What to start with weights or cardio?

pricemazda · #1 April 22nd, 2006, 12:13 AM

After giving up smoking I gained a lot of weight. I am about 20 kilos overweight and my BMI is about 28.

Finally after getting trapped into the cycle of 'food stops you from feeling miserable' I decided to do something about it.

They say you only make changes when you hit your version of 'rock' bottom and i have reached that point.

What do people think is better to start off a gym routine? Should I be concentrating on weights or cardio.

My first aim is to lose weight, then build muscle.

Whats everyones advice?

glammaman2000 · #2 April 22nd, 2006, 08:17 AM

I get the impression you're starting from"ground zero".The good news is;you'll make your fastest gains at this time!The amount of cardio you have to do to lose weight is considerable(40min.3x per week)It's good for you,but I think with good diet(which you'd have to do anyway)the weights may give more encouraging results.Good luck!

brent · #3 April 22nd, 2006, 09:38 AM

Gain muscle first, because muscle burns fat.

dallasmsl · #4 April 22nd, 2006, 12:02 PM

What is stopping you from doing both cardio and weights? You needn't concentrate on either one.

pricemazda · #5 April 22nd, 2006, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glammaman2000

I get the impression you're starting from"ground zero".The good news is;you'll make your fastest gains at this time!The amount of cardio you have to do to lose weight is considerable(40min.3x per week)It's good for you,but I think with good diet(which you'd have to do anyway)the weights may give more encouraging results.Good luck!

Yep, ground zero is a good term.

I go to the gym in the mornings before work and get in about 40 mins of cardio.

This is really about breaking down the 'old' me and focusing on how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Its hard to get rid of old habits and get new ones.

I am unsure though, if i need to lose weight and want to do that quickly surely then I can't aim to beef up at the same time?

glammaman2000 · #6 April 22nd, 2006, 09:12 PM

You'd be surprised!At30;I went from 190lbs.with a(let's be kind)32"waist to 190lbs.with a28"waist!Fat doesn't"turn into"muscle any more than hair turns into teeth;but you can REPLACE fat with muscle!That's why the mirror is a better judge than the scale!

pricemazda · #7 April 24th, 2006, 04:51 AM

Well already i've lost 4lbs!

I can't believe after 10 days of good cardio work and being strict with what I eat, how quickly the weight has come off.

I think I am going to leave weights for a couple of months. I need to imporve my general level of fitness and concentrate on shedding the excess baggage I have been carrying around.

I have promised myself as a reward, after 2 months of maintaining going to the gym and diet, I will shell out on a personal trainer to show me the ropes of weight training and draw up a programme for me.

BB-61 · #8 April 28th, 2006, 10:58 AM

That's a wise way to go.

There's no use for fat, and if you have it, you should get rid of it first before bulking back up. You'll get the fat back in the bulk cycle, but at least it's not fat on top of fat.

I know when I go overboard on the cals and it hurts my gut to bend over an tie my shoes, it's time to back off and cut fat.

mmfan · #9 May 30th, 2006, 01:03 AM

I was just going to post a question about this.

I want to get bigger muscles (obviously), but I have about 4kg (my estimate) of flab around my midriff obscuring what I believe would be a nice flat stomach.

Should I try and trim down and then work on building up, or will doing a mixture of cario and weights eventually sort out my problem? ie. Does fat get "converted" into muscle?

Also, I feel like I have a flat ass. Any tips on getting a bit of a bubble happening?

Thanks,
mmfan

pricemazda · #10 June 8th, 2006, 08:22 PM

I thought I would give you all a progress report. Its been about 2 months now and I have lost about 20lbs in weight.

The best feeling in the world is seeing friends I haven't seen in ages and it is the first thing they comment on, about how much weight I have lost.

I bought lots of jeans ages ago that I couldn't really fit in, but now I can and in fact lots of my clothes are now the other way, too big!!! I have to go buy myself a belt!!! It feels really good again to start getting checked out when I walked down the street.

It actually hasn't been too hard to lose the weight, all I have been doing is 40 mins of cardio everyday. All I eat is a bowl of cereal, a small homemade tuna sandwich and a chicken salad, or grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. I worked out that I am consuming very few calories in a day and combined with burning about 400-600 doing cardio, its no wonder I have lost so much weight, I must have a massive calories deficit.

But, I can't seem to shift the fat around my bum and belly, any suggestions?