BURNING FAT - Does lifting burn fat as good as Cardio?

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johnguitarman
johnguitarman Posts: 56 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone.

I tell you this is a great place. I am learning so much on here. I started my journey at 285 pounds and I am currently at 258 lbs. I lost some of the weight on my own and officially started MFP at 275lbs. I'm doing pretty good and am losing between 1 to 2 lbs a week. One funny thing I noticed is my belly fat has started turning kind of soft and squishy since last week. I am hoping this is a good sign.

I have been checking out some discussions about Cardio vs Weight lifting. My cardio consists of mostly doing dvd workouts such as some of the Biggest Loser, Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels and Tae Bo workouts. I usually alternate them based on what I feel Iike doing for the day.

I also do a couple days a week of lifting weights. I actually prefer weight lifting rather than doing cardio and have noticed strength gains in addition to seeing some muscle definition since I've started dropping fat.

I was wondering can I get the same fat burning results from primarily focusing on lifting weights and just do a bit of cardio instead of making it my primary focus or is cardio really needed to lose fat?

What would a good fat burning weight routine be for maximizing fat loss?

Thanks

Replies

  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    Why not do both at the same time. I ran across a study that showed doing both was way better when compared to dividing them by days.

    To answer your question, you don't need cardio as long as you eat at a deficit.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    What would a good fat burning weight routine be for maximizing fat loss?

    My personal opinion is that an equal mix of both helps. Here's what I've gathered from my reading:

    - Cardio helps improve heart health.
    - All that is really needed for weight loss, is a calorie deficit.
    - Weight training helps to improve strength.
    - Weight training helps to preserve Lean body mass while in a calorie deficit.
    - Weight training doesn't burn a lot of calories at once, but increases your calorie burn for a while after the fact. (unsure if true)
    - Cardio increases your calorie burn for the duration of the cardio workout, but doesn't have as high as an after burn as Weight training (if it even has one at all)

    I don't know how much truth there is to these statements. It's just what I've read. I'll leave it at that and let you form your own opinion.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,020 Member
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    While engaging in aerobic activity (cardio) the body uses fat primarily for ATP (energy). Weight lifting an anaerobic activity uses glucose (glycogen), so to answer your question, cardio burns more fat.

    Saying that, weight loss/fat loss is still dictated by our energy balance at the end of the day. Basically worrying how much fat is burned during cardio workout is like worrying how much muscle is built during weight lifting, both are meaningless and like I said that is dictated by energy balance.

    If your looking to maximize fat loss, which should be the primary goal, weight lifting with adequate protein intake will help minimize muscle atrophy and help maintain muscle mass during weight loss, translating hopefully by lowering your body fat percentage while losing body weight. I do both, cardio and weight training.
  • gymgem85
    gymgem85 Posts: 3 Member
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    definitely mix some weight training in with the cardio, you will get great results and it will help tone your body whilst your losing fat. i hate cardio and for a long time have only done weight training. i will add a pic to my profile to show you the difference from before and after. the results are purely from weight training, the most cardio i used to do was 5 minutes on the treadmill at a moderate pace to warm up. i've started cardio again, mainly HIIT as i want to reduce my body fat and add lean muscle. I find weight training makes the gym more fun also and i love the feeling of being stronger!
  • jeenyus43
    jeenyus43 Posts: 14
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    Diet burns fat better than both. You can do as much lifting and cardio as you want and if you aren't in a deficit you won't lose fat. While lifting won't burn as many calories as cardio it will help preserve lean muscle so when you do lose the fat you look lean and muscular just doing cardio may burn the fat but also muscle and leave you smaller but also "soft" looking. I suggest both but the majority of what your body composition will be is made in the kitchen.
  • toddis
    toddis Posts: 941 Member
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    Keep the intensity of weight lifting high with the breaks low, you'll get the benefits of both.

    Moderate to high intensity exercise has been shown to hit the bad fat (visceral) better.

    But yeah, diet is key to overall fat.
  • dgljones
    dgljones Posts: 89
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    To answer your question, you don't need cardio as long as you eat at a deficit.

    You won't be saying that when the zombie apocalypse happens...
  • gymgem85
    gymgem85 Posts: 3 Member
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    Diet burns fat better than both. You can do as much lifting and cardio as you want and if you aren't in a deficit you won't lose fat. While lifting won't burn as many calories as cardio it will help preserve lean muscle so when you do lose the fat you look lean and muscular just doing cardio may burn the fat but also muscle and leave you smaller but also "soft" looking. I suggest both but the majority of what your body composition will be is made in the kitchen.

    I completely agree with this! especially with your abs and a muffin top! i hear people talking about the amount of ab exercises they do, but then they eat really badly. Eating clean is really the most important thing you can do!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    While engaging in aerobic activity (cardio) the body uses fat primarily for ATP (energy). Weight lifting an anaerobic activity uses glucose (glycogen), so to answer your question, cardio burns more fat.

    Saying that, weight loss/fat loss is still dictated by our energy balance at the end of the day. Basically worrying how much fat is burned during cardio workout is like worrying how much muscle is built during weight lifting, both are meaningless and like I said that is dictated by energy balance.

    If your looking to maximize fat loss, which should be the primary goal, weight lifting with adequate protein intake will help minimize muscle atrophy and help maintain muscle mass during weight loss, translating hopefully by lowering your body fat percentage while losing body weight. I do both, cardio and weight training.

    Bam! /thread
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
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    Congrats on your progress so far! If you would like to join a very knowledgeable group on this subject, here's a link:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
  • leketchup
    leketchup Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    Hi everyone.

    I tell you this is a great place. I am learning so much on here. I started my journey at 285 pounds and I am currently at 258 lbs. I lost some of the weight on my own and officially started MFP at 275lbs. I'm doing pretty good and am losing between 1 to 2 lbs a week. One funny thing I noticed is my belly fat has started turning kind of soft and squishy since last week. I am hoping this is a good sign.

    I have been checking out some discussions about Cardio vs Weight lifting. My cardio consists of mostly doing dvd workouts such as some of the Biggest Loser, Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels and Tae Bo workouts. I usually alternate them based on what I feel Iike doing for the day.

    I also do a couple days a week of lifting weights. I actually prefer weight lifting rather than doing cardio and have noticed strength gains in addition to seeing some muscle definition since I've started dropping fat.

    I was wondering can I get the same fat burning results from primarily focusing on lifting weights and just do a bit of cardio instead of making it my primary focus or is cardio really needed to lose fat?

    What would a good fat burning weight routine be for maximizing fat loss?

    Thanks

    1. Eat your maintenance calories ( consider eating good carbs/protein and some fats)
    2. Don't get caught up by zealots, gurus, and people who try to sell you magic plan.
    3. Be active in your life, do yoga, exercise, and don't be couch potato.
    4. Lean and sexy - new you.
  • jeenyus43
    jeenyus43 Posts: 14
    Options
    I completely agree with this! especially with your abs and a muffin top! i hear people talking about the amount of ab exercises they do, but then they eat really badly. Eating clean is really the most important thing you can do!

    Like this girl! She knows what she's talking about!!
  • jeenyus43
    jeenyus43 Posts: 14
    Options
    While engaging in aerobic activity (cardio) the body uses fat primarily for ATP (energy). Weight lifting an anaerobic activity uses glucose (glycogen), so to answer your question, cardio burns more fat.

    Saying that, weight loss/fat loss is still dictated by our energy balance at the end of the day. Basically worrying how much fat is burned during cardio workout is like worrying how much muscle is built during weight lifting, both are meaningless and like I said that is dictated by energy balance.

    If your looking to maximize fat loss, which should be the primary goal, weight lifting with adequate protein intake will help minimize muscle atrophy and help maintain muscle mass during weight loss, translating hopefully by lowering your body fat percentage while losing body weight. I do both, cardio and weight training.

    Like he said with this post /thread except maybe the first sentence. I believe, and several studies show, aerobic exercise burns creatine phosphate and glycogen first then switches to fat, but we can argue semantics all day. Good post.
  • bparr
    bparr Posts: 246 Member
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    Bump.
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
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    To answer your question, you don't need cardio as long as you eat at a deficit.

    You won't be saying that when the zombie apocalypse happens...

    BWAHAHAHAHA!!! I'm sayin
  • keithf1138
    keithf1138 Posts: 63
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    Keep the intensity of weight lifting high with the breaks low, you'll get the benefits of both.

    Moderate to high intensity exercise has been shown to hit the bad fat (visceral) better.

    But yeah, diet is key to overall fat.
    Would love to see guidelines on what an intense weight lifting workout looks like that also does cardio work.

    I use weight machines as part of my workout a 2-3 times per week. Generally about 30 minutes on 10 machines with a total of about 500 reps. I move from machine to machine quickly (not running), and 5-10 seconds between sets. Reps are 10-20 depending on machine.

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