How much cardio?

[lovesmr777]

How much cardio must a person do to make it effective to loose fat/weight and get toned?

Currently I do 20min of jump roping about 4-5 x's a week or more if I have time. But I read somewhere that a person needs to do at least 30 min to see any results???

[cursor]

It sounds to me like the amount that you're currently including should lead to positive results. How well is your body responding?

[lovesmr777]

well i've only been doing it for about 3 weeks so no results yet. When should I see results? Maybe i need to up the the time.

what do you think is better 20 4-5x's a week or 30 min 3x's a week?

Also do you think it's better to eat less carbs while trying to loose weight and exercise? not no carbs but just less... like no bread and rice - but other carbs such as yogurt and veggies and granola, fruits.

[Lady C]

I didn't see significant results for 6-8 weeks. It doesn't happen overnight.

Weight loss is not the same as fat loss if you are replacing the fat with muscle. Yes, it is ideal to replace fat with muscle (aka toning). I would do cardio as much as you want but make sure you are doing some form of strength training at least 3x per week.

[lovesmr777]

Well i want to loose inches for sure too not just replace my fat.
So this is what i have been doing 20-30min of jump roping, 5 sets of 50 reps of sit ups, then I rotate with 3 sets of 20 of chest/tris, biceps/shoulders, butt/legs

I try to do this at leat 4 times a week if not more.

My thighs and tummy definately need to be thinner and maybe even my arms. I don't want to just be the same size but toned. I don't have much to loose but just a little. I'm small to being with as far as overall size as I'm only 5ft.

[Lady C]

That is where your thinking is off. When you replace the fat with muscle your physical size DOES change but the scale usually doesn't. Doing all cardio will just shrink your size but not help your build muscle (tone).

Reduce the reps and add more weight will be better than lots of reps. More like 8-10 reps, 2-3 sets each. (If you are female, you will not get bulky.)

[lovesmr777]

i thought less weight more reps is better for females to avoid getting bigger?

Ok so then if I just do cardio I may be skinnier but still flaby right?

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by lovesmr777

i thought less weight more reps is better for females to avoid getting bigger?

Ok so then if I just do cardio I may be skinnier but still flaby right?

It is a huge myth that high reps low weights is better for women to avoid getting big. If you want to loose fat, you'll have to build muscle. But you won't get big or bulky.

If you just do cardio, you will probably loose some fat and some muscle, so you'll be smaller, but your body composition won't really change.

[lovesmr777]

i only have 5lb dumb bells so got any suggestions on how many reps and sets? I don't want to do much cuz I don't have much time as it is. And if I make my routines too long I know I will fail.
I'm a mother of 3, work full time and go to school so my time is so limited and I dont' wnat to fail or feel discouraged.

[cursor]

It really doesn't take much time, especially when done right. Regularly boosting your metabolism the quality activity, in addition to eating properly, is the right method for fat loss (losing those garbage-inches). Even if you allocate as little as 15 minutes a day, you'll be substantially better off (than if you don't).

[lovesmr777]

i was told on a different board that if I jump rope I should not do this as my only cardio. Do I really need to mix it up?
I really like to jump rope, it has built up my stamina. And i heard it burns way more calories than most exercises?

Jumping rope strengthens the heart, muscles and bones, promotes leanness and improves agility, coordination, timing, rhythm and explosive power on both sides of the body. Plus it burns ~200 calories in 15 minutes. Pretty good if you ask me.

What, exactly, is their objection to skipping rope?

[SNPiccolo5]

I love jumping rope- but don't do it often enough. It's really easy to mix it up, too. You can eventually add different "steps" do your rope jumping- like kicks, crossing the rope, etc... just for fun.

-Tim

[lovesmr777]

I assume the suggestion was because I should mix up my cardio not just do jumping rope. That I will not see results if I just keep doing the same exercise?? Is that all true?
Do you know if it makes your calves bigger? I think I've become paranoid and think that it is when it's not.

[.V.]

If you like jumping rope and have the endurance for it - then by all means do it. It certainly is a difficult activity and I suspect the reason you were told to do other things is because it is hard for most of us to do it long enough to get any cardiovascular benefit from it. The best I can manage jumping rope is 1 minute/10 burpees x 3 sets. I certainly admire the endurance of someone who can do it for an extended time.