Is Cardio or Strength Training best for Fat Loss?

Minute for minute, cardio burns more calories than strength training. But is it really best for fat loss?

When it comes to the exercise fat loss argument, you’ll find folks pushing from both sides of the spectrum.

For sure, you’ll burn more calories on a 60 minute run than you will in a 60 minute strength training session. But when it comes to losing fat (and keeping it off), most coaches will tell you: strength training is the real superstar.

Of course, there are very real benefits to both cardio and strength training. And ideally, you’d be doing both to lose fat and stay healthy.

Benefits of Cardio

Health experts recommend at least 150 minutes of cardio per week in order to reduce health risks. I’m sure you’ve seen that recommendation before. Health experts also recommend 300 minutes of cardio per week if your goals venture into the world of fat loss and body re-composition.

There are too many benefits to list here but, here are some of the top health benefits of a consistent cardio routine:

Burn Fat and Calories

There’s a reason calorie counters rock a prominent position on every treadmill, elliptical and stand up bike you see at the gym. Cardio burns calories.

But if you’re specifically looking to burn fat, the real key to cardio is intensity. As intensity increases, calorie burn, specifically fat calorie burn, increases.

Part of the reason high intensity interval training is so popular is that the short bursts of work allow you to up your intensity during those working sets, increasing fat burn. Your body works really hard to recover during rest periods and more importantly, post workout. So while again, you won’t necessarily burn as many calories during a 20 minute HIIT workout as you would during a 60 minute run, your body remains in burn mode for far longer.

Improves Sleep Quality

Cardio improves sleep in a variety of ways.

First, you are, naturally, more tired after a long run than you are after a long sit on the couch. You will fall asleep faster, and fall into a deeper sleep faster too.

Deep sleep is important, as it’s during this stage of sleep that your body can recover and rebuild at an uninterrupted and fast pace. As a result, your immune system gets a boost, you reap greater benefits from your workouts and you feel more energized and focused the next day.

Reduces Risk of Certain Diseases

Heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, certain types of cancer…all of these diseases have been linked in some way to cardiovascular health. Part of that is, in fact, because of the resulting weight loss in of cardio workouts in overweight clients.

Hook. Line. Sinker

Benefits of Strength Training

Before I launch into the benefits of strength training, I’ll be upfront with you: strength training changed my life and I’m obsessed with it. It’s not just for meatheads. Here’s why:

Makes You Stronger

Obvious? Yes. Worth mentioning still? YEP.

Strength training is all about building muscle and strength. The stronger you are, the easier every day tasks become. From lifting a baby or fur baby, to hauling a laundry basket upstairs, to squatting in a garden, the stronger you are the more you enjoy everyday movement and function.

(p.s. it’s time to shatter the myth that women should not lift heavy…define your OWN strength here).

Boosts Metabolism

Here’s where the fat loss benefits get real. Strength training builds muscle, which is more metabolically active, pound for pound, than fat.

What’s that mean?

That means that the more muscle you build, the hotter your metabolism burns, even at rest.

Builds Stronger Bones

Listen babe, we women have to protect ourselves from bone loss. As you age, the body starts to reabsorb minerals like calcium and phosphate from your bones, instead of keeping those nutrients in the bone itself. That means that overtime, unless you do something about it, bones get weaker.

Strength training has shown to improve bone density and structure, no matter your age.

What is Best for Fat Loss: The Verdict

I spent a lot of time using the word “build” when talking about the benefits of strength training. It’s here that most women balk at the idea of strength training in favor of cardio. When you build something, you often add on.

Strength training is about building (adding on), muscle. And so yes, you might see the number on that damn scale stay the same or go up! When you go for a run, there’s a true mental/emotional connection between watching that calorie burn increase and the idea that we’re actually leaving fat behind.

So what’s my verdict? What’s best for fat loss: cardio or strength training?

Both.

The ideal training program incorporates both types of training, reaping all of the benefits on both sides of the scale.

Build the muscle. Stoke your metabolic flame. Sculpt your body. Burn fat during, and after, your workouts by combining cardio and strength training to get the results you want.

Sample Training Program for Fat Loss

If you’re wondering how to make it all work, here’s an example of how I set up a workout week when my goal is fat loss.

Sunday – long run. The definition of a long run is subjective and varies person to person, but for me that means 4+ miles.

Monday – strength training. Lately, I’ve been designing full body workouts for myself and my body seems to be responding well. That being said, I’ve been known to do split workouts as well, hitting legs one day, then back and biceps, then chest and triceps, etc.

Tuesday – HIIT. I love HIIT – it’s intense, it’s powerful and it’s over before you know it. I teach a lot of interval classes so I find it really easy to get jazzed up for this kind of workout.

Wednesday – short run or rest day. I’ll usually throw in some yoga or prolonged stretching on my active rest days.

Thursday – strength training.

Friday – interval training (again) and maybe a short workout targeting a specific body part that isn’t sore that day.

Saturday – strength training.

If you’re looking for help designing an exercise program that will work specifically for YOU, your goals, your schedule and your current abilities, click here to set up a FREE, 30-minute Fitness Strategy call and let’s get to work!