All exercise is not created equal. Here’s what you need to know about the fat-burning effects of cardio and weight training.
In a world where diets sell you on the idea of eating cookies to lose weight, it’s hard to believe that exercise professionals could consider any activity or form of exercise “bad”.
This is what happens when weight loss frustration sets in and people are looking for a reason to explain why the scale goes the wrong direction despite plenty of effort.
Running is not the reason you gain weight. But if you’re looking for the fastest way to see your body change, it’s not necessarily the most efficient approach.
Cardio has many benefits, including many related to weight loss. It also aids in recovery, and can help you relax and sleep better. Cardio is not bad. It just doesn’t burn fat as quickly.
In an ideal world, you’d combine moderate-to-heavy weights with short rest periods with longer, slower, less intense bouts of cardiovascular activity.
The short bouts of training would send your heart rate high, increase metabolic activity, and crush fat cells. The slower cardio would aid with recovery and make sure you don’t walk around exhausted, but would also improve your heart efficiency.
A West Virginia University study supports the idea that untrained obese subjects dieting severely will get across-the-board better benefits from strength training instead of aerobic training.
Research has shown exactly why strength training does such a good job of being the top priority on fat loss plans.
That’s why if you had to choose between weights and cardio, weights would be the more direct approach.
Strength training allows you to maintain a better muscle-to-fat ratio, which not only helps with the way you process food, but also ensures that the amount of calories you burn outside the gym are enough to support all the hard work you perform inside the gym.
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