This topic certainly has trainers and weightlifters at loggerheads. Both sets of professionals seem to argue that their field is the best way to lose body fat, and the truth is, both methods are great ways to lose any unwanted extra pounds.
Below we look into the benefits of each exercise and banish some myths along the way.
Doing Cardio to lose fat
Speaking on general terms, in order of our bodies to lose weight we need to burn more calories than we eat.
It is a very simple structure that far too many people seem to over-think. Cardio exercises are designed to burn off the calories quickly.
There are a wide range of different types of cardio – the most popular being are jogging, sprinting and even walking.
Depending on what you you would like to achieve, different cardio exercises are better than others. For example, if you are looking to lose weight, then it is better to focus on “low Intensity Steady State” or LISS exercises.
Low intensity exercises, such as walking burns off the most fat per calorie compared to other, more intense exercises such as sprinting and and jogging. Here is a quick summary of why, fat molecules require oxygen to be broken down or burnt away for energy.
The lower the exercise intensity, the more oxygen is available to be used by the body to break down fat. When you are participating in higher energy cardio exercises such as sprinting or jogging, less oxygen is available to your body, therefore, your body will turn to other energy sources such as carbohydrates to burn instead of your body fat. Regardless of the exercise intensity, cardio is great for increasing fitness levels, losing weight and building stamina.
Training cables are also another option to do proper fitness.
Lifting Weights and fat loss
A lot of people, especially women are scared of lifting weights because they think it will make them look big and bulky. This simply isn’t true.
When participating in cardio exercises, it is true that you will burn off more calories per minute, but here is the deal breaker, weightlifting training will continue to burn your calories even after you have completed your workout.
Sit on the sofa after your workout and watch a movie, and your body will still be burning off them calories!
This process is known as “Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption”.
Another great point to make about resistance training or weightlifting is the fact that you will burn off more body fat compared to cardio training.
Cardio will burn a variety of different energies from your body mass, leaving you with a less-toned body. Both exercises are great for losing body weight in their own right, and a little of both is absolutely perfect.
Cardio vs Weights, which one is best to lose body fat?
Overall, both types of exercises are great for losing body fat. Depending on what you are looking to achieve will depend on which plan you opt to take.
If you split you training in half and add both training methods, you will not only lose any unwanted body fat, but also tone your body that will look great!
Hey, good article thanks. I dropped a lot of weight over the course of two years, and I only started doing cardio recently. I have to say that I am not a big fan of cardio, and it is by no means necessary if one is only looking to shred body fat.
However, when you get bellow a certain body fat percentage, it is going to be really hard to loose more unless you are doing cardio, else you would have to be constantly on a cutting diet which is not something I would recommend to anyone.
Doing cardio, even if it’s hard, will help not only increasing your metabolism and burning fat, but your overall health. I also found that after reaching a plateau (2 years lifting weights), starting cardio helped me get passed it.
It feels like you can squeeze in a rep or two that I would normally can, and I feel tired a little bit later than I used to during a training. This lets me push my boundaries further.
So in the end, cardio has tremendous benefits, even if statistics say that lifting weights is more efficient, it’s not only about that.
Cardio will make your training easier and help you build a better health in the end, resulting in more fat loss if that’s what you are after.