You may know diet and exercise are the keys to weight loss. But what you may not know is what type of exercise yields the best result. Dieters usually turn to steady state cardio (cardio exercises performed at a steady pace) traditionally at a low to moderate intensity. If you want to lose body fat make sure you’re lifting weights. Several studies have shown weight training leads to greater fat loss when compared to steady state cardio training.
Canadian researchers compared two groups on the exact same diet with different training routines: a group that only did cardio exercises (1 hour a day, four days per week) and another group that only did strength training three days per week performing 10 exercises two to four sets of eight to 15 repetitions. After 12 weeks both groups equally increased their VO2 (the single best measure of cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic power). The cardio group lost lean body mass while the strength training group increased their lean body mass, lost significantly more fat and, increased their metabolism while the cardio group actually slowed their metabolism.
A similar study took three groups: a diet only group, a diet group that performed aerobic exercise three times per week and a group that performed aerobic exercise and weight training three times per week. After 12 weeks the diet only group lost just over 14 pounds, while the aerobic exercise group lost 15 ½ pounds (only 1 more pound). The group that performed weight training lost over 21 pounds (44% more than the diet only group and 35% more than the diet plus aerobic exercise group.
To get the most bang for your buck, a minimal time investment of three one hours sessions per week can do wonders for weight loss. You’ll not only achieve faster weight loss than you will doing cardio but you’ll also increase your lean body mass and improve cardiovascular fitness.Click here to get help building an effective workout program.
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