Which Is Better, Cardio or Sculpting?

I think you can do both in that short amount of time IF you do them at an intense level.. do 20 min intense cardio and 10 min weights with longer sets.. e.g. you do 15 arm reps, do 20.. add a little more weight.. or mix it up.. one day cardio and then vice versa.. I think both are important .. but trading off days can work too, or have you tried that?

Hit the cardio. Sculpting is great and we need to use and work those muscles and joints, but we need to get our heart rates up and into the "aerobic" range even more!

When you are short on time do circuits of both.

If you do sculpting in super-sets/pairs with short bursts of intense cardio, you can bust through a fantastic fat-blasting AND muscle sculpting workout in 25-30 minutes. Here is an example of a circuit you can use (do NOT rest in between exercises - move from one to another):

-15 body weight or weighted squats
-15 push-ups or a chest exercise (chest press, bench press, etc.)
-1 minute jump rope or high intensity cardio
(repeat this sequence 3 times and move to the next)
-15 lunges
-15 rows (bent over, single arm, cable rows, or band)
-1 minute burpees or high intensity cardio
(repeat this sequence 3 times and move to the next)
-15 bicep curls
-15 tricep extensions
-10 shoulder press
-1 minute run (in place or on treadmill or track) or high intensity cardio
(repeat this sequence 3 times and move to the next)
-20 crunches
-20 twisting crunches
-30 second planks
-1 minute jump rope or high intensity cardio
(repeat this sequence 3 times and move to the next)

This circuit hits nearly every muscle group and keeps you moving from one exercise to the next. Your heart rate will be up there! Contrary to popular belief, strength training if done correctly can be an excellent cardiovascular activity. On top of that, as you build more muscle tissue your metabolic needs increase because muscles require more fuel while at rest and you'll be turning your body into a calorie-burning furnace. The good news is that as a female you do not possess the amount of testosterone that is needed to build huge man-muscles, so no worries there!

If you have to decide between the two, take a look at what you've done for the week and decide which area could use the attention.

I am inclined to say cardio simply because it is SO important for your heart. Before I got farther along in this pregnancy and have really laid off the workouts I would do upper body exercises with hand weights whenever I was watching television or something with my kids or husband at night, so it was not a focused workout time, but got a little more of that in. If you have a therapy/exercise band, you can also do some really good back and shoulder rowing exercises just sitting on the floor with the kids watching something or relaxing later. The nice thing with sculpting or anything for muscle is you do not necessarily have to maintain a higher heart rate for any length of time to benefit from it. If I do cardio, I want to get good and sweaty and make it worth the time it takes to shower or clean up. =)

P.S. I almost never have more than 25-30 minutes, but really like some of the workout DVDs that are 10 or 30 minute workouts--10-Minute Solutions has some good ones and I like Jennifer Nicole Lee's mom ones. Otherwise, I just set up an obstacle course in my house with my kids and we alternate running and leaping over things and crab-walk racing for as long as we can. That makes it play time and "me" time for a workout. (No pregnant crab-walking for me, now, though!)

Resistance training that's also going to get your heart pumping is the best way to max out your workout in 30 minutes. Lunges with a medicine ball, kettle bells, squats with dumb bells in your hands, etc.

i mix it up. i much prefer weights to cardio but need the cardio more, so i just alternate and assume it will all be good in the end! even if i can just do 10 minutes of something, it's mentally good for me to stay in the 'do what you can every day' mindset. if it's a super-quickie day i'll just get on the stepper for 10 intense minutes, or blast through alternating crunches and bicep curls. i know that sometime in the next day or two i'll have time for an hour long workout, but the little i can do in the meantime keeps it all moving forward.
khairete
S.

Both have their benefits. Cardio is great for fat burning while sculpting with weights or bands works the muscles. It's important to incorporate both but I wouldn't beat yourself up for not doing one over the other on any given day. Do what you can, when you can.

Hope you get some good replies, here's my thoughts:

Cardio 3x a week for 30 minutes is super good for you, but really getting your heart rate up for this amount of tim 2x a week seems pretty great too

Strenght training 2x a week will maintain muscle, 3x will improve it. However: do warm up via cardio for 5 minutes before lifting, do change your routine every few months to get good results and reduce injury

Maybe if one week you do less of one thing you can emphasize it more in your daily life. Ie: low cardio -take the stairs more, low weights - do some lunges at home etc

Additional heresay: weight training changes your metabolism, reduces injury, does have a cardio aspect and has other benefits so this might be the way to go.

You need both truly. But i find that i tend to the muscle toning. It helps me cheat. muscle burns more.

IMO it depends on your fitness goals. If you want to lose weight then I would opt for cardio because raising your heart rate and sustaining it for just 25-30 minutes is going to give you a higher calorie burn than sculpting. If you just need to tone up then opt for the sculpting.

I have been working out for a long time, and read quite on the subject. Most places say that doing resistance exercises will get your body how you want it to look, rather than cardio. Take the sprinter vs marathon appearance. The best though is to do both in a workout, quickly alternating between a cardio exercise for a short time (30-60 sec) and resistance for 15-20 reps. I do this for about 20 mins, and then use the eppiltical for 15 mins. I do this twice a week, then use the elliptical another 3 times a week, and then lift a little, and mean little a day or two a week if I have the time.
I'm not saying that this is the best way to exercise, but it's what a lot of experts say.

I would base it on any given week whatever you have had less of, do that one. Also, The Turbo Jam workouts are AWESOME. The Booty Sculpt and Abs is 30 minutes and is good cardio with the all over sculpting.