Opinions differ on this but many experts agree that if your goal is weight loss the best strategy is some combination of weight training and cardio. Particularly if you want a lean, cut look your focus should be on increasing cardio and decreasing calories. If you weight train, opt for a 25/75 combination with cardio.
Lifting weights for cutting
If you're trying to lose weight without cardio, you can still hit the gym and drop calories. All of the compound lifts stress the central nervous system and heighten your metabolic rate. The more muscle mass is built, the more calories are burned as muscle tissue burns more calories.
“Approximately 30 to 40 minutes of cardio three to four times per week is typical of serious weightlifters and figure competitors,” says Giamo. “This amount of cardio will allow for muscle maintenance and strength gains without sacrificing the benefits of strength training.”
Absolutely! If weight training increases your heart rate and keeps it elevated for the duration, you have gotten your cardio exercise in as well.
Cardio does a body good, but when it comes to building muscle you can get too much of a good thing. Don't skip the cardio, just know when and how much to get in to maintain your gains. Why cardio? Don't let the fear of lost gains keep you from the benefits cardio offers for overall health.
While weightlifting can support weight loss, paying attention to your nutrition is another important factor. Weightlifting burns calories, but you'll need to pair it with a suitable diet to achieve noticeable weight loss ( 5 ). You can reach a calorie deficit by exercising regularly and eating slightly fewer calories.
Cardio after training is beneficial because it cools you down and helps you loosen up after the intense session. You can do it for 10-30 minutes, depending on your fitness goals. If you're trying to lose weight, then you'll want to burn extra calories so lean towards 20-30 minutes of cardio after weight lifting.
And while it's true that doing steady state cardio probably will help with weight loss, experts say it's totally unnecessary if your main goal is fat loss. In fact, you can lose weight just by lifting weights.
Bodybuilders do cardio ranging from supersetting their exercises within their workout to 30-minute power walks post workout. Overall, bodybuilders stay away from cardio that is high-intensity, which would take away from their weight training efforts.
You don't HAVE to use cardio to get abs
You don't need to spend hours on the treadmill to build abs - but cardio can be a useful tool to burn fat and calories if fat loss is your goal. Just don't overdo it, says James.
In conclusion: Cardio burns more calories during your workout and burns fat faster, so it's ideal for weight loss. Strength training helps you build muscle and burn more calories all day (even while on the couch). Running, cycling, or another form of cardio is great for a healthy heart.
The days I do go to the gym I'd much rather lift weights than do cardio. Can I lose belly fat with core-strengthening exercises only or do I have to incorporate cardio, too? Answer: The short answer: No, you don't have to do a separate cardio session.
Recent research suggests that, contrary to popular belief, people who are overweight or obese can still add muscle through resistance training. When they do, they'll set themselves up for long-term success!
As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight, maintain weight loss or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more.
For example, weight training is more effective than cardio at building muscle, and muscle burns more calories at rest than some other tissues, including fat ( 3 ). Because of this, it is commonly said that building muscle is the key to increasing your resting metabolism — that is, how many calories you burn at rest.
The researchers who performed this study also stated that daily training without a recovery period between sessions (or training twice a day) is not optimal for neuromuscular and aerobic improvements. So ideally, if you want to get stronger, you should separate your cardio and strength workouts by more than six hours.
The simple answer is no. The scientific research on long, steady state cardio training shows it does not have a negative impact on muscle mass. We'll explore the science that answers the 'does cardio burn muscle' question. Then, we'll address recommendations you can give clients for their cardio workout.
Do cardio after weights if your main goal is weight loss. Doing cardio after weight training burned more fat during the first 15 minutes of that cardio workout versus starting with cardio and then lifting, according to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Typically, muscle mass and strength increase steadily from birth and reach their peak at around 30 to 35 years of age. After that, muscle power and performance decline slowly and linearly at first, and then faster after age 65 for women and 70 for men.
You Don't Have Enough Training Volume
Hypertrophy adaptations (I.E. building muscle) are ruled by the principle of volume. The more volume in your training (more sets and reps) the greater the hypertrophy response you will get (up to a point of course).
You aren't lifting heavy enough.
In the resistance training context, hypertrophy occurs when skeletal muscle tissue enlarges, because the resistance stimulus increases the size of the muscle's component cells. Achieving hypertrophy puts you in a muscle-building state, but you won't get there by lifting light weights.
Weight training is also an important component of burning off belly fat. Since muscles burn off more calories than fat does when the body is at rest, having more muscle tone can help you to burn off more fat.
In terms of weight loss, both lifting heavier and lifting lighter can help you burn fat and lose weight. In fact, one study showed that after 8 weeks of strength training, those who lifted heavier weights with less reps had more strength.
This might be a shocking idea, but yes – a 30-minute workout session per day is enough to not only keep you fit but also help you lose weight.