Are you a man struggling with the dilemma of prioritising cardio or weight training for weight loss?
This decision can often be confusing due to the overflow of fitness advice available, especially when the goal is as focused on weight loss.
Navigating the maze of fitness options can be a head-spinning challenge, especially when the goal is as focused as weight loss.
For men seeking to shed those extra pounds and sculpt a leaner physique, a fundamental question arises …
Which exercise workouts reign supreme for weight loss, cardio or lifting weights?
Cardio or Weight Training for Weight Loss?
Weight training is the best way to lose body fat and gain a lean physique. Here’s why
- Preserves Muscle
- Increases Metabolism
- Slow long-term fat loss is healthier
However, while weight training should be central to your fitness regimen, this doesn’t mean you should abandon cardio completely.
Also, before any of you start shouting at me with …
It’s all about how much you eat!
Of course, how much you eat will determine the amount of weight you lose or gain. However, for this article, we are focusing on exercise.
But first, let’s clarify what you’re trying to achieve.
Defining Weight Loss
The term ‘weight loss’ is often used interchangeably with ‘fat loss,’ but the distinction is critical.
Weight loss refers to a decrease in overall body weight, which, in addition to fat, may include loss of muscle or water weight.
Conversely, fat loss specifically targets reducing adipose tissue, preserving lean muscle mass and often leading to improved body composition.
Weight Loss vs Fat Loss: Why Knowing The Difference Matters
Understanding the nuances between weight and fat loss informs a more intentional and productive fitness strategy.
Pivoting towards fat loss ensures that progress reflects a lesser fat percentage and more lean muscle …
Translating into a more muscular physique.
What’s the difference between cardiovascular and resistance training?
Cardiovascular exercises, or cardio, elevate your heart rate, such as running, cycling, or swimming.
These activities primarily focus on improving the efficiency of your cardiovascular system. While they can contribute to fat loss, their primary benefit is increasing endurance.
On the other hand, resistance training, which can also include bodyweight exercises, works specific muscle groups to improve strength and gain muscle.
Compound exercises, such as deadlifts and squats, work several muscle groups simultaneously, elevating heart rates and utilising a significant portion of energy stores, leading to fat loss.
How much should you exercise per week?
In general, it is recommended to engage in resistance training exercises at least two to three times per week on non-consecutive days.
This frequency is suggested to stimulate muscle growth, enhance metabolic rate, and support fat loss effectively. This will allow sufficient recovery between sessions.
A balanced routine, including cardiovascular exercise, is crucial for weight loss. However, the intensity and volume of resistance training can be adapted to align with the individual’s fat loss aims, guided by a fitness professional.
The Dilemma: Cardio vs. Weight Training
When shedding those extra pounds, many men instinctively turn to cardiovascular exercises.
And why not?
It’s been the go-to recommendation for weight loss for decades.
While cardio plays a vital role in a healthy lifestyle overall, relying solely on it for weight loss has its pitfalls.
The Problem with Cardio Overload
Engaging predominantly in cardio activities can lead to a weight loss plateau.
The human body is incredibly adaptable and can quickly become efficient at performing repetitive cardio exercise, which means fewer calories are burned over time.
This adaptability can become a hurdle for men aiming for significant fat loss.
Additionally, excessive cardio could lead to muscle loss alongside fat.
Why is that an issue?
Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.
Cardio and weight lifting for weight loss
Including an appropriate amount of cardio alongside your weight training can be an effective way to lose body fat.
However, you do not want the cardio exercise to hurt your resistance training progress.
Hence, one of the best forms of cardio is to go for a simple thirty-minute walk.
This will keep you active and burn calories while enhancing your recovery from weight training.
Do Cardio Workouts Burn More Calories Than Weight Workouts?
Initially, high-intensity cardio workouts generally outperform weight training in calorie-burning battles.
The ‘afterburn effect’ of cardio activities, such as running, can continue to burn calories post-workout as the body expends energy to repair muscle fibres and replenish depleted glycogen stores.
Your body’s usage of calories during cardio training will adapt to how it burns those calories.
And as mentioned earlier …
Consequently, the body will become better at utilising calories to become more efficient for cardio training.
As a result, you will end up burning fewer calories over time.
I know people who go running every other day, and while I know they are fit …
Their weight never changes!
Which types of exercise should you do to lose weight?
Compound movements are the best form of resistance training to lose body fat, as they require a lot of energy to execute.
In addition to compound exercises, light aerobic exercise that is not too taxing on the body is a great way to boost fat loss without sacrificing muscle gains.
Benefits of Weight Training When Dieting vs Cardio
When dieting, or as I prefer to call it, “eating in a caloric deficit”, weight training is more beneficial than cardio workouts.
While cardiovascular training will help you lose body fat during dieting, you will inevitably lose muscle.
For this reason, weight training sessions will help you preserve as much muscle as possible …
As a result, giving you a lean, muscular physique.
Key Take Aways
Weight lifting is the most effective fat loss exercise for shaping a muscular physique, as it burns fat while building muscle.
Compound movements during a weight training session will burn many calories due to the energy required.
However, this does not mean you should abandon cardio completely …
If aerobic exercise is something you enjoy doing.
Participating in aerobic workouts improves your heart’s health and endurance. The key is to strike a balance.
So, stride forward confidently in your weight loss journey with the scales tipped towards the iron. Weight training, supplemented by purposeful cardio, will pave the path to your success in achieving a leaner but muscular body.