Ralph_Wiggum said:
Don't get me wrong, I have no delusions about which burns more calories after the exercise, but again, there is only so much time per week you can weightlift before you get to the overtraining point. There is also a limit as to how far you can limit calories. To gain more of a calorie deficit per week, adding cardio ( I wish I was lucky like you and get away w/ low intensity) is the option IMO.
I don't buy into the whole 'fat burning zone' theory w/ regards to cardio. If it exists, cool, but all I care about is total calories I burn per week. If it means doing cardio plus Nelson's type of training, then BRING IT ON LETS DO THIS SHIT! I'd be all ears.
I was thinking about what you posted about losing body fat.
I don't always make this really public, but I had to take off close to 50lbs of 'immigration weight' when I first moved to England, and got FAT.
I think if you have more of an 'endo' tendency, then cardio is necessary to take off fat.
However, once you are at an athletic body fat (for men, probably anything under 10-12%), then it is easy to maintain with weights only, as long as your diet is reasonable.
There is also this other theory that has been kicking around a few science/physiology journals about homeostasis, and a 'set' body weight (and probably body composition).
Most of our history has been humans surviving. All our modern conveniences are just that, really new to our physiology.
Think about the last time you went camping, or had to spend a lot of time outside, exposed to the elements.
Then think about having to do that day after day, month after month, year after year, and having to catch all your food.
Our bodies are designed to survive, and survival to the body is fat, keeping things the same.
When things change too rapidly, weight, the body wants to return to the state it knew that it could survive in.
There have been some times thrown around, that you would have to maintain a new bodyweight for 9-18 months for it to 're-set' at that weight.
This also applies to gaining muscle, as muscle is really metabolically demanding, and also throws off the 'survival homeostasis'.
My take on this is anytime you want to transform your body, it is all about seducing and tricking the body into doing what you want it to do, not raping it to change it.
This also needs to be taken with a grain of salt as well, as we can handle a lot of stressors, and every now and then hammering yourself is good to mix it up.