Don't Lift Weights, Just Do Cardio?! What???

How many times have you heard, if you trying to lose weight don’t lift weights, just to Cardio.  Is that True?

"People are always going to try to give you advise, most times it’s a friend, family member although they may be trying to help you it may not what you need."

Let’s dig in... Let me give you real life and extreme example to help put things into perspective if all you did was just cardio. 

1. Have you ever seen a professional marathon runner?

• What do they look like? 
• Long and lanky right? 
• Not too much muscle, we don’t need much power and strength to run, we need endurance and conditioning. 
• If all we did was cardio, we’d all be long and lanky, if that’s the look you want, just do cardio.

But then there is the person who DOES and LOOKS the complete opposite. 

2.  The short distance track runner. 

• They are more muscular and have more shape on their body.
• Nice round muscle bellies, round glutes, thick legs, tight waist. 
• They need max speed and power for a short distance. 
• So, their training reflects their goal.

"If the runner wants to be fast for a short amount of time, then he needs more muscle to produce more power."

Here are two extreme examples to give you an idea if you stuck to one training technique how you would look like.

Now, I am not trying to make you an Olympic Marathon runner or a Track Star – I am helping you achieve your goals, your specific look while incorporating my training philosophy while applying balance, we still want to have fun, right?  We all have different goals and one training method may not apply to the other.

So how do I approach this question?

Q: Should you just do cardio? 

A: No! Don’t just do cardio

You need a combination of both cardiovascular exercises and resistance training to help you lose weight, burn fat and build muscle.

Now, I love muscle.  Muscle helps build shape.  Shape gives you those nice curves, nice round glutes, tight arms, for the guys it rounds out the chest and gets rid of the saggy or pointy looking chest…  

This is where I come in as a trainer and apply my methodology.  You just want to lose weight, get toned, but me as your trainer, puts a plan together based on your time availability, commitment to training, skill level just to name a few.  No plan will be the same for anyone.  I will incorporate both cardio vascular training and weight training to help you produce maximum results.

And I’ll close with this…

...the best runners in the world (marathon and sprinters) don’t just do cardio, they also weight train!

The programs designed by the Body Engineer are created with your goal, skill level and time frame in mind.  We used tested strategies and techniques to achieve your goals in a timely manner.  Let us help you put a plan together for you.

If you’re looking for guidance on your exercise program, we at the body engineer can help put a plan together to help you achieve your goal.

Contact us today!