Cardio to get ripped? Why not just not eat as many calories?

[gorillahung]

I know cardio is great for overall health but for simply the sake of getting cut, can't you just simply not eat the calories to start with instead of trying to burn them off with cardio? I know I can pedal like hell for 30 minutes on a stationary bike and at the end it tells me that I've burned 160 calories (yes, I know those machines at the gym aren't incredibly accurate), but the point is the same. It seems like cardio equipment isn't very effective for losing fat unless you use it for 6 hours a day.

 

[stevesmi]

crashing your calories is a sure fire way to feel like crap all day and also it will damage your metabolism

i hate these crash diets because they do not work long term.

diet is extremely important though, you have to eat clean so you feel good and you are not getting in excess calories

as far as cardio, bodybuilders hate it. but what you are describing isn't really cardio at all. cardio to me is running. if you went jogging for 30 minutes a day you would not only lose a ton of body fat but you would strengthen your heart and feel great. forget the stupid stationary bike and forget the stupid the elliptical. when i was an endurance athlete i was running over 35 miles per week, i would eat whole pizza's everyday and i would never gain body fat. i stayed in the mid single digits and stayed very lean.

if you do a jog for lets say 30 minutes for a dude your size/male you are going to burn a solid 300+ calories.

on the flip side of the arguement lets say you busted your ass in the gym for an hour and then after you decide to go to chikFila or subway and eat a 1000 calorie meal. (yes a sub meal with a coke from subway is 1000+ calories) you just blew your entire workout and then some. i see this mistake A LOT. so the point is you better workout consistently AND eat good otherwise you are wasting your time. hence why most people spin their wheels with fitness and go nowhere

also did you know someone who works a hard labor job will burn up to 1200 more calories over the course of the day vs. someone like an accountant who sits on their ass? so if you work a desk job like most of us these days you better get in your exercise to make up for all that sitting

but here is the bottom line answer to your question. it is better to eat a balanced diet and utilize daily exercise.. then simply cutting off calories and being lazy. you will have a stronger heart and better endurance that way, and you will feel good too. you aren't going to get fat off oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit and brown rice.. those are POWER foods you utilize for energy when you workout.

 

[muskate]

You are actually 100% correct. You do not need to do cardio to loose body fat. Cardio simply burns calories. You could get the same calorie deficit by removing calories from your daily diet.

That being said, there are a lot of health benefits associated with cardio. Also, cardio allows you to eat more. If you are trying to do a bodybuilding competition and get down to 6% body fat, you will be eating next to nothing if you dont do any cardio.

With most things in life, the best option is balance. Moderate cardio and moderate calorie depletion. That way you aren't starving and don't have to do hours of cardio each day.

 

[MasonicBodybuilder]

I feel that some cardio is important for overall health especially heart health. If you are not a fan of it the use a workout routine that incorporates very short rest periods that will keep your heart rate up. After all, anything that keeps your heart rate up is cardio.

 

[Jay Scott]

However, with proper diet, supplementation and 'extras', cardio makes it easier to actually utilise fat storages as the source of energy and speeds up the process pretty well.

 

[MaxxReps]

I helped a lady lose 80lbs - it dramatically changed her life. She hated the gym and exercise though and so did it with diet only.

so its totally possible but cardio gives you much more flexibility in your diet and as well as the others said here its so important for your overall health. Get good at Cardio and you will have a very powerful tool in your bag of tricks.