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Cardio Or Strength Training For Weight Loss



I know I have written about this topic in the past, but it is something that continues to come up with clients.  Everyone is looking for the best and fastest way to drop fat.  Here are a few of my insights into the topic.

First off you can lose weight with either.  Many people have tried it and seen some success with one or the other.  Make sure you realize if you are just losing weight or if you are really losing fat.  That is our main concern.  The scale only tells you part of the story.  If you weight stays the same or goes up, but you can fit into skinny jeans again, then who cares what the scale says?

With our training programs at San Diego Premier Training we always strive to include both strength training and cardio training in any weight loss program.  This just seems to be the best method.  One may be better than the other but really they both offer benefits that the other may not do as well.

Cardio training will burn fat, build endurance, increase your energy throughout the day, and it is incredibly easy to implement.  Strength training has the benefit of preserving or possibly building lean muscle mass which will increase metabolism to help burn even more calories throughout the day.

When designing an exercise program I want to look at what activities will preserve lean muscle tissue if someone is reducing calories, what activities burn calories during the workout, and what activities burn calories after the workout is completed.  Depending on how you perform each, both strength and cardio training can accomplish this.

The real answer is neither is necessarily better.  They are both just necessary for the most successful program.  I like this analogy to explain it.  If you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you need bread, PB, and Jelly.  If you only have PB and bread you can still make a sandwich but it is not a PB and J.  It will still satisfy your hunger levels, but it wasn't exactly what you wanted.

So if you are looking for an exercise program that burns fat but leaves muscle so you get a more toned physique, you have to perform both.  Now there are two things to consider here.  First off, you can exercise too much.  There are studies that show that women who worked about more days per week actually had less weight loss results.  I know that may not sound true, but it is.  Some people workout so much they do not give themselves a chance to recover properly which can hinder results.  Also they may be too tired the rest of the day to move as much as they normally would.  Depending on the type of exercise you need to be careful of this.  If you like to exercise at higher intensities you should workout less days per week.  If you workout at lower intensities, than you can workout more.  It is usually best for some type of combo.  I usually recommend 5 days a week of exercise that includes both strength and cardio.  Now our second thing to consider is should you do more strength, more cardio, or an equal amount.  Again this will depend on you.  Honestly I would spend more time performing an exercise that you enjoy doing.  You will be more likely to stick with it.  If you like cardio, do it more often but do not neglect your strength training.  And visa versa.

That really is the secret formula.  Find the right combination of strength and cardio that fits your likes.  A good program should include metabolically stimulating strength training, high intensity cardio training, low intensity cardio training, and a solid diet plan.  It sounds pretty simple but until you implement it you won't see the results you are looking for.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
Carlsbad Personal Training


This post first appeared on Premier Training, please read the originial post: here

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Cardio Or Strength Training For Weight Loss

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