Cardio > Strength training

Hey look, I can find studies too!

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/66/3/557 While those in Aerobic lost more weight than the strength-based group, they lost the same as those in the diet-only group. The diet-only group lost the most LBM (called fat-free mass in this article), and the aerobic+diet group lost the second most, and the strength+diet group lost significantly less in the 8 weeks.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/4/676 "After training, increase in peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) was greater in the aerobic group (time-by-group interaction P = 0.045), whereas increase in strength was greater in the resistance group (time-by-group interaction P < 0.0001) ... Total and truncal fat, VAT, and SAT were also similarly reduced in both groups..."

Ho, S. S., Dhaliwal, S. S., Hills, A. P., & Pal, S. (2012). The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 704-713. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-704 (You'll have to search for the abstract yourself; my site doesn't provide a public link) "Conclusion: A 12-week training program comprising of resistance or combination exercise, at moderate-intensity for 30 min, five days/week resulted in improvements in the cardiovascular risk profile in overweight and obese participants compared to no exercise. From our observations, combination exercise gave greater benefits for weight loss, fat loss and cardio-respiratory fitness than aerobic and resistance training modalities. Therefore, combination exercise training should be recommended for overweight and obese adults in National Physical Activity Guidelines."

Milanovic, Z. , Pantelic, S. , Trajkovic, N. , Sporis, G. , & Aleksandrovic, M. (2012). The effects of physical exercise on reducing body weight and body composition of obese middle aged people. a systematic review. HealthMed, 6(6), 2176-2189. "Results The combination of exercise (either aerobic or resistance training) and diet has shown the best results in the reduction of body weight."

Donges, C. , Duffield, R. , Drinkwater, E. , & , . (2010). Effects of resistance or aerobic exercise training on interleukin-6, c-reactive protein, and body composition. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(2), 304-313. "Compared with the resistance and the control groups, the aerobic group exhibited significant (P < 0.05) improvements in all aerobic fitness measures and significant reductions in IA-FM (7.4%) and body mass (1.1%). Compared with the aerobic and the control groups, the resistance group significantly (P < 0.05) improved TB-FM (3.7%) and upper (46.3%) and lower (56.6%) body strength." total body fat mass (TB-FM), intra-abdominal fat mass (IA-FM), and total body lean mass (TB-LM)


I was able to find a number of studies that found similar results to the original article you posted. Most don't seem to specify the exercises participants did. The ones that did, only heart rate would be monitored in the aerobic group (and set to a specific level, in some cases, such as always at 70% during the brunt of the workout). I can very much imagine that those in the RT groups were not challenged to the level of the aerobic group, especially in terms of their heart rates and overall calories burned. The specific study you cited also did not even measure before and after RMR for participants; there may be an overall benefit to strength training that cannot be until after the study is over.

Also, you fail to mention the age-related differences for the participants such that older adults do better with RT and younger with AT. Some studies have mentioned gender-related differences, as well.

An article that further discusses my problems with their conclusions can be found here: http://www.myosynthesis.com/effects-of-aerobic-andor-resistance-training-on-body-mass-and-fat-mass-in-overweight-or-obese-adults (TL;DR: Their conclusion is based on time-efficiency, not overall benefits. They seem to come more to the conclusion that the combination of the two is best overall.)

And just a last thing to add, I think a lot of people actually want to be "toned" rather than just slim. A lack of LBM is usually not preferred over some muscle definition. I think this is particularly true in men, but can be just as true for women as well. Nobody says they want to look flabby, but at their perfect weight. Toned is generally the preferred term, which suggests muscle definition, which requires RT.

Hey look, I can find studies too!

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/66/3/557 While those in Aerobic lost more weight than the strength-based group, they lost the same as those in the diet-only group. The diet-only group lost the most LBM (called fat-free mass in this article), and the aerobic+diet group lost the second most, and the strength+diet group lost significantly less in the 8 weeks.

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/4/676 "After training, increase in peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) was greater in the aerobic group (time-by-group interaction P = 0.045), whereas increase in strength was greater in the resistance group (time-by-group interaction P < 0.0001) ... Total and truncal fat, VAT, and SAT were also similarly reduced in both groups..."

Ho, S. S., Dhaliwal, S. S., Hills, A. P., & Pal, S. (2012). The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 704-713. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-704 (You'll have to search for the abstract yourself; my site doesn't provide a public link) "Conclusion: A 12-week training program comprising of resistance or combination exercise, at moderate-intensity for 30 min, five days/week resulted in improvements in the cardiovascular risk profile in overweight and obese participants compared to no exercise. From our observations, combination exercise gave greater benefits for weight loss, fat loss and cardio-respiratory fitness than aerobic and resistance training modalities. Therefore, combination exercise training should be recommended for overweight and obese adults in National Physical Activity Guidelines."

Milanovic, Z. , Pantelic, S. , Trajkovic, N. , Sporis, G. , & Aleksandrovic, M. (2012). The effects of physical exercise on reducing body weight and body composition of obese middle aged people. a systematic review. HealthMed, 6(6), 2176-2189. "Results The combination of exercise (either aerobic or resistance training) and diet has shown the best results in the reduction of body weight."

Donges, C. , Duffield, R. , Drinkwater, E. , & , . (2010). Effects of resistance or aerobic exercise training on interleukin-6, c-reactive protein, and body composition. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(2), 304-313. "Compared with the resistance and the control groups, the aerobic group exhibited significant (P < 0.05) improvements in all aerobic fitness measures and significant reductions in IA-FM (7.4%) and body mass (1.1%). Compared with the aerobic and the control groups, the resistance group significantly (P < 0.05) improved TB-FM (3.7%) and upper (46.3%) and lower (56.6%) body strength." total body fat mass (TB-FM), intra-abdominal fat mass (IA-FM), and total body lean mass (TB-LM)


I was able to find a number of studies that found similar results to the original article you posted. Most don't seem to specify the exercises participants did. The ones that did, only heart rate would be monitored in the aerobic group (and set to a specific level, in some cases, such as always at 70% during the brunt of the workout). I can very much imagine that those in the RT groups were not challenged to the level of the aerobic group, especially in terms of their heart rates and overall calories burned. The specific study you cited also did not even measure before and after RMR for participants; there may be an overall benefit to strength training that cannot be until after the study is over.

Also, you fail to mention the age-related differences for the participants such that older adults do better with RT and younger with AT. Some studies have mentioned gender-related differences, as well.

An article that further discusses my problems with their conclusions can be found here: http://www.myosynthesis.com/effects-of-aerobic-andor-resistance-training-on-body-mass-and-fat-mass-in-overweight-or-obese-adults (TL;DR: Their conclusion is based on time-efficiency, not overall benefits. They seem to come more to the conclusion that the combination of the two is best overall.)

And just a last thing to add, I think a lot of people actually want to be "toned" rather than just slim. A lack of LBM is usually not preferred over some muscle definition. I think this is particularly true in men, but can be just as true for women as well. Nobody says they want to look flabby, but at their perfect weight. Toned is generally the preferred term, which suggests muscle definition, which requires RT.

I beg to differ.

Cardio may burn more calories during, but strength training will raise your metabolism for hours after you work out, helps you develop more lean muscle so you burn more calories at rest, not to mention I definitely get my heart rate up while lifting.

Also worth mentioning I wasn't able to get to my lowest weight until I started lifting (after months of cardio), and even though I'm 5lbs heavier than my lowest now, I'm still smaller/the same size thanks to my lean muscle.

I'm not saying one is better than the other. I love cardio- I run like a crazy person. But I know hours of cardio is only going to get you so far in the world of weight loss and body shaping. Because shaping your body is REALLY what most people are after when they say they want to lose weight... they want a nice, toned, trim body, and you don't get that without lifting some weights.

Studies have shown that Calories Per Minute (CPM) through chocolate consumption far exceed the CPM in most forms of cardiovascular activity.

Therefore: Chocolate > Cardio

Moral of the story: Eat More Chocolate.

looks like a good thread.

However, tldr

can some one post some cliffs?

Nothing like an old fashioned dead horse beating!

all depends...it's been proven that both will shred fat faster.
Cardio burns fat but adding weights will build muscles and those muscles will burn fat (all the time)...

The best thing in my opinion at first to lose major fat is to do lots of cardio and some strength (weights) workouts.

After.... Go strength and add some cardio...To tone everything up.

Works fine for me.

This is the route I'm taking. I've essentially lost 20 lbs focusing on cardio while starting stronglifts. I have seen a reduction bf% and an increase in LM while loosing weight (The gain in LM isn't much but still a gain.). When I get down to around 190-195, I am probably going to focus a little more on the weight training than the cardio, but still continue doing both.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAU_sqHGiYw