Weights vs. Cardio for weight loss

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Beerdified
Beerdified Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My trainer at the gym insists that weight training is more effective than cardio at loosing weight. I cannot imagine he is right, although maybe it is more effective for weight maintenance. His adament demeanor makes me think this may be more of a sales pitch, better for him than it is for me. I currently spend 1 to 1.5 hours on cardio and about .5 hours on wiehgts about 3-4 times a week.

Any input would be appreciated.

Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Both are good, but I found that when I increased my strength training I definitely shifted more pounds. Try it for a while and see what happens!
  • AbbyRedwine
    AbbyRedwine Posts: 59
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    I'm wondering the same thing!!! I would think that cardio would be better at losing weight so I always do a lot of cardio and not very much strength training! :smile:
  • kmm7309
    kmm7309 Posts: 802 Member
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    I think they are both necessary for success. The cardio helps get the fat off of you the best I think. But the strength training increases the amount of fat you burn AT REST, which is the biggest difference!

    I try to do light, repetitive strength movements to keep my heart rate elevated. Two birds, one stone, man.
  • foreverjade
    foreverjade Posts: 213 Member
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    what if I told you the answer is both? haha
    Weight training - increasing your muscle mass, which in turn, burns more calories - muscle burns fat
    Cardio - burns calories...
    so weight training is good longer term, once you build up the muscle mass, but cardio will technically burn more while you are actually working out. Does that make sense?
  • Beerdified
    Beerdified Posts: 11 Member
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    That was my assumption too. Seemed logical.
  • jaycee76
    jaycee76 Posts: 325 Member
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    You burn calories when muscles are repairing. A mixture of strength and cardio is ment to be ideal - (think 30 day shred)
  • Jess21684
    Jess21684 Posts: 202 Member
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    a lot of cardio is great for melting fat and losing weight but strength training is KEY to re-shaping your body so its just as important really and the more muscle you have, the more fat your going to burn, even at rest! The best is a combination of BOTH. they are both very important and go hand-in hand and should be both incorporated if you really wanna see a great change in your body. the Best is to do both in one workout. you can do circuit training, alternating cardio with weights at the same time.. there a ton of fitness dvds out there that are circuit training. jillian 30 day shred is great and has both in one 30min workout. the key is to do strength moves that work multiple muscle groups at one time, that will keep your heartrate up and you will burn more calories! I just got the jackie werner extreme timesaver training fitness dvd and its GREAT! its cardio & Strength training in one 30min workout! It def works all your muscles and keeps your heartrate wayyy up! So yes BOTH is the best way to go!
  • PaulC9554
    PaulC9554 Posts: 117 Member
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    A trainer in my gym sums it up in this way: The body is the vessel, the muscles are the engine, the bigger the engine the more fuel it needs to burn to work. He advocates muscle building. He's a fitness trainer and long time body builder.
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
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    Back in '08 I lost 10 kilos (22 pounds) by calorie counting and doing a strength training programme. The only cardio I did was stationery bike for 5 minutes as a warm up.

    Your heart rate gets pretty high when you're lifting heavy weights. Sure you build muscle mass and that helps.

    The key, though, is your diet. You can't out train a bad diet. It's really easy to eat way too many calories to the point where no amount of exercise will save you from it (okay, if you just did Tour de France then it's a different story)

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