What happens if you do strength training but no cardio?

[peace-love-couture]

You know how a lot of people(girls mainly) will go through phases where they do 100 crunches a day for a flat tummy or 50 lunges a day for toned legs but they won't bother with doing any cardio.

What happens(besides injury if any)? Of course they won't get 6 pack abs or Jessica Biel legs, but do they actually become toned or lose weight? Or does the fat "turn into" muscle? Or do they just become over worked and injured?

Updates

+1 y

It was honestly just a hypothetical question. It doesn't apply to me nor am I interested in doing this. I just always wondered about those people & the effects it has on the body

[rachiee]

Well I used to do 200 crunches a day with no cardio when I was younger and had a pretty strict diet. The outcome was that I lost weight and my stomach toned up on the sides because of it. However, the 6 pack area remained untouched. I'm pretty sure that happened because the extra fat on my tummy wasn't being lost. The weight that I did loose from dieting was from other spots instead of my tummy. So it was just muscle and fat there. There's a lot of different outcomes that can come out of this depending on the person and their diet though

[G-Daz]

Well body builders don't tend to ever do cardio and they have an extremely low gas tank. The more muscle a body has, the more oxygen it requires to function, it takes less effort to build up lactic acid (its much harder for a fat person to gain lactice acid). So cardio is actually important, the best forms of excercise are actually the types of strength training that involve cardio because you aren't isolating the muscles (i.e like simply doing weights) which in itself creates a less functional body

[WeaponZero]

i wish I knew. but one thing I do know is that certain TYPES of strength training (circuit training, kettlebell training, and many types of calisthenics workouts) are also great forms of cardio in and of themselves.

[Xx_DRE_xX]

Of course, but diet isn't really mentioned in the question at all Sir. Strength training generally has a better calorie after burning effect on the body than cardio itself just so you know.

[queenmab]

Can you post a link to examples of these workouts? :)

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Even with the afterburn affect, running and many other forms of cardio still trump strength training in calories burned per workout...

[risted]

you can still get results aesthetically if you don't do cardio, but on the inside you're not really helping anything. you'll get stronger but your endurance and heart don't get much improvement

[funkadelic5]

You'll gain some sort of muscle if you're doing strength training exercises and eating a decent amount of protein. For specific results, you've gotta give me specific circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Well its much better for weight loss and toning up if that's what you're wondering.

Weights: Burns calories during and after exercise.

Cardio: only burns calories during exercise.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

The after burn effect exists in cardio as well as strength training. And when you add the calories expended from the workout + the after burn.. proper cardio still wins.

[Opinion Owner]

Not just afterburn though, muscle growth. Cardio, actually, when done for to long, decreases muscle mass to adapt. Less muscle=less calorie burning power. HID and interval cardio is also better than endurance.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

The amount of calories you burn just for hosting muscles is minute, and strength training done improperly or "too much" is destructive as well. But it is very unlikely anyone looking to lose weight is gonna run a marathon or try lifting beyond failure. I don't know what HID is, but high intensity interval training does not burn more calories than long distance running/biking/swimming/or any other lengthy sustained cardio, assuming both are done properly. Which is why long distance runners

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

struggle to eat enough and sprinters and lifters have to try to keep from eating too much just like anyone else.

[peace-love-couture]

& I'm not sure why you continue to comment on my sh*t when you blocked me

[Opinion Owner]

lol What comment? I didn't even know you've been replying until you're last one, and I only made one commend which was the "Not just afterburn though, muscle growth. " and I did not block you. I d on't even know how.

[peace-love-couture]

it was directed towards NotJustAnotherGuy

He keeps commenting on your answer when he has me blocked.

[Xx_DRE_xX]

You'll tone up basically which you may lose weight but unlikely unless your doing a ridiculous amount.

[WeaponZero]

one of the possible outcomes yes but this also depends on diet.

[TheBlaxican]

Build muscle bur it will be covered by fat