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Cardio vs weights? Which one is the better for weight loss?

  • Coach Hannah Coach Hannah
  • January 15, 2022
  • 6:11 am
  • 2 Comments

CARDIO VS WEIGHTS

When you’re deciding to lose weight, you find yourself stuck with a tricky question — should I do cardio or lift weights?

They’re the two most popular types of workouts, but it can be hard to know which is a better use of your time.

I want to tell you all you need to know about cardio vs weight training for weight loss.

 

Cardio Burns More Calories per Session
Many scientists have researched how many calories people burn during various activities.
Based on this research, you can use your body weight to estimate how many calories you will burn during different types of exercise, including cardio and weight training.
The more you weigh, the more calories you will burn for most activities.
In general, you’ll burn more calories per session of cardio than weight training for about the same amount of effort.
Weight Training Helps You Burn More Calories Every Day
Although a weight-training workout doesn’t typically burn as many calories as a cardio workout, it has other important benefits.
For example, weight training is more effective than cardio at building muscle, and muscle burns more calories at rest than some other tissues, including fat.
Because of this, it is commonly said that building muscle is the key to increasing your metabolism — that is, how many calories you burn at rest.
Weight training also has other important calorie-burning benefits.
Specifically, research has shown that you burn more calories in the hours following a weight training session compared to a cardio workout.
There are reports of resting metabolism staying elevated for up to 38 hours after weight training, while no such increase has been reported with cardio.
This means that the calorie-burning benefits of weights aren’t limited to when you are exercising but may keep burning calories for hours or days afterward.
Using Multiple Types of Exercise May Be Best
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, doing a combination of weight training and cardio is best.
However, working out is not enough to change your lifestyle.
Most people know that exercise and diet are essential for optimal health.
All major health organizations recommend changing your diet and exercise routine to promote weight loss.
Commitment to the best exercise program is not enough, as you still need to pay attention to your diet if you want to optimize your progress.
Research has shown that the ideal program for long-term weight loss includes a moderate reduction in calorie intake and a good exercise program.
While many people know that a healthy diet is critical for weight loss, some go too far and say that diet is the only thing that matters.
However, it’s important to realize that exercise helps too.
The Bottom Line
Both cardio and weights can help you become healthier and more fit.
A cardio workout burns more calories than a weight-training workout.
However, your metabolism may stay elevated for longer after weights than cardio, and weight lifting is better for building muscle.
Thus, the ideal exercise program for improving body composition and health includes cardio and weights, and it is best to do both.
In all the FCB programs I have a mixture of both weight training and cardio training. Depending on what program you choose will depend on the style of training but most of them are done in a weighted circuit style keeping it fun, fast and effective.
Your Coach
Hannah

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2 thoughts on “Cardio vs weights? Which one is the better for weight loss?”

  1. Darelyn Campbell
    January 18, 2022 at 1:11 pm

    Balance is so important. When I used to go to the gym I started with half hour elliptical and then half hour to 45 of weights.

    Reply
  2. Shawna Antoine
    January 20, 2022 at 9:38 pm

    Since starting this program I have invested in more variety of weights and resistance bands and have noticed the difference. I am also pushing myself more with the cardio.

    Reply

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Hannah Dawson is a certified personal trainer, nutrition and mindset coach. She is also a writer, author, bodybuilding competitor. Hannah’s passion is helping women change their stories and build healthy relationships with themselves and their bodies.

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