Lifting weights vs cardio for losing weight

CTMike1980mfp

I am beginning to track calories, and want to know if lifting weights will help me burn fat better than doing cardio? Or is it more beneficial to do BOTH? Maybe start with some weights and then finish with cardio? Also, is lifting heavier any better than going lighter or vice versa when coming to losing weight and fat? Thank you for the help!

DX2JX2

It's beneficial to do both but resistance work doesn't do much in the way of calorie burn.

bebeisfit

Agree, both are important. If you're just starting, the main thing is to do something, anything really. Get in the habit. Just start moving more, walk, run, bike, swim. And lift those weights, it's ok to start at lower weights, but you have to increase your weights to see progress. This is a great thread for inspiration.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1120789/females-only-lifting-weight-training-results

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Cardio is highly beneficial for weight loss.

Muscles that are not used in your cardio workout can lose mass, however, and most cardio involves mostly your legs. (Except swimming, rowing, kayaking, exercise classes, etc.)

Adding some weight training is great, but to lose weight, keep up the cardio.

YosemiteSlamAK

CTMike1980mfp wrote: »

I am beginning to track calories, and want to know if lifting weights will help me burn fat better than doing cardio? Or is it more beneficial to do BOTH? Maybe start with some weights and then finish with cardio? Also, is lifting heavier any better than going lighter or vice versa when coming to losing weight and fat? Thank you for the help!

BOTH! Immediate caloric burn would be cardio, but regular weight training will help build lean muscle which allows you to continue burning additional calories after a strength training workout. 1 pound of lean muscle burns between 25-50 calories each day, so 10 additional pounds of lean muscle could burn up to an additional pound of fat for you every week.

Whether you lift heavy or light depends on your goals for the muscles being worked. If you want muscular strength, (pick up something huge once or something big over and over) lift heavy. If you want muscular endurance, (pick up something medium sized over and over or something small all day) you'd lift lighter. I have found that a combination of lighter weight training followed by or in conjunction with cardio training tends to be the most effective way to increase lean muscle mass and burn more calories.

NorthCascades

Cardio is more useful for fat loss because it tells too burn more calories for the same amount of time. But strength training has a lot of benefits of its own especially for people who are losing weight, so you should do both.

sijomial

YosemiteSlamAK wrote: »

CTMike1980mfp wrote: »

I am beginning to track calories, and want to know if lifting weights will help me burn fat better than doing cardio? Or is it more beneficial to do BOTH? Maybe start with some weights and then finish with cardio? Also, is lifting heavier any better than going lighter or vice versa when coming to losing weight and fat? Thank you for the help!

BOTH! Immediate caloric burn would be cardio, but regular weight training will help build lean muscle which allows you to continue burning additional calories after a strength training workout. 1 pound of lean muscle burns between 25-50 calories each day, so 10 additional pounds of lean muscle could burn up to an additional pound of fat for you every week.

Whether you lift heavy or light depends on your goals for the muscles being worked. If you want muscular strength, (pick up something huge once or something big over and over) lift heavy. If you want muscular endurance, (pick up something medium sized over and over or something small all day) you'd lift lighter. I have found that a combination of lighter weight training followed by or in conjunction with cardio training tends to be the most effective way to increase lean muscle mass and burn more calories.

@YosemiteSlamAK
Ref the bold - unfortunately it's more like 6 calories a day.

https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dissecting-the-energy-needs-of-the-body-research-review.html/

firef1y72

Diet for weight loss (eat less than you burn)
Cardio for heart health (as well as being able to eat a little more plus mental health)
Strength training to preserve muscle and strengthen bones.

I prefer to lift heavy, but over the 6 weeks summer holidays I did more volume work (50-60% of my 1 rep max for 10 sets of 10) and had some really noticeable results in my upper body (although it may have just been coincidence and my shoulders/upper arms were going to pop anyway) and came back to smash my 1rpm max with shoulder press and bench.

jayemes

^ what @firef1y72 said

Morgaath

Cardio burns more cals, helping strip away fat.
Lifting heavy builds up muscles and firms up what is under the fat, so that once the fat is gone there is something to see.

I got slightly different numbers than sijomialsi or YosemiteSlamAK.

1 liter of muscle weighs 1.06kg (2.30lbs) -- 1.1 g/mL
1 liter of fat weighs 0.90kg (1.98lbs) -- 0.9 g/mL.
1 liter of water weighs 1.00kg (2.20lbs) -- 1 g/mL
1 lb of fat uses 2-3 cals per day just as a normal part of functioning.
1 lb of muscle burns 7-10 cals per day just as a normal part of functioning.

Kwoconnor

firef1y72 wrote: »

Diet for weight loss (eat less than you burn)
Cardio for heart health (as well as being able to eat a little more plus mental health)
Strength training to preserve muscle and strengthen bones.

I prefer to lift heavy, but over the 6 weeks summer holidays I did more volume work (50-60% of my 1 rep max for 10 sets of 10) and had some really noticeable results in my upper body (although it may have just been coincidence and my shoulders/upper arms were going to pop anyway) and came back to smash my 1rpm max with shoulder press and bench.

THIS.

I only recently started doing cardio but all my fat loss came from dieting. Muscle/body shape from weights. IMO.

TimothyFish

Cardio is better for weight loss but lifting weights improves your ability to do cardio.

PowerliftingMom

Lifting weights got my body fat down to 17% and I was 57 years old. I did very little cardio and ate a very clean diet

shaunshaikh

Read this: http://physiqonomics.com/aadam-answers-special-edition/

There's a lot more articles that have the same gist:
1. You get weight loss from calorie deficit, with or without cardio. Diet is key. Cardio can make the diet easier.
2. Strength training during diet is primarily to preserve muscle mass during weight loss in order to promote FAT LOSS making up the majority of the weight you lose, rather than ending up skinny fat over losing too much muscle along with fat. Also helps with metabolism.
3. Cardio is still great for cardiovascular health and is important.

When it comes to fat loss, strength training is technically higher on the pyramid of importance.

ninerbuff

Neither would matter if you don't eat to create a calorie deficit.

The old saying that exercise is for fitness and health still applies.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

NorthCascades

Between cycling (cardio) and walking (incredibly light cardio) I eat about 1,000 more calories every day than MFP would give me, and I'm still losing the 1/2 pound a week I signed up for.

NorthCascades

ninerbuff wrote: »

The old saying that exercise is for fitness and health still applies.

Exercise is for anything you want to get out of it. Sometimes it's for transportation! Sometimes it's for fun. Sometimes it's for calories. All of these reasons are equally valid.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Saying that cardio "isn't for weight loss" is misleading. You can burn a few hundred extra calories daily by doing cardio. You still must control your intake for that to help, it's all too easy to overcompensate!

Secondly, I find that cardio reduces my hunger for a couple of hours afterward. This has helped me lose weight at times. Thirdly, and this appears to be hotly debated, I feel that cardio increases my metabolism more than weight bearing exercise. My evidence is that I stay warm for hours after a good cardio workout. If I do it in the morning (which is rare, unfortunately) I'm more energetic for several hours.

Weightlifting is fantastic for health, but I feel that it makes me hungry while not burning as many calories as a solid cardio workout.

Yesterday, for example, I did a 50 minute swim, which MFP estimates to burn 650kcals plus my upper body feels mighty pumped today!

NorthCascades

Adding to the wisdom above, I have yummy crunchy corn chips on the shelf at home, but when I'm out riding my bike I'm away from all temptation.

BrianSharpe

YosemiteSlamAK wrote: »

CTMike1980mfp wrote: »

I am beginning to track calories, and want to know if lifting weights will help me burn fat better than doing cardio? Or is it more beneficial to do BOTH? Maybe start with some weights and then finish with cardio? Also, is lifting heavier any better than going lighter or vice versa when coming to losing weight and fat? Thank you for the help!

BOTH! Immediate caloric burn would be cardio, but regular weight training will help build lean muscle which allows you to continue burning additional calories after a strength training workout. 1 pound of lean muscle burns between 25-50 calories each day, so 10 additional pounds of lean muscle could burn up to an additional pound of fat for you every week.

Whether you lift heavy or light depends on your goals for the muscles being worked. If you want muscular strength, (pick up something huge once or something big over and over) lift heavy. If you want muscular endurance, (pick up something medium sized over and over or something small all day) you'd lift lighter. I have found that a combination of lighter weight training followed by or in conjunction with cardio training tends to be the most effective way to increase lean muscle mass and burn more calories.

It's nowhere near as high as you're estimating and it'd pretty hard (impossible?) to pack on 10lbs of muscle while eating at a deficit. The OP wants to lose fat which means eating at a caloric deficit.

OP do both as each has its own health benefits but weight loss happens at the table, not in the gym.

RoxieDawn

Both.. like to add that adequate protein intake and strength training during weight loss is essential IMO as when you lose weight you can lose viable muscle but you can prevent some of it.

A moderate/healthy rate of loss and strength training to aid in muscle sparing. Add in cardio if you want to enhance your weight loss and for added health benefits, but your calorie deficit is inevitably the way you will lose weight.