Weights vs Cardio?

I think one of the "safest" forms of exercise, in terms of joint issues is swimming. It's also bloody good for you. But it's a pain to have to go swimming.

I understand why running appeals, and it is good exercise, with good mobility, and sensible approach to it.
 
Freefaller said:
I think one of the "safest" forms of exercise, in terms of joint issues is swimming. It's also bloody good for you. But it's a pain to have to go swimming.

I understand why running appeals, and it is good exercise, with good mobility, and sensible approach to it.
Click to expand...
Swimming is great but you still have a high risk of rotator-cuff injuries and over other-use issues. I loe swimming but the downside as well as access to a pool is that the calorie burn rate is relatively low unless you are Michal Phelps.

ChrisD. said:
Yet the multiple studies done by universities etc disagree.

Fact is, what I said is true. You can do more damage than good.
Click to expand...
I think you need to read that research in more detail. Unless you have per-exisitng conditions there isn't any elevated risk of joint issue.

Running like many physical actives can increase risk of various injuries, most commonly various forms of tendonitis. You have similar risk doing anything from swimming, cycling, tennis, weight lifting. As with most things, proper care, attention, technique and training minimizes risks.

tom_e said:
That's not the gyms fault, that's a lack of knowledge on your part causing poor form or training through poor mobility rather than fixing it allowing injuries to happen.
Click to expand...
Which is the case for most injury risks in any activity.


Do some HILT like runnign exercises without the adequate build up in training and you have a recipe for disaster. Going out for a nice 1 hour run in the forest trials is extremely safe, beyond the existential risks of tripping over a tree root etc. which is a lot safer than cycling on roads, RIP the guy down the street who died last week in a hit and run!
 
D.P. said:
Swimming is great but you still have a high risk of rotator-cuff injuries and over other-use issues. I loe swimming but the downside as well as access to a pool is that the calorie burn rate is relatively low unless you are Michal Phelps.
Click to expand...

The chances of serious injuries are hugely decreased in water environment purely down to physics: buoyancy etc...

Of course injuries can happen anywhere, owing to lack of warm up, physiological conditions and so on.

i burn more calories on a swim than I do on a run - but I only do the occasional 5k as I abhor running. Much prefer skipping and other forms of HIIT for cardiovascular health.
 
Freefaller said:
The chances of serious injuries are hugely decreased in water environment purely down to physics: buoyancy etc...

Of course injuries can happen anywhere, owing to lack of warm up, physiological conditions and so on.

i burn more calories on a swim than I do on a run - but I only do the occasional 5k as I abhor running. Much prefer skipping and other forms of HIIT for cardiovascular health.
Click to expand...


Swimming is definitely pretty safe overall without impact forces but you can strain shoulders and arms.

I can burn about 400 calories an hour swimming, and will be so tired I can't do any more swimming. I burn about 800 calories an hour running and could maintain that pace for 4-6 hours. If I do an actually workout running I can burn over 1200 calories an hour, but can't do more than an hour. Calories form Garmin 920xt with Heart rate monitor so are reasonably accurate. If I was a better swimmer I could definitely burn more but that is part of the problem., swimming is highly technique based and it takes a long time to get good. I've been swimming and running for 2 years now, my running has lead to me winning age group medals in races and regulatory appearing i the top 1% of finishers. My swimming on the other hand is pathetic and I get lapped by 50 year old over wight women. I do run much more than I swim but that doesn't explain the differences. i really need some swim lesson and a dedicated focus for a few months.


I don't recommend HILT running for beginners at all,that does have a very high injury risk relative to easy running. If you haven't built up well conditions runnign legs then its hard to beat HILT on an exercise bike. But then i'm not a big advocate of HILT, you get better cardio vascular response with much longer intervals, 4-6 minutes of high intensity with 2-4 minutes easy effort will increase VO2Max much faster, and is overall safer. A much safer alternative for runners is to do some hill repeats, especially on a treadmill. Run a up a steep hill at 95% effort., slowly jog back down. You get the high CV workout, e.g. strengthening and mental workout but with very little impact forces.

Biggest problem people have with runnign is they run way to fast on days that are meant to be easy, if they run easy days at all. Too many seem to think you need to run at max effort until you collapse. That is what you do on race day. its not they intuitive but slow, easy running increases cardio vascular fitness and helps create all the necessary adaptions to run very fast in a race. Elite runnign athletes will run very easy 80-90% of their time, and hard 10-20% (and will also do some strength training). Many runners will run their easy runs way too hard and will try and fit in far more quality workouts in to a week. that can lead to injury which perpetrates myths about running injury rates.

As a casual runner going out 3-5 days a week and keeping most of their runs nice and easy there is really no more risk than swimming in a pool or cycling on a trainer. If you race every single run, don;t properly recover, try to fit as much intervals or HILT work out sas possible in without a good runnign base you have a much higher risk of getting injured.
 
I don't know what HILT running is - but HIIT is great for fat loss and cardiovascular health, and doesn't need to involve running at all.

Cardio is **** anyway, it's all about weights, and high intensity workouts - much more fun than going for a long run - couldn't think of anything worse :p

I prefer going for a nice long walk in the countryside with the family, an then hit the weights - and eat well. Far more effective.

If you want to be good at cardio, do cardio, it won't make you any more/less healthy than someone that does HIIT, weights or anything else. It just trains you for cardio.

Similarly, people who do bench, doesn't train you to be strong or have a big chest, it teaches you how to bench and be good at benching. Other movements are far more functional, like squats and deadlifts for example.
 
I trained weights for 20 odd years with varied results depending on my diet at the time and staying injury free, I stopped when my local gym shut thanks to a big chain moving in. Looking back i'm glad i got the kick up the ass i needed to drop the weights (pun intended).

I now have taken up indoor climbing and SUP (stand up paddle boarding) and enjoy both much more than i ever did the weights, bouldering can be a great way to keep in shape if you have anywhere local to you. If i can't climb i'll normally to a quick HIIT workout from youtube (the body coach etc).

D.P. said:
i really need some swim lesson and a dedicated focus for a few months.
Click to expand...

I can really recommend a book called Total immersion
 
Working out with women is not possible because the attention is distributed. I prefer going to a gym with and park for short time but continue workout (with out rest)
It gives me a special type of high when i am lying down in my bed and relaxing.
 
Discussing this with a semi-pro and clean body builder this week. I am a mesomorph body type and I have been trying to get leaner but what I was *actually* doing was bulking unintentionally and as such not losing weight.

12-15 total reps at 60% of your one rep max weight is what you should be doing and you should still be failing between reps 13-15. Three intense sessions per week followed by 15 mins of cardio. Then on the days you are not doing weight training you do cardio. You can do as much cardio you want within reason in those none weight sessions. As long as your diet is in order you won't sacrifice too much muscle doing this.

If you just do cardio you'll be "thin fat", i.e. a smaller version of you with the same proportion of body fat. That's why weight training is so crucial.
 
kirkster said:
Discussing this with a semi-pro and clean body builder this week. I am a mesomorph body type and I have been trying to get leaner but what I was *actually* doing was bulking unintentionally and as such not losing weight.

12-15 total reps at 60% of your one rep max weight is what you should be doing and you should still be failing between reps 13-15. Three intense sessions per week followed by 15 mins of cardio. Then on the days you are not doing weight training you do cardio. You can do as much cardio you want within reason in those none weight sessions. As long as your diet is in order you won't sacrifice too much muscle doing this.

If you just do cardio you'll be "thin fat", i.e. a smaller version of you with the same proportion of body fat. That's why weight training is so crucial.
Click to expand...
Looks like you are the you can help me out..!
ok so i am ganing extra weight since a year. I used Arnold mass as a supplement but it sucks and made me fat. Now i have a belly and chest fat. Please recommend me diet. Should i eliminate lunch and go for 6 bananas for lunch.
 
JammieR said:
Currently i eat three meals a day, breakfast lunch and dinner.
No protine shakes no eggs nothing. i want to get lean.
Click to expand...

...then your body is effectively in starvation mode between those meals and consequently your body is hanging on to calories you eat as fat. I made that mistake for years and had it corrected by the pro body builder/fitness coach with the eating plan I alluded to in my previous post and the difference is amazing. I have always been into fitness and weights and quite muscular and could do a three mile run at any time kind of guy. But always struggled with my weight and was up to 38-40 inch waist jeans at one point.

You have read this in articles a million times I am sure but you need to be eating six to seven smaller meals per day, EVERY day with each of those meals with a good dose of protein. I cannot tell you exactly what amounts you need to be eating because a. I am not a nutrition expert myself and b. I don't know where you are now and where you need to get to. Do some online research, there are sample eating plans online. This is what I did

Your plan will be something like this:
1. 07:30 3 scrambled eggs + 10ml Cod Liver Oil
2. 10:00 Porridge mixed with why protein and made with water
3. 12:00 Chicken and small amount of potatoes and veg
4. 15:00 Can of tuna + salad
5. 17:00 Lean mince and small amount of brown rice and veg
6. 20:00 Chicken and small amount of potatoes and veg
7: 22:30 Porridge mixed with why protein and made with water

You can make the eggs and porridge as and when quite easily. For your other meals you buy eight food containers and make two day's worth of meals in advance. You take your food with you to work/college etc. You do not deviate from the plan and do not eat (or drink) outside the plan! This is where people fail. Alcohol is out whilst you are on this plan - this is the biggest killer of people's aspirations - booze. You have got to stop it a few months. You can eat zero calorie vegetables as much as you want, when you want. Coke zero/fizzy water is OK. Notice there is no dairy in the plan at all other than eggs. Milk/cheese of all types is out. No pasta. No fruit. Your micro-nutrients come from carrots/broccoli/spinach etc - preferably steamed. You can drink black tea or coffee.

Consistency is key.

I had my exact plan with precise amounts drawn up for my by the said person and lost two stone in weight in 10 weeks and started to see where my abs will be for the first time in 20 years. Need to drop one more stone to see them. I went from being a 6'2" fit (but fat) 17.5 stone to 15.5 stone and now in 34 inch waist jeans. With training and good eating you can make visible progress within two weeks and people really start to be gobsmacked after about eight weeks.

Mod-Weds-Fri Weights days: Hard weight sessions 12>15 reps. After done all weight 15 mins cardio on cross trainer/run/bike etc.
Two none weights days - you decide what days they are: Any sensible/moderate cardio. But don't do ten mile runs or else it will tear down your muscle. Three four mile run etc. is OK.

..but 80% of your progress is determined by what you eat. And you need to quite booze for a bit if that's something you are currently doing.

HTH
 
Last edited:
JammieR said:
Working out with women is not possible because the attention is distributed. I prefer going to a gym with and park for short time but continue workout (with out rest)
It gives me a special type of high when i am lying down in my bed and relaxing.
Click to expand...
Training around fit women in lycra is nice for the eyes but not the best for your training (that type of training anyway).....!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom