Here, here John_c12

I think you misinterperted what he said, which is women cannot get bulky without using steroids and other drugs.

The majority of women I know who take drugs, usually take Clen/T3, Anavar/GH, Insulin and steroids are usually the minority along with DNP, T-bol and other things.

All of them have less bf, more muscle and strength than the average woman however none of them are bulky.

Why is this discussion Cardio VS Weights? both have benefits, I usually run 1st, do calisthenics, run to the beach, swim and then run back and lift weights...all on an empty stomach right after I wake up and only drink a sugar free electrolyte mix, so much for the "you need carbs for cardio"& "you need to eat before you workout" myths.

You do not need to exercise that much to get the best of both worlds, I do because I have to have excellent PT scores, I probably still would but that's just me, everyone is different and has different needs. If I got a $1 for everytime I said that......

Start out steady and slow, I've had minor injuries from weight lifting and when I started running again, 6months ago, I went in too fast, running with boots on the sand and grass with weights in a rucksack, I developed stress fractures, and because I thought they were just normal shin pains, I kept running and doing more until one day the pain was so intense I couldn't run and my legs were swollen and hurt so bad to the point I couldn't crouch down without being in intense pain, had I continued, I probably would've suffered a full fracture.

I took a month off and had to run about 8 miles one night to be somewhere(running with boots) they came back lol......I'm still recovering, I can walk fine just no running, so make sure you take it SLOW but DO increase the intensity to shock your bones and make them stronger over time, no more than 10%+/- a week .

IMO you should mix both together, unless you have specific goals, then mix powerlifting(low reps, heavy weights...I love deadlifting&Squats) with LIC(low intensity cardio) and next time maybe HIT and a full body workout or LIC and 2 muscle groups, mix things up all the time a workout does not have to mean a gym and a treadmill, you can do calisthenics virtually anywhere, swim instead of run, or hike uphill, fighting, etc....

Combine the above with more intense workouts and then not working out for a week, adequate rest and lack of rest and sleep, enough food for growth, repair and anabolism and then not enough food.

Civilize the mind but make savage the body - Chairman Mao

A-f***ing-men! I cried a little when I read this post because it was virtually identical to what i would have posted. I have yet to meet a girl, hell, even a person, who has gotten too big or seen negative results that were from weight lifting. They may have blamed weigth lifting, but in reality it was because they were getting fatter. This one girlfriend of mine thought here arms were getting too big because she started lifting weights, but when we tested her bodyfat it had gone up 4% since the last time she checked it....a little while before she started lifting and completely gave up cardio for some reason. Hmmmm?

Sometimes, optimum muscle gains brings about a little fat as well. The opposite is true when losing bodyfat. The trick to all of this is finding a balance between increased lbm and decreased fat.

I want to thank you all for your posts here. I've read them, taken them to heart, and started REALLY lifting weights yesterday. I'm totally sore this morning, but don't think I over did, just worked hard.

Worked my upper body. My arms are still hard (not bulging ), so I'll obviouly give everything upper a rest today and focus on my legs. I feel different today. I have a new sense of accomplishment, and enough motivation to give away. I feel like I made a difference in how I look. Just wanted to take a minute to say thanks to everyone who posted on here...it really helped this struggling exerciser out.

Cardio can be bad on your joints when you overdo it. The instructors in that article taught countless classes a month. Most instructors will teach upwards of 30 + classes a month AND do a strenuous workout each day.
And the average person doing an hour cardi session will burn more then 500 calories in that hour. I am an exercise physiologist and when I start out with a new client, that has never exercised before, they hit the 500 calorie mark WAY before an hour. If I made them do an hour of cardio of the bat, they would never come back and I would never have any clients.
I am glad you took up cardio again! It is good for you!

Dr. Al Sears has a good take on this. He recommends 12 to 15 minutes of high intensity workouts where you hit it hard for a minute and then recover for a minute, then repeating this cylcle until the time has expired. I, too, was skeptical about this position since I used to do 45 minutes on an elliptical and got great results. I decided to try his method and I actually lost more body fat his way. It was amazing. He theorized that in early times, humans were either the predator or the prey and we had to somtimes chase and fight our food before we caught it or we were the ones being chased!

Going all out for a short time period where you get winded and then recover is actually much better for you. I recommend his website. Just google Al Sears, M.D. I got his book called "Native Fitness." I highly recommend it.

I like going to a nearby park and doing 100 yard sprints and then recovering for a minute and then repeating the sprint again,for a total of 4 times. Sometimes I add in some pushups (10 reps) after the sprint. I get done in about 8 to 10 minutes and I feel like I am floating on a cloud all day long! All the joggers just look at me and probably wonder what kind of a workout session is that. Combine this workout with eating fresh meats, veggies and fruits, seeds and nuts, and watch what happens!

OK-
High intensity cardio for a short period of time, rests in-between.
Heavy weights, low reps, less than 1 minute rest between reps.
Is there anything else I should remember? I want to lose weight and get in shape. I have this fitness qualification test in the next couple of months that I want to get ready for- I can't even do a single pull-up. I got a gym membership this morning, I did 40 minutes on the elliptical, my heart rate was in the 170's the whole time... i did the random setting, then I worked on the weight machines for 30 minutes, legs, arms and abs with the medicine ball. I tried not to push myself too hard (my first time in the gym in about a year).

I also FINALLY got my "aha!" moment! I've been on low carb since Jan and HAVE been losing weight...starting incorporating MORE cardio about 3 mos ago (have kinda been doing it mediocre since Jan 07)...but then started incorporating WEIGHT TRAINING 2 to 3x/wk almost a month ago and boyyyy...I can tell a HUGE diff (more than I had been doing cardio all yr long)! I always heard "it burns more fat"..."don't look at scale but look at ur results....etc, etc" and never REALLY knew what that meant until now. I STILL do cardio 2x/wk but sweat and get my heart rate up WAY more w/ the weight training...I LOVE it. I also read on some other forums NOT to do both in the same day and to alternate (btwn cardio & wts) to give your muscles time to repair cuz doing both on the same day can overwork your muscles making it more difficult for them to repair and strenghten...and we all know "muscle burns fat"....and if our muscles are all jacked....then we won't burn fat as efficiently. I've also learned if u have to CHOSE one, to chose wts. http://ezinearticles.com/?Weights-B...urself&id=37114 Glycogen stores are (stores) of energy that your body uses during weight training and cardiovascular exercise. Although, during weight training glycogen stores are the only energy source used. Thus, completing your cardiovascular routine before weight training will substantially deplete your energy (glycogen) stores needed to complete a proper weight training program. Also, completing your weight training before your cardiovascular program significantly decreases you glycogen stores. So, when you begin your cardiovascular training your body burns less glycogen and more of your stored fat. In summary, to reach you optimal fat burning stages and to have the proper energy to utilize an exercise program, complete your weight training before you cardiovascular training. http://anabolicminds.com/forum/weig...ights-same.html But I TRY (<---notice the italics) to be balanced and do both...cardio 3x/wk...wts 2x/wk and in doing that for ONE month in the 7 mos that I've been LC'ing it...I can tell a HUGE diff. Makes me regret I hadn't done this all along....

I lost 22lbs exclusively doing latin dance aerobics and belly dance. My muscles are very strong and toned. Interval cardio works in my dance workout some strength training is included and it is enough for me. I do not want to look like a female weight lifter that is horrible to me and many others.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/image.ph...line=1185594260
nefertiti, is this you? If so, I just wanted to say, you look very nice.

Hmmm, then how is it I'm able to do weight training twice per week even though I eat zero carb and presumably have no glycogen stores?

you do use glycogen and you body can get its glucose to replenish glycogen stores from protein that is converted to glucose.

This is an interesting thread. I didn't see it the first time around.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that doing cardio work can initially build muscle in the obese or morbidly obese. When I first started exercising, I did the WAP videos. Most people who are close to their goal weight would say these are cardio, but for me, they were both cardio and resistance training. I was probably close to 300 lbs when I started them and just lifting and moving my bodyweight was a lot of resistance. I definitely achieved stronger muscles.

I think you have to factor in a person's body weight and lifestyle when making assessments of whether cardio vs lifting is the right direction to start working out. The heavier a person's body weight is, the stronger their muscles will be. At 333 lbs when I started lc'ing my leg muscles were strong just from carrying that execess weight around. Doing cardio would probably have been the right way to go for me. Also, at goal weight, I wouldn't need the same muscles strength/size as I had to have at 333.

Even today, after losing 100 lbs, I still have retained a lot of lean mass which I directly attribute to being so heavy for so long. I have about 130 lbs or so of lean mass. I lift now because I want to maintain lean mass and have stronger bones... not necessarily to increase lean mass.

Some cardio work is good, but I agree that hours of it just doesn't make a lot of sense, especially for those closer to goal weight. For the more obese, though, cardio may be the right way to go until they've gotten down to a reasonable, or target amount, of lean mass they'll want to retain at goal.

I haven't read this whole thread yet, so I may edit this, but I ran track in high school and I ran for years on my own for fitness. (military reserves, PT test) Apparently, I ran myself fat...

Yes, I found this out in some reading I did a few years ago. I could hardly believe it. It seemed to me that if I really wanted to lose faster, I should be jogging instead of walking. But it is the 'same distance' part that is the point of this! When you jog, you go out for a forty minute jog and you DO cover quite a lot of distance. Compare that to making it your goal to walk the same distance - there's a likelihood you'd say, 'No way!' if you wanted to do that on a daily basis (regular exercise is what burns off fat, I think, not the twice-a-week kind, although every bit does add up!).
Walking is so damned boring to me - if I could trust my knees to stay strong and undamaged, I would have to choose jogging and just jog with headphones. Walking with headphones is my second choice if I have to get out there. But it takes so much longer. It IS the distance you cover; you have to move your body over that distance.