also checked my stats: turns out I've lost 2 pounds this week so now 8 st 10 (bmi: 22.1) and my body fat's down from 24.7 to 23.8, which I know isn't much but is at least going in the right direction

Incidentally, I'm apparently also half an inch shorter since the last time but whatever.

Just to give you an idea of the weights I use: they're heavy enough in that I can only do about 10 lifts/pushes/pulls and then have to stop before starting another 10. Does this sound about right? Wasabi I love the sound of lifting much heavier weights - really want to challenge myself!

Thanks again for all your help

BossArky · 18-01-2008 03:30PM

onewoman wrote: »

I'm apparently also half an inch shorter since the last time but whatever.

...I love the sound of lifting much heavier weights

Careful now. If you keep lifting such heavy weights you'll be down to garden gnome size in no time!

onewoman · 18-01-2008 03:31PM

Wasabi - great website by the way! (am also feminist academic

)

onewoman · 18-01-2008 03:35PM

I'll try and not let that happen Boss!

partydude · 18-01-2008 04:04PM

onewoman wrote: »

Hi everyone, long time reader, first time commenter here.

I'm a woman who's 5 foot 3, about 8 st 12 and with 24% body fat. I've started taking proper care of my diet for the last few weeks (ie, eating a lot more protein, cutting out nearly all sugar) and I've started back at the gym.

My question: is it better to spend more time on cardio or resistance? I've heard that cardio doesn't really burn fat, and ideally I'd like to lose a bit of fat and become more toned. I'm already quite fit.

The thing is, when I've been doing weights (using the usual leg, arm and stomach machines) my muscles really really ache the next day, so I end up not able to the gym as often as I'd like. And I'm very flexible, so it's not like I don't stretch before and after a session!

The last two times I've been at the gym I've done either 10 minutes going fast on the crosstrainer or 5 mins running and 5 mins fast rowing, combined with about 30/40 mins weights work, as well as stretching. I'd just like to know if this is the right way to go about things, because it seems that if I stop going to the gym for a week or two (when I'm very busy with work), I lose a lot of muscle tone quickly and end up back at square one again!

Sorry this is so long; I'd just really appreciate any advice you could give me. Thanks!

Hi, you should het a personal trainer. They can put you on the right road road, i would recommend a guy called marc in Jacky Skelly in Ballsbridge

Colm_OReilly · 18-01-2008 04:38PM

One thing Colm: I *am* quite fit actually - as I said in the first post!

My bad!

I tried doing them as shown in the video but my back curves way too much it's pretty annoying, because I'm extremely flexible and not used to my body not doing what it's told!

At a guess I'd say you've just a muscular imbalance, keep working on it, it will improve pretty quickly. Stand proud, weight on the heels, butt back and down, knees out.

Just to give you an idea of the weights I use: they're heavy enough in that I can only do about 10 lifts/pushes/pulls and then have to stop before starting another 10. Does this sound about right? Wasabi I love the sound of lifting much heavier weights - really want to challenge myself!

Optimal gains for strength are in the 3-7 range, so 5 sets of 5 are favoured by a lot of lifters, with about 2mins rest between sets. This is an easy rule to throw out, but if you want to lift heavier...

Of course, if you want a challenge, and by your posts so far you seem into it, maybe start CrossFitting?

Colm
-will read your posts better next time

arybvtcw0eolkf · 18-01-2008 06:12PM

taconnol wrote: »

Why light weights & lots of reps?

I was hoping that 40Kelly would come back and answer me re. is he in the Defence Forces.

Soldiers don't require a lot of muscle mass, its pretty inefficient to move bulk around the battle field.

Soldiers require alot of local muscular endurance and a high level of CV fitness and so our phyical training to geared towards that end, its no good to a soldier if he can bench press 150kgs, or squat the weight of a small car if he can't hump his load over the hills and be fit for battle at the end of it.

Recent tours of duty oversea's has shown the importance of this, particularly East Timor and Liberia where long range patrols were the order of the day for most lads.

Its not my place to post the Defence Forces PTI/PTL course syllabus here but what 40Kelly posted is the basics of it. If he/she is in the Defence Forces they obviously couldn't go into detail as to how to bring troops to a certain level of fitness, its far more involved than whats been posted here.

Increasing fitness levels by 5%-10% has shown best results for building and maintaining staimina levels for soldiers as other operational duties can interfer with regular phyical training and so armies don't want a training regime which would allow a rapid loss of stamina.

Finally Defence Forces personnel are required to take a fitness test every 12 months, failure to pass can mean dismissal on medical grounds.

Transform · 18-01-2008 06:25PM

A good friend of mine is in the army and off to Chad on tuesday. Fit as a fiddle and we did the 300 workout in one of our sessions - he finished in 16mins 30secs. Yes he does his weights but is not striving to get stronger all the time plus he does cardio pretty much every day.

A good combination of cardio one day weights the next has always served most well.
Know when to take it easy and rotate off about 3-4 different weights programs (full body workouts or splits).

onewoman · 18-01-2008 08:08PM

Colm:"Stand proud, weight on the heels, butt back and down, knees out."
And I'll wag my tail too

Colm_OReilly · 18-01-2008 10:11PM

onewoman wrote: »

Colm:"Stand proud, weight on the heels, butt back and down, knees out."
And I'll wag my tail too

Haha! I actually use your tail as a cue while teaching the squat. I tell people to imagine your tail is being pulled down into the corner to get them to break the hip angle first!

40kelly · 19-01-2008 12:27PM

Light weights and high reps (over 13) is what is required to tone muscle and improve endurance without bulking up

40kelly · 19-01-2008 12:35PM

Yes spot on PTI course. you must have connections or were you a UCL student

Macha · 19-01-2008 12:35PM

What do you mean by 'tone muscle'?

Hanley · 19-01-2008 01:25PM

40kelly wrote: »

Light weights and high reps (over 13) is what is required to tone muscle and improve endurance without bulking up

I thought it was 14????

arybvtcw0eolkf · 19-01-2008 01:52PM

Hanley wrote: »

I thought it was 14????

Depends on the lenght of your arms

40kelly · 19-01-2008 02:34PM

yeah thats right over 13 is 14:)

Hanley · 19-01-2008 03:44PM

40kelly wrote: »

yeah thats right over 13 is 14:)

Ohh I get it now. So 12 wouldn't work?

Resistance vs cardio for women

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