jumpcannon
New member
which do think will give faster results.......cardio with a so so diet.....or no cardio and really dialing the diet in? obvously both would be best.....but i am having a cardio VS diet face off here.
cardio VS diet
- Thread starter jumpcannon
- Start date
Rosie Chee
The Female Terminator
It depends on the individual (re training history, etc.), as everyone will get better results using different methods.
No cardio and really dialling the diet in (so long as you were doing resistance training) would give the fastest results out of the two options given. As long as your diet is dialled in and you are performing heavy, hard, intense resistance training, then cardio is NOT required at all for fat loss.
However, having the diet dialled in and adding in cardio (preferably HIIT cardio) on TOP of resistance training will give the fastest results.
For myself personally though, if I had to say one or the other, I would go with a so-so diet and cardio (since that's what I do and I get pretty good results; I stay lean all year round and end up recomping). I would NOT recommend this way to others; it's just that I know what works for ME (and I do a fair amount of cardio generally, so adding in more is not really an issue).
~Rosie
Team APPNUT
p00ndawg
Banned
what do you have to say about including a Tabatha regimen in your workout?
I agree with honing in diet and dumping cardio tho, I use to run so much and I wasnt happy with any of my gains, after I fixed the diet, weight routine and limited my cardio I got results that were much more satisfying.
joelast
Member
I've never been real concistant with an interval regimine, I just like slow steady state better (and it works). But when I have done intense intervals such as a tabata workout they've always wrecked my ****. And theres plenty of research to back it up.
As far as the first post goes, In the past I've always been a so-so dieter and very heavy on the cardio. But I could never break below 8-9% bodyfat. Now that I've gotten both aspects down I'm starting to see the difference. I think either method will work up until a point, and if you want to continue to progress you have to fix the other half of the equation (either cardio or diet).
Rosie Chee
The Female Terminator
Tabata methods are great as a form of HIIT cardio and I have personally used this three times a week since 2004. It's a great option for better fat loss on top of diet and resistance training IMO (since endless, long cardio is UNnecessary).
It all comes down to the individual. If your body is USED to heavy/lots of cardio, then you may need it (i.e. I do cardio (albeit only 20-30 min/day 6-7 days/week normally), so even changing my diet a little I still need that in there, as it's part of my maintenance); otherwise you may not (i.e. the person who only does resistance training but has a terrible diet will make progress by fixing their diet).
But definitely making sure that ALL parts of the equation are accounted for correctly will ensure the BEST results.
~Rosie
Team APPNUT
jumpcannon
New member
good info from all of you!
EasyEJL
Never enough
whichever one you can do consistently will give fastest results
jumpcannon
New member
yea really. unfortunately thats the hard part! but actually i am glad its not easy! think about it, if it was everybody would have a great body. it gives us and edge in that department!
spadesofaces
New member
Whats more effective at building total strength? Squats or deadlifts? You'd be retarded to do one and not the other if strength is your goal.
Likewise, if getting really lean is your goal you need both diet and cardio.
There is no easy way out here, they're both ways of increasing your caloric deficit. Even on PSMF diets light cardio a few times a week will help you out, and those diets have pretty much the greatest caloric deficit you can have short of starvation.
If I had to pick one, its diet. You can't out-train a ****ty diet. But really, you need to be doing both.
Likewise, if getting really lean is your goal you need both diet and cardio.
There is no easy way out here, they're both ways of increasing your caloric deficit. Even on PSMF diets light cardio a few times a week will help you out, and those diets have pretty much the greatest caloric deficit you can have short of starvation.
If I had to pick one, its diet. You can't out-train a ****ty diet. But really, you need to be doing both.
soontobbeast
Well-known member
in my opinion exercise is A LOT easier to do consistently than dieting. i love going to the gym, but i don't like eating a plate full of eggs with no bread every morning, etc.
EasyEJL
Never enough
right but if you are only looking for a 500 calorie deficit a day, its pretty easy to achieve with either one. Hour on an elliptical, or skip a meal
dedlifter1
Well-known member
I personally like to cut very slowly, more like a recomp. I generally will cut my cals a bit and do no more than 15-20 min cardio 4 days per week, and I try not to lose more than 1lb or so per week. Some weeks I lose nothing, but I attribute that to muscular gain as well. It can take me 4 months to lose 15 lbs, but i retain alot of muscle. My cardio is done HIIT. I eat pretty clean year round though, last year was my first real dirty bulk.