So, I have to admit....I CANT STAND cardio. Diet is easy enough for me to stick to and I absolutley love strength training, but when it comes to cardio, I just get so BORED. I love strength training because you're always switching things up and what not. And yes, I know you can do "interesting" cardio like classes, or interval training or sports and what not but still...ive tried it all, and I just cant get into it.

My question is: Can you lose weight and tone your body with ONLY strength training and diet? I know that cardio is important for heart health and stuff, but I just can't seem to get myself to go to the gym if I know that I have a half hour of cardio ahead of me...........now strength training, i'll go to the gym in a heartbeat. So, does anyone know if this is a possibility? I could probably get some walks in a few times a week, but i would rather spend what little time I have at the gym on weight/strength training...............advice please!! Thanks!!

I'm not an expert but I think you could eliminate cardio and be fine. But that being said, I used to loathe cardio as well. I'm a high-maintainance type of gal, manicured nails, hair always done, makeup on, etc. I never found any type of cardio I'd be willing to sweat for except running. I love to run now and I never thought I'd do any type of cardio. Heart disease runs in my family so I feel good knowing that my heart is thanking me too. Maybe you just haven't found the right type of cardio. Just a thought. Hope this helps.

I'm probably the last person who should be giving you advice, but here goes. I haven't been to the gym in quite some time. When I did go I had limited time and since I don't have any weight training equipment in my home, that is what I concentrated on while at the gym. I take my legs with me everywhere I go, so I did my cardio early in the morning or late in the evening or even on my lunch break. I hated trying to walk on the treadmill or use the elliptical anyway. Outside works better for me!

So, take a few walks a week, try out jogging or running if that moves you. The gym police won't kick you out for not using the machines or taking a class. Promise!

For weight loss, I believe if you're getting enough strength training esp in the form of fast paced circuit training, you could get in a 'cardio workout' at the same time. I stopped all forms of cardio since November of last year and still lost quite some weight after that.

Like you I find all forms of cardio B-O-R-I-N-G! Apart from swimming, which I believe I would like (I currently don't have access), I tried walking, running, ellipticalling (sic) dancing, jumprope, cycling, step aerobics, callisthenics, HIIT... oh boy! Don't mean to discourage you, if you find something that works for you, I say go for it! Right now the only cardio I try to get in once a week is with a dvd, Jillian Micheals' Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. It's cardio/body-weight training (only the use of your own body weight), and it's fun! The rest of my workout is Strength training circuits (with dvds too).

Bottom Line: If you can keep your diet in check and your strength training is fast paced so that your heart rate is up and you're breathing hard all through the workout, it's a surefire way to weight loss. But keep looking for activities you might like, I've all but given up. I think cardio would be nice for added heart health and strength, but from my experience it's not obligatory for weight loss. Cardio certainly burns calories, and I'd probably lose weight faster if I could add cardio into my routine, but I can't say I haven't tried, and I'm losing anyway. If I were true to myself regarding my eating habits, I could easily lose 4lbs a week sans cardio.

Find a system that works for you. "Regular" cardio just doesn't do it for me. If it were up to cardio alone, I wouldn't have lost any weight cos I certainly would have given up all attempts to lose weight (my diet isn't that good, I've always struggled big time). So you have an advantage in being able to eat healthy. Try a dance class, also I hear spinning is fun. Keep experimenting, and if you can find a workout partner to do cardio with, you might actually look foward to doing it. Good luck to you, and I wish you all the best in your efforts.

Strength training can be cardiovascular. "Cardio" doesn't mean hopping on a treadmill or elliptical - it means getting your heart rate up.

You can do circuit training and get the benefits of both strength and cardio, because your heartrate stays elevated. In circuit training, you perform exercises back to back, without resting. Instead of the more traditional set/rep sort of lifting, you might do a set of lunges, followed by a set of squats, followed by a set of deadlifts. Then you can add in a cardio burst (my preferred method - 60 seconds of jumping jacks or etc) to keep your heart rate up, then do the circuit again a few times. I guarantee that your heart rate will be just as high or higher than it would be on a treadmill.

Your heart rate also goes higher if you're going from UB to LB exercises. So for example, Squats, Overhead Presses, Lunges, Hammer Curls. If that was your circuit, your blood has to move from the muscles in your lower body to the muscles in your upper body quickly, which also increases heart rate.

Honestly? I think that's the best way to lose weight!

Why? Diet is really the key to dropping weight but you don't want to lose muscle in the meantime. Strength training helps you maintain (and add but slowly) muscle so you really are burning just fat. Also, you burn more calories lifting vs. cardio if you look at the entire day. In one hour of running vs. lifting you can certain burn more calories running but as your body repairs your muscles from lifting it continues to burn calories throughout the remainder of the day.

Of couse, any exercise is better than none but I think strength training is really ideal when it comes to weight loss. I will say, though, that you really need to focus on your protein intake and make sure you're getting in enough otherwise you might deal with some hunger issues down the road.

Oh, and as always I recommend the New Rules of Lifting for Women. FWIW, I've done almost entirely lifting type activitis since December (I was running/doing the 30DS before that). Since then I've noticed some great body recomposition that I've pretty happy with.

Thank you everyone for your encouragement! It makes me happy to hear that i MIGHT be doing something right here! lol I do usually fast paced weight training, maybe not quite circuits, but I definitely try not to rest much between sets or moving to a new workout.

Runningfromfat, I will definitely check out that New Rules of WL for women, ive heard of it before but have yet to look through it.

There's a book on this i think - The Cardio Free Diet. I thought I would try it out, but my body's too stubborn (I think) to lose without good old fashioned cardio along with strength and diet.

Good luck!

All VERY VERY true, when i had a trainer this is what we did, always changing it up and i got AMAZING results!

YUP! I'm with a personal trainer now and he's eliminating my cardio (I was doing turbo jam but I stalled the last 3 weeks) Strength training broke my plateau and I got a great cardio workout too doing it! I would much rather do strength training then running for hours on end! UGH I HATE cardio machines! SO BORiNG! But I was breathing so heavy doing the strength training, I knew I was working my body. Good luck!

I used to do that (lift and diet) and had some success, but I eventually came around to the prevailing wisdom on this site that you should combine all three.

Cardio gets more enjoyable the better condition you are in. I started slow doing 15 min. on the elliptical machine after lifting free weights and I have now worked up to 4.5 of Cardio per week and 3 hours of lifting. After lifting I feel a bit beat up, but the after cardio I feel refreshed and invigorated.

For a strong anti-cardio/pro-weights view, check out this article by Rachel Cosgrove.

http://members.rachelcosgrove.com/public/505print.cfm

For what it's worth, I wear a heart rate monitor while exercising and I burn just about as many calories lifting weights (lifting heavy weights, in a full body workout) as I do trudging on the elliptical. The bonus is that strength training is a kind of interval workout, so the benefits are even greater for weight loss.

(And put me down as another vote for NROLW!)

I use to lead aerobics, back in my fit days and I am finding that I'm getting a better cardio workout with the strength training, now keep in mind I'm not using any weight machines, I'm doing renegade rows, squats, planks with reaches in an interval training session. I breath harder then I ever did with aerobics (step, kickboxiing etc) but I do love the feeling after a good cardio workout too, but I'm finding that I'm getting much better results increasing the strength training and working my cardio at the same time. It's the best of both worlds!

That's an awesome article! THANK YOU!

I actually enjoy cardio (weird!!!) but find myself hungry afterward. So I have to be super careful with my diet.