Aerobic Exercise Vs Resistance Training – And The Winner Is?
There's a lesson I wish I had learned a long time ago. It is that there are other ways to burn calories and lose weight besides aerobics. Because it seems that resistance training may be as important for burning off the fat.
Which might explain why I was having a hard time losing the weight despite hours on the treadmill. Because for some strange reason my fat loss was not what I was expecting.
All of which made me wonder why is aerobic training said to be the best for burning fat? Seems like maybe we should clear the air because you too may have assumed that aerobics is your best bet. And could benefit from finding out how resistance training might help as well.
Yet haven't aerobic exercises always been touted for fat loss? For a couple of reasons. Aerobics are easy and not all that tasking compared to other options. And they're easy to understand. Hit your personal fat burning zone. Remain there for a duration of 35 minutes or so. And that's it.
All the better you can watch TV, listen to your iPOD, even read the paper during your aerobics session.
On the other hand, strength or resistance training is synonymous with work. At least so we think. Struggling to do 2 or three sets of 12-20 reps with weights doesn't even sound like fun. Which may explain why so few choose to get out of their aerobics comfort zone.
But maybe we should do a reality check however. You know to take a closer look at the list of benefits, as we've defined them, from cardio exercise compared to strength training.
Here's some fat burning pros and cons cardio offers you.
With any cardiovascular routine you will likely burn a few more calories than resistance training does.
Your body burns fewer calories after the fact though - that is after your workout is over.
Another impact is a these can cause problems from the serious stress put on your joints and muscles unless you're doing water aerobics.
Alright, so what's the results of resistance training when it comes to fat burning?
While the number of calories burned depends on the number of reps and amount of weight used, truth is you can burn about the same amount of calories you would with a decent aerobic workout.
Then get this. After the workout you will continue burning calories as your muscles repair and rebuild. Your metabolic rate has also been bumped by maybe 30% and will stay that way for like the next 24-36 hours. Which is how you can burn fat even while asleep.
Any core workout that strengthen your ab muscles means there's less chance of injury because you're improving your overall balance and coordination.
Voila! Looks like resistance training builds fat burning muscles and helps you lose fat too. No complaints there. So now what? What should you do about it?
Well for one you don't want to go overboard and ditch your cardio routine after reading this. No, the sensible thing is to combine low intensity aerobics with moderate weight training. Because aerobic activities offer their own health benefits.
They strengthen your heart and lungs making them more efficient.
They improve blood circulation.
They assist in the development of improved stamina, endurance, and level of fitness.
Help in the muscle repair after a strength training workout.
On the face of it then the formula for success is clear. A combination of better diet, a decent resistance training program and low impact cardio is called for if you want to be lean and more fit.
Do not forget to check out other articles about workouts like jumping rope found at MeltOffTheInches.com. Because if you don't know the rope jumping benefits then you don't know what you're missing. That site is where those who want solutions to problems with losing inches go for help.