Cardio vs. Weight Lifting
"I have to get into shape – the summer have been kind of an off period for me – I am thinking about starting running again – that usually puts me into great shape" Have you ever head that before? I have had heard a million times! I often wonder if I am the only one who ever though about whether cardio really is the best way to go if you want to loose fat. On the other hand you could also choose to lift weights or you could combine those two methods?
Let’s set the same gold otherwise it would be to difficult to advise! Our gold is to loose fat! So basically not to loose weight – we really don't care about the number on the scale for now. Let look at the cardio training first.
Cardio
Pros
- High calorie burn during exercise (falls into the same metabolism shortly after)
- Easy to begin with (every body can run a couple of miles)
- Many different activities to choose from
- Low intensity options for overweight people like walking/cycle at low pace
- Little need for rest in comparison to weight training
- Good for your cardiovascular system
Cons
- You will primary burn calories unless your training is very long
- Injuries are often seen as a result of running and is often the first choice of cardio
- Difficult for very overweight people, except at low intensity
- For some difficult to maintain motivation
Weight lifting
Pros
- Increases muscle mass quickly in the first period
- Causes a spike in metabolism, which means you burn calories long after the workout is done
- Easy for the unfit and overweighed to begin with
- Offers the ability to grow muscle and loss fat simultaneously
Cons
- Higher barrier to recover for your body
- Injuries is often seen as a result of lifting too heavy to soon
- Lower caloric burn in comparison to cardio (minute by minute, not over time)
- Lots of bad information on the market, leading to poor results
- Take time to advantage because experience is needed
- Can increase hunger significantly, so discipline with diet becomes a factor in success
So what should you do?
Well in a nutshell you could stop doing cardio and focus 100 % on weight lifting – but you should combine this with a lower intake of calories depending on how you are eating now – but you should probably cut a little calories of. Are you ready, willing and tough enough to do that? Lets be honest here – you probably aren't and neither am I. So that's why you should combine! Start out with you weight lifting and fire away - that will burn out you glycogen stores first. Afterwards your cardio will burn and kill even more fat!
References
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/whats-better-for-fat-loss-weight-lifting-or-cardio-work/
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-ripped-dude-cardio-before-or-after-weights.html
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