Is cardio better for weight loss? Will strength training make me too ‘bulky’?
You have questions. We have the answers!
This is a highly debated topic and a source of frustration for many fitness trainers as there are many opinions and misconceptions relating to both styles of training. Two different training styles, both beneficial to fat-loss. We are going to explain the options so you can determine which is best for you and why..
What is Cardio?
Cardio exercise, often referred to as ‘Aerobic exercise’ is all about increasing the heart rate to burn fat while exercising. Cardio includes any exercise that will effectively raise your heart rate and breathing rates for a prolonged amount of time (usually around 25-30mins minimum for high intensity cardio activity), some examples are; walking, running, cycling or swimming. Sometimes even household chores like vacuuming or mopping can increase the heart rate enough to qualify as cardio exercise.
Cardio exercise is great for burning fat and increasing general cardiovascular fitness levels. Cardio exercise works because when the heart rate is increased and muscles are being used, the body breathes in more oxygen which pumps more blood to the working muscles, helping the body to convert fat stores into carbon dioxide & water. How effective your training is, will largely depend on the intensity of your workout.
- High-Intensity Cardio: At this level, your workout should be challenging, leave you short of breath and unable to talk much. This falls between 70% and 85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR). High intensity workouts can burn more calories in a shorter amount of time and should last at least 25-30 minutes
- Moderate-Intensity Cardio: Moderate intensity falls between 50% and 70% of your MHR. This is the level you typically want to shoot for during the majority of your training. A moderate intensity workout should last at least 45mins to an hour.
- Low-Intensity Cardio: This is a good level to work at during your warm-ups or when you’re performing other activities, like walking, or housework throughout the day. This type of exercise is considered to be below 50% of your MHR.
Regular cardio activity can provide many benefits to your health and wellbeing;
- Weight-loss and fat burning
- Strengthens lungs. Cardio exercise will increase cardiovascular fitness and expand lung capacity.
- Lowers stress level.
- Reduces the risk of heart disease, heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
- Moderate to high intensity cardio will enhance sleep quality.
- Increased sex-drive
- Promotes feeling good and can even help relieve depression and anxiety. When you exercise your body releases endorphins which are natural pain killers.
- Provides more confidence in how you look and feel.
- Longer life. Studies show that regular exercise can increase your lifespan.
What is Strength Training?
‘Strength Training’ is a general term covering many different types and styles of weight or resistance based training. The terminology can be confusing and many misconceptions are formed over certain types of strength training.
Often people think of strength training as bodybuilding or gaining muscle mass to increase size. We like to think that strength training is a little more complicated than that. Strength training is not only a way to increase muscle mass for bodybuilding, but is used for many different purposes including; General fitness, Fat loss and toning, Sports specific muscle conditioning and Rehabilitation to name a few.
Strength training involves using your own bodyweight, resistance bands and weighted objects such as dumbbells or weight plates to build strength, muscle and endurance.
Our muscles are the foundation for how our bodies move, Building and maintaining strength is important to our overall health and wellbeing. When training for any purpose, Strength training will always act as a base for any other exercise or activity. To get the full benefits from any exercise or sport, getting stronger is essential to assist in your training. We have listed a few common types of strength training below;
- Muscle Endurance Training: Is training your muscles to withstand prolonged repetitions of an action. An example would be increasing muscle endurance in your legs for cycling.
- Hypertrophy Training:This is how bodybuilders train for size. Hypertrophy is when you target specific muscle groups with the aim of building muscle to bulk.
- Explosive Power Training: Combining Strength and Speed, Explosive power training isn’t designed for beginners. This type of training is often used for elite athletes who need to make fast, powerful movements.
- Circuit Training: By far the most popular style of strength training for beginner to intermediate workouts. Circuit training usually involves completing a series of exercises (often referred to as a ‘set’) with a rest period, then completing the ‘set’ again and again. Circuit training is great for anyone at any fitness level as the workouts can be tailored to individual goals.
There are many health benefits of strength training, the most obvious being stronger muscles. For those on a weight-loss journey, strength training works by essentially replacing fat with muscle. The more muscle mass your body has, the more fat your body will burn during rest periods. This is often referred to as ‘metabolic stimulation’ and will assist with faster fat-loss.
We have listed some other health benefits below.. a few of them may surprise you!
- Improved muscle strength and tone. This will assist in protecting your joints from injury.
- Weight management and increased muscle-to-fat ratio – as you gain muscle, your body burns more kilojoules when at rest.
- Increased metabolic function – Increase metabolism to burn energy during rest periods
- Maintaining flexibility and balance, which can help you remain independent in later years.
- Improvements to posture
- Improved sleep
- Enhanced performance of everyday tasks.
- Increased bone density and strength to reduce the risk of osteoporosis
- Increased wellbeing, self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Greater stamina – as you grow stronger, you won’t tire as easily
- Prevention or control of some chronic conditions
- Improved mobility and balance
- Decreased risk of injury
Why we love strength training
Strength training for general fitness or weight-loss is fantastic because you will see and feel results fast. Strength training workouts are generally more enjoyable than straight forward cardio and once you have a good foundation of muscle strength, ongoing training will help to change your overall body composition and give you a greater self-image. Strength training assists in increased metabolic function, meaning the body will burn through energy stores during rest periods.
One thing to be aware of is that Increased muscle mass & the ‘replacement’ of fat for muscle will not show a decline in actual weight on the scale. If you are one of these people who will jump on the scales daily to weigh yourself.. stop now! Aside from projecting a negative self image and potentially doing harm to your self-confidence, getting on the scales daily will not give you an accurate read on whether your training is reducing fat. When strength training it is extremely important to remember that muscle weighs more than fat, so be prepared to see the scales go up in the first few weeks (don’t panic.. It’s a good thing). Once your muscle mass has increased the metabolic stimulation process will begin and you will start seeing the results in your total body fat percentage.
Instead of the scales which only show you a number referring to your overall wight, we suggest having your trainer take your measurements and calculate your body fat percentage, or book-in for a body composition scan and get a full read on your total muscle mass vs total fat mass.
Should I focus on Cardio or Strength training?
The answer is simple.. you should do both.
When you combine the calorie burning power of a cardio workout and the lasting metabolic stimulation from strength training, your body will be a lean, mean, fat-burning machine in no time..
Its not going to happen overnight. It wont happen with a single workout and you probably won’t even know if its working within the first 2 weeks.. But trust us, It’s working.
We suggest varying your workouts. Create a healthy mix of cardio and strength workouts. We like to incorporate the two into a High Intensity circuit. Add some dumbbells, kettlebells, or weighted medicine balls and do a fast-paced circuit of 6-8 exercises – Ultimately there isn’t just one ‘right’ exercise. Keep your body moving and working hard.