Cardio?

[DayG]

Hey guys, I'm new here. I'm also new to working out with weights. I'm 27 5'2, 115lbs. what I want to do is shed some body fat and tone. My question is about cardio, some people have been telling me that it's great for the heart but for actual fat loss it's a waste of time unless the heartrate is 160, does anyone agree with this? I do a 15 min warm up on the elliptical before weights, and I wanted to add at least 30 min. of cardio.
Thanx!

[Lady C]

From your stats, it doesn't sound like you have too much bodyfat. I would just do the weights and lift heavy! You are really just trying to reshape the body - exchanging the fat for muscle. You should not do the cardio on the same days as the weights. Maybe do HIIT instead of the typical "in the zone" aerobics.

[DayG]

Thanx for the advice! But when you say heavy? For instance, for bi's I use 8 lbs free weights on each arm, is that too light?

[midgetcop]

Well, really it depends....when lifting heavy, the idea is to go for high weight with low repetitions. If you can do 12 reps with the 8lb dumbells and you feel that you can do another 10 reps, you're going too light.

The trick is that you should be aiming for about 6-10 reps. You know you've got a good weight if by the end of your set you feel like you could *barely* do any more reps. Do about 3 sets for each exercise and you'll be well on your way to building some muscle.

[Helene]

You have to lift heavy to build muscle. One you've put on lean mass (muscle), then you can diet to see your muscles (definition or tone). Also, eat enough to build muscle.

[Octagon]

Cardio isn't a waste of time with regard to fat loss but it can be overrated as a fat-burner.

Perosnally, I would forget about target heart rates and whatnot. Look at cardio primarily as a means of getting the *many* 'heart healthy' benefits and consider whatever fat burning benefits there might be a nice bonus.

[DayG]

Around how many different exercises for each muscle? I'm doing 3 for bi's and 3 for tri's but only 2 for my shoulders and back, all at 4 sets of 10. Is this enough? Thanx for all your advice

[midgetcop]

Originally Posted by DayG

Around how many different exercises for each muscle?

It depends on the muscle. Try and do exercises that will work out all areas of the particular muscle group (2-3 types of lifts are good).

Originally Posted by DayG

I'm doing 3 for bi's and 3 for tri's but only 2 for my shoulders and back, all at 4 sets of 10. Is this enough? Thanx for all your advice

4 sets? Lower it to 3. 10 reps? Try to keep it between 6-10. If you're doing 4 sets of 10 reps, you're probably using too low a weight. Go for higher weight and lower reps if you want to see improvement in strength.