Cardio or Strength for Fat
Loss?
Strength Training vs. Cardio for fat loss?!
Both strength training and cardiovascular exercise are proven methods for burning calories, but they work on your body in different ways. The science shows that while one may offer a quick caloric burn, the other provides a powerful, long-term metabolic advantage.
Here is a breakdown
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Benefits of cardio for fat loss
Cardiovascular, or aerobic, exercise involves continuous movement that raises your heart rate over an extended period—think running, cycling, swimming, or using an elliptical.
Immediate Calorie Burn: Cardio is highly efficient at burning calories during the
exercise session. For the same duration, you will typically burn more calories with a moderate-to-high intensity cardio workout than with a traditional strength session.
Multiple studies suggest that aerobic-only programs often lead to a greater overall reduction in body mass compared to resistance-only programs. BUT we need to prioritize losing fat, and not just bodyweight. A big difference!
Heart Health: The primary benefit of cardio is improving the health of your heart and lungs, lowering blood pressure, and increasing endurance.
The caloric burn from cardio largely stops once you finish your workout. Furthermore, if you lose weight without incorporating strength training, a portion of that weight loss is likely to be valuable lean muscle
mass, not just fat.
Strength Training : The Afterburn Effect
Strength training, or resistance training, involves using weights, machines, or bodyweight to challenge your muscles. It may burn fewer calories during the session, but more throughout the day.
The Strength Training Advantage
Muscle tissue is metabolically active, burning more calories
at rest than fat tissue does. By increasing your lean muscle mass through strength training, you raise your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), turning your body into a more efficient, 24/7 fat-burning machine.
The "Afterburn" Effect! - Your body continues to burn an elevated amount of calories for hours—sometimes up to 38 hours—after your workout as it works to repair and recover.
Body Composition: Strength training is superior for improving body composition, which is the ratio of fat mass to lean muscle mass. Losing fat while preserving or building muscle results in a stronger, more toned physique, regardless of what the scale says.
Preservation of Lean Mass: When you are in a caloric deficit to lose fat, strength training is crucial for signaling
your body to retain muscle, ensuring that the weight you lose comes predominantly from stored fat
The Verdict: The Power of Combination
While the debate over which method is "better" for fat loss continues, the most effective and sustainable strategy is not to choose one, but to do both.
Research consistently shows that a combination of strength
training and cardio yields the most favorable results for fat loss and body composition. This hybrid approach allows you to get the best of both worlds
