Strength training or cardio which one is better for weight loss?
When wondering whether you should focus on strength training or cardio for weight loss, the answer is that you should focus on both!
The reason for this is that they combat different parts of the body and fulfill different functions, you need both to look and feel the best you can.
Benefits of strength training and Cardio
Walk into a gym and you will find more women opting for the cardio machines than weights, however it should be the other way round, a U.S study found lifters shed more fat than those who didn’t lift weights. The weight lifters loss was pure fat while cardio bunnies lost fat and muscle. But don’t worry about looking like a bodybuilder- it is almost impossible to build bulky muscles like a man.
To get the most benefits from strength training you should use the heaviest weights you can handle.
Cardio burns more kilojoules then strength training initially, but strength training spikes your metabolism for an hour after a workout, that means that you will burn more kilojoules during the day than you would have if you had just done cardio.
Also the extra muscle you build during strength training will burn extra kilojoules, even while sitting watching TV! because muscle takes more energy to sustain.
Therefore strength training is better for fat loss but cardio has other benefits above strength training.
Dr Mike Meyers says that cardio reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis and strokes.
Another benefit of strength training, especially in the form of balance training (on a BOSU for example) can minimize or prevent injuries such as ankle sprains.
Cardio is a known fitness booster and strength workouts build muscle and rev your metabolism.
Research has proven that strength training if done regularly can prevent osteoporosis and increase your bone density.
“Osteoarthritis sufferers who performed leg exercises through a full range of motion three times a week reduced knee pain by up to 58 percent.” According to researchers.
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Combine to get the best of both
The benefit of doing both cardio and strength training has become widely known.
Weight has been added or plyometric movements added to most ‘cardio’ workouts which gives it an element of resistance training. And a cardio element has been created during weight lifting by doing the lifting in circuits.
To get the best of both during a workout session you can change the order and types of exercises, the amount of weight used and the number of repetitions. Circuit training and high intensity interval training are both fantastic ways of getting the best of both.
Also alternate your exercises (swimming, running, stair climbing and cycling) and challenge the cardio system with interval bouts.
Metabolic Resistance Training
Is the name given for doing cardio using weights to speed up your metabolism e.g. with dumbbells or by using body weight. It is normally done at high intensity in a circuit with little rest in between exercises.
Here are a few different ways to combine cardio and resistance training.
Do cardio and strength training at different times on the same day
You could do strength training in the morning and cardio in the afternoon, this way your body can rest so that you can perform your best, for each workout. The negative of doing it this way, is that this will take up more time and energy overall.
Do cardio and strength training on different days
If you decide to do it this way you may have to workout on more days to get in all your workouts, but for each workout you will have optimum energy levels and the workout will get your full attention to execute with excellent form. You also then have the option to do something different each day.
Do cardio and strength training in the same session
Do the most important workout for you first, when combining strength and cardio this allows for flexibility in your busy life.
Combine
You can alternate the workouts every day and change up your workout program, if you find you have more time one day then you can add in an extra cardio exercise or two, then the next time do more strength training.
Circuit Training
Doing the circuit allows you to do both exercises at the same time, which burns more kilojoules. It is also the best training to do when you have little time to exercise.
Make sure that when you exercise that you combine both strength training and cardio into your weekly schedule, you can combine them in any way that suits you best. The combination will give you kilojoule burning power, which will burn fat faster, lead to weight loss and you will become fitter and healthier.
Get my Free Exercise App for Combination Training
As you know no combining strength and cardio is the best way forward. My FREE exercise app always provides a mixture of the two in every workout.
My FREE app gives you a daily workout plan that includes instructional videos, written guides and you can track your progress.
The app can be used on any device IOS and android
Get access here – Get the app
