Many people who have decided to lose weight are faced with a difficult decision: should they do cardio or lift weights?
They are the two most common types of workouts, but it can be difficult to determine which is a better use of your time.
This article will teach you everything there is to know about cardio vs weight training for weight loss.
Cardio exercise burns more calories per session.
Many scientists have studied how many calories people burn while engaging in various activities. Based on this research, you can estimate how many calories you will burn during various types of exercise, such as cardio and weight training, by using your body weight.
The more calories you burn during most activities, the heavier you are.
If you weigh 160 pounds (73 kg), jogging at a moderate pace for 30 minutes will burn about 250 calories.
If you run at a faster pace of 6 miles per hour for 30 minutes, you would burn approximately 365 calories.
Weight training for the same amount of time may only burn around 130-220 calories.
In general, cardio will burn more calories per session than weight training for the same amount of effort but it's more than that.
Weight training allows you to burn more calories each day.
Although a weight-training workout does not typically burn as many calories as a cardio workout, it does have several other advantages.
Weight training, for example, is more effective than cardio in building muscle, and muscle burns more calories at rest than other tissues, including fat.
As a result, it is commonly assumed that muscle building is the key to increasing your resting metabolism — that is, how many calories you burn at rest.
During 24 weeks of weight training, one study measured participants' resting metabolisms. Weight training resulted in a 9% increase in resting metabolism in men. Women's effects were smaller, with an increase of nearly 4%.
While this may sound appealing, consider how many calories this represents.
Resting metabolism increased by about 140 calories per day in men. It was only about 50 calories per day for women. Thus, weight training and gaining a little muscle will not increase your metabolism dramatically, but it may increase it slightly.
However, weight training has additional calorie-burning benefits. Specifically, research has shown that a weight training session burns more calories in the hours following than a cardio workout.
In fact, resting metabolism has been reported to remain elevated for up to 38 hours after weight training, whereas no such increase has been reported with cardio.
This means that the calorie-burning benefits of weights do not stop when you exercise. You may continue to burn calories for hours or days afterward.
A more intense workout will increase the number of calories you burn afterward for most types of exercise.
HIIT - high-intensity interval training provides similar benefits to cardio.
Although cardio and weight training are two of the most popular types of workouts, there are others.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of these, and it consists of short bursts of very intense exercise followed by low-intensity recovery periods.
A HIIT workout typically lasts 10-30 minutes.
HIIT can be combined with a variety of exercises, including sprinting, biking, jump roping, and other body-weight exercises.
HIIT Could Help You Burn More Calories
Some studies have compared the effects of cardio, weight training, and HIIT.
In one study, the calories burned during 30 minutes of HIIT, weight training, running, and biking were compared.
Researchers discovered that HIIT burned 25-30% more calories than other types of exercise. This is not to say that other types of exercise aren't beneficial for weight loss.
HIIT and traditional cardio may have similar weight-loss effects.
A study of over 400 overweight and obese adults discovered that HIIT and traditional cardio reduced body fat and waist circumference to comparable degrees.
Furthermore, other research has shown that HIIT-style workouts may burn roughly the same number of calories as traditional cardio, though this depends on exercise intensity.
According to some research, if you weigh about 160 pounds, you can burn about 300 calories in 30 minutes of cardio or HIIT (73 kg).
Because rest periods are included between the intense periods of activity, one of the potential benefits of HIIT is that you can spend less time actually exercising.
Using a Variety of Exercise Methods Could Be Beneficial
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is a large and well-respected organization that provides exercise advice.
It has made evidence-based weight-loss recommendations.
How many exercises Should You Get Per Week?
According to the ACSM, less than 150 minutes per week of moderate or vigorous physical activity, such as cardio, is probably insufficient for weight loss.
It does, however, state that more than 150 minutes per week of this type of physical activity is sufficient to help most people lose weight.
Furthermore, studies show that people lose more body weight when they engage in more physical activity.
Which Exercises Should You Perform?
Interestingly, according to ACSM's review of the research, weight training is not very effective for weight loss.
However, keep in mind that even if your weight does not change, your body composition may improve.
Weight training can result in an increase in muscle and a decrease in fat.
If your muscle and fat mass change by the same amount, the scale may remain unchanged, even if you have become healthier.
One large study of 119 overweight or obese adults puts everything in perspective when it comes to exercise and weight loss. Participants were divided into three groups for exercise: cardio, weights, or cardio plus weights.
Those who did cardio and cardio plus weights lost the most weight and fat after eight months.
Meanwhile, the groups that did weights and cardio-plus-weights gained the most muscle.
Overall, the cardio-plus-weights group had the best changes in body composition. They lost fat and gained muscle while losing weight.
This means that a program that incorporates both cardio and weight training may be the most effective for improving your body composition.
Diet and exercise are both essential for long-term success.
Most people understand that exercise and a nutritious diet are essential for good health.
To promote weight loss, all major health organizations recommend changing both your diet and your exercise routine.
Committing to the best exercise program is not enough; you must also pay attention to your diet in order to maximize your progress.
According to research, the ideal program for long-term weight loss includes a moderate reduction in calorie intake as well as a good exercise program.
While many people understand the importance of a healthy diet for weight loss, some go too far and claim that diet is the only thing that matters.
However, it's important to remember that exercise also helps.
A scientific review involving over 400 people compared the weight loss effects of diet and exercise to the effects of dietary changes alone.
The researchers discovered that combining dietary changes with exercise resulted in 20% greater weight loss than dietary changes alone after 10 weeks to one year.
Furthermore, programs that included both diet and exercise were more effective than diet alone at maintaining weight loss after a year.
In conclusion
Cardio and weight training can both help you get healthier and fitter.
Cardio exercise burns more calories than weight training.
However, weight lifting may keep your metabolism elevated for longer than cardio, and weight lifting is better for muscle building.
As a result, the best exercise program for improving body composition and health includes both cardio and weight training. It is preferable to do both.
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