by Karen Lirio

The answer to this one should be easy. . .both! But what if you don’t have time, or the motivation, for both?

Weight training coupled with diet and cardiovascular exercise (cardio) has been clinically proven to burn more body fat than cardio and diet alone. When it comes to fat loss however, most people still embark on a cardio and eating plan with no consideration to weight training at all, or with the idea that they will weight train later to “tone-up”.

Often the reason for doing this is the time, money and effort required to do all three, which is not an unreasonable objection for someone embarking on a major lifestyle change for the first time. The logic therefore, is to choose the most effective method first and add the other later for better results. But are people choosing the wrong one first? In my opinion, yes!

Someone once made the very accurate observation to me that cardiovascular exercise makes you a smaller version of your current self while weight training changes your body shape completely. In my experience, most people with whom I have discussed their goals always follow their expressed desire to lose body fat with a reference to a particular body part. I need to lose body fat from my gut or I want to reduce the size of my butt and thighs. Clearly they are not looking to become smaller versions of their current selves, they want to be a completely different body shape!

The reason that cardiovascular exercise simply makes you a smaller version of your current self is that it generally reduces both your body fat and your lean muscle mass, particularly if you have reduced your food intake. If you are not getting enough energy from food to fuel your cardiovascular workouts then your body will turn to your lean muscle mass as the next best thing. It does this because using body fat as a fuel source requires large amounts of oxygen which simply aren’t available while your muscles are using it to power your workout. The result is that if you started with small shoulders and a big butt you will end up with even smaller shoulders and smaller, but still proportionately bigger, butt.

The reason that weight training completely changes your body shape is that you can use it to increases lean muscle mass in some or all muscle groups while reducing body fat, even on a calorie reduced diet. Weight training uses a different fuel source to cardiovascular exercise. Weight training uses energy stored in your muscles before it looks for fuel from food, so even on a reduced calorie intake you are unlikely to lose lean muscle mass. The result is that if you started with small shoulders and a big butt you are more likely to end up with bigger shoulders and a smaller butt, that also looks proportionately smaller because of your increased shoulder size.
Many people choosing cardiovascular exercise over weight training, do so on the premise that cardio burns more calories while you are performing it than weight training does. This is technically true, however, once your cardio session is over so is your calorie burning. Weight training on the other hand has what is known as a high EPOC or Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. EPOC is an increase in metabolic rate, or calorie burning, that continues for several hours after you have stopped training. Studies have shown that a well-designed weight training program can elevate your metabolism for up to 38 hours after your session has ended. That‘s a lot of extra calories you’re burning. Add to this the fact that any increase in muscle mass you achieve permanently increases your metabolism, and you truly are building yourself into a lean, mean fat burning machine.
To make your weight training sessions even better for burning fat while building lean muscle mass, aim for three to four, intense, full body workouts per week. Intensity can be achieved by utilizing free and body weight exercises, compound movements, high repetitions, short rests, and supersets or circuit style training.
Chose to lose body fat permanently by choosing weight training over cardiovascular exercise, and as soon as you can, do both!