Cardio versus Weight Training To Burn Calories

Cardio versus Weight Training To Burn Calories

Should I do cardio or weight training to lose weight is a common question.

There are many reasons anyone may want to lose weight. They may be wanting to lose weight to achieve better health, to look better in clothes, improve chances of finding the right relationship, be able to do more with family and many others.

Woman Weight Training

When discussing weight training as a way to lose weight many are concerned they will gain muscle and actually look bigger.  Making weight training a routine part of your exercise regimen will result in the building of muscle. Initially, it may seem you are not making any progress from a weight loss standpoint; however, if you stick with it you should start noticing changes such as clothes fitting better, more muscular tone, and an increase in energy.

Weightlifting can be an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to losing weight and may just be what is needed to give your weight loss program the boost it needs.

If you want to learn more about how weight training may help you start losing weight right away and move forward to achieve your weight loss goals:

Does Weight Training Help You Burn Fat

Dumbbell Shoulder                        Press

Weight training is not typically looked at as an aerobic activity

Weight training primarily utilizes the glycogen system for producing energy, your heart rate will increase during weight training exercise, and if you workout for about 40 minutes you should burn about 500 calories.

The average person burns about 2000 calories per day just doing their normal daily activities. Adding 40 minutes of weight training can help you burn an extra 500 calories each day you workout.

One pound of fat is equivalent to about 350o calories, so burning an extra 500 calories per day or decreasing your  intake 500 calories may help you lose about one pound per week.

Running for the same amount of time will result in your burning a similar amount of

Cardiovascular Exercise Using Treadmill

calories.

You should consider investing in a fitness tracker and see how many calories you are burning.

Lifting weights tends to work several muscle groups even when you are focusing on one area of the body.

This stimulates the release of hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone helping in the repair of muscle after your workouts. The involvement of multiple muscles helps to boost your metabolism and burn more fat.

What’s more though, is that simply having more muscle means your body has to work harder to keep everything running smoothly. Muscle requires energy to maintain and as such, if you build some biceps and abs you’ll actually burn more calories in your sleep.

Weight training will help you get more toned, may help get rid of stretch marks, and give the illusion of weight loss even if you are not showing evidence of weight loss on the scale.

Resistance cardio involves combining cardiovascular exercise with resistance exercise (weight training). Examples of resistance cardio include riding a stationary bike on a high setting, or performing rows against a lot of

Cardio Resistant Exercise

resistance.

So when your goal is to lose weight, look more toned and get healthier a combination of cardiovascular and resistance exercise  should be an excellent starting point.