Fat Loss: Weights Versus Cardio

Weight training is an anaerobic exercise, so primarily when you’re training; your fuel source is carbohydrates (glycogen stored in the muscle). But the muscle mass you build while training requires energy, so the net gain from weight training versus cardio is greater from muscle training. It’s like having a bigger engine in your car. You’ll require more fuel, so in effect, weight training will help you lose fat better than cardiovascular exercise.

After 15 or 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, you shift more to burning fat than in weight training, but the net effect of 24 hours of having increased lean muscle mass as a by-product of the weight training burns more fat overall. So if you want to lose body weight or body fat, weight training will be more effective than cardiovascular exercise. The increased lean body mass requires fuel around the clock, so it’s the best way to get lean.

More ladies are now getting into weight training and realizing this is a better way to change your body shape and get leaner. But as with both approaches, you have to eat good to make them work.