When it comes to burning fat everyone wants to know one thing, what is the best way to do it? Losing that extra stubborn body fat will help in one of two ways, to either turn your lifestyle around or to prepare your body for the beach this summer.
However, besides just to look good, losing that stubborn body fat also has heart health benefits such as preventing heart disease!
I’ve been there myself and I know what it feels like, it can seem like an impossible task at first, to burn that weight off! But believe me when I say that you can do it, because there are so many ways in which you can burn fat, like running, swimming and even by lifting weights.
Losing weight boils down to one thing, i.e. burning more calories than you consume. And yes, some ways are more effective than others, but which is better for losing weight, cardio or weight lifting?
Cardio
There are many forms of cardio out there, but as I’m sure you know the most popular form of cardio is jogging. Jogging is a great way to get the blood pumping as it has the ability to increase your lung capacity and the health of your heart!
On average, a 15 minute jog will burn about 220 calories; however I do realize that it isn’t the most exciting form of exercise out there.
If you are like me and you get bored quickly, the best thing that you can do is mix it up with a bit of interval training. Interval training is simply mixing standard cardio with short interval of high intensity bursts! So next time you are out jogging, try adding a few sprints to your routine.
Weight lifting
Now don’t worry, when I say weight lifting, I don’t necessarily mean that you have to be Mr. Muscle in order to burn a few calories!
Weight lifting can be used for many long-term and short-term goals like losing weight. A weight lifting session can burn about 200 Calories an hour depending on the intensity of your work out.
Of course, if you have access to gym equipment that can also substitute for free weight lifting.
It’s no secret, muscle helps to burn extra body fat! It’s not the only reason, but is why a lot of people fall into a ‘plateau’ because they focus only on their diets and neglect exercise altogether!
The best way to start weight lifting is to start slowly and build your way up to heavier weights. A good rule of thumb is when you are ready to move on, increase you weights by about 10% at a time!
Conclusions?
So which is better for weight loss, cardio or weight lifting? Here is the answer: the one that you enjoy the most! After all you aren’t going to see any results if you give up after one week because you didn’t enjoy the activity.
Both cardio and weight lifting burn similar amounts of calories if you are using the most efficient version of each. Also there is nothing that says you can’t do both!
So if you want to keep your exercise routine exciting, try switching it up by doing both cardio and weight lifting. Just remember to give yourself at least one rest day a week!
Please feel free to share with us what it is that you do, whether you use one or the other, or both.
Yeah, I completely agree! Cardio and weight lifting are both important but also very different. When I first started working out I would do body weight lifting(pushups, pullups, etc.) and then right after I would go for a run. It wasn’t till I found a website similar to yours that I realized what I was doing actually decreased muscle mass. Thanks for your site.
Thanks for your kind words Mario. I am happy that this site could be of some benefit to you. Keep up the good work!
Roland
This is a really good post and I found it really interesting. For me, I excercise three times a week at a fitness centre which is a couple miles away from here and guess what, I jog down to the centre and although I take different routine of excercise, I also do weightlifting too. So the two can also be a good way to burn out those calories. But it takes alot of determination too because one might get tired along the line. I’d like to ask what diets one should stick to when trying to burn fats because I’ve not been seeing any relative changes and I think it’s because of my diet.
I do have to say that your dedication to your workout is commendable, especially the jogging to and from the fitness centre. That in a day and age when many would jump into their car to go down to the corner store only two blocks away!
Since everyone has somewhat different body types and lifestyles, I am wondering if you might have a nutritionist or someone like that at your fitness centre who might be able to taylor a diet plan that could exactly match your particular situation.
Roland
I have been managing my weight with cardio together with Abs and glute workout. If am consistent with this exercises, it will be faster for me to get the accurate result I wanted within a month. Although this is very easy to say but very difficult to do especially the cardio aspect. Joking requires a unique discipline and endurance. Sometimes, I really wish to stop along the way and trek the rest distance but my discipline usually guided me and reminded me of the result I was pursuing. The Abs and glute workout are also difficult but very easy for me. I have never done weight lifting before. This is because I don’t think am safe while doing that because of my gender. It is very good for male than female. That’s my belief or what do you think about that?
I love your comments Stella, and I admire your determination. When it comes to success in anything, you just can’t beat good old determination!
As to your question about weight lifting for women, I actually have observed many women weight lifting at the gym I go to, even though I tend to work more on the machines myself. Perhaps you have a trainer there who could also shed some light on that matter for you.
Roland
There was one article that I read that said, “It is not perspiration that burn calories but the activity”. Having that in mind whenever I work out, I wondered if it is possible for me to burn calories without incurring too much perspiration. The reason I want this is, my perspiration smells like something which is near to having bad odor and they continue to come out even if I took a bath before working out.
Like you, I also want to get rid of the belly fat that I have which is a little bit untidy. Having not enough time to do a full blown workout in a gym, I just lift weights here in my free time while minding my small business (an internet cafe shop). Since I am dealing with customers face-to-face, I don’t wanna smell fishy with my perspiration that’s why I want to avoid perspiration. I am wondering if it is possible to lift weight and lose weight without perspiring.
Thank you for your frank and interesting comments Gomer. I don’t know your exact situation in your shop re your regular air temperature, type of clothes you wear, etc., and I do understand that some people sweat easier than others,but I do know that when I work out at the gym three times a week I hardly ever sweat. Maybe I am just not working hard enough. LOL