Resistance training vs cardio

A lot of debate is up for the battle between resistance training vs cardio for fat loss. People claim that one or the other is more effective at burning calories, and therefore is better for you to do. I’m here to tell you there is one better, but it is not as clear cut as people make it seem.

Cardio is great for getting your body moving and training your heart to be more efficient with its pumping activity. Running, elliptical, biking, stair steppers, and the like are great at getting the heart rate going and using your whole body for movements. Honestly, at the beginning, these exercises will likely build muscle for you as well. It burns significant calories in the moment, and for a single hour of cardio work you do burn more calories compared to weight lifting.

However, the big difference is after the workout. After a cardio session, it does not take long to go back to near baseline for what your body has to do. With resistance training, it burns calories during the session itself. The big difference is how long the body continues to burn calories after the session. The body needs to use more and more calories after resistance training to recover. Also, the more and more lean muscle mass that you build from the resistance training, the more your basal metabolic rate increases (calories burned at rest) because it has to maintain the muscles.

Cardio is a great in the moment activity that I do believe almost everyone should make a part of their workout routine. However, the long term benefits of resistance training (body weight workouts, lifting weights, machines and dumbbells) will end up burning more calories. Cardio is great for the heart and body, but if you ruly want or need to lose weight, resistance training if a more efficient and effective way to do it.